Merit Stipends Limited to $1500; Colleges to Make Up Differences

Beginning with the class of '63, the maximum National Merit Scholarship stipend for entering freshmen will be $1500, it was learned yesterday. The National Merit Corporation previously set no limit on awards, but granted as much money as the student required to attend the college of his choice.

Simultaneously, the Corporation eased its ruling forbidding colleges to award additional scholarship aid to winners. If a student receives all the aid he needs, the Corporation feels an offer of additional aid constitutes bribery. If standard financial measurements indicate a National Merit winner requires more than $1500 a year, however, the College will be allowed to make up the difference.

The change will probably not affect future National Merit scholars here. "There have not been too many awards above the $1500 level in the past, and Harvard has had very few of them," said Wilbur J. Bender, Dean of Admissions and Scholarships.

According to Bender, the Corporation has limited its grants because of budgetary restrictions on the amount of funds which can be handed out in a given year. Small scholarships awarded next fall are likely to increase in size over the years as colleges raise tuition.