How should I compare merit scholarship offers from UT Austin and WashU?

Compare the offers by their guaranteed four-year net cost, not by the scholarship’s headline amount. UT Austin can be the exceptional value for a Texas resident because its published tuition baseline is substantially lower, while a WashU merit award may still leave a higher total bill despite being much larger in dollars. For a nonresident, UT’s higher tuition can change that calculation sharply, so use the actual aid notices and each school’s cost-of-attendance figures.

Build a four-year worksheet for each school: tuition and mandatory fees, housing and food, books, travel, health insurance if applicable, and realistic personal expenses. Subtract only grants and scholarships that are guaranteed, then separate federal loans, work-study, and parent or private loans, since those do not reduce the cost in the same way. Use annual tuition increases or a modest estimate for them rather than assuming today’s price stays fixed for four years.

UT Austin may fit a student whose offer produces a low, predictable cost and who is comfortable with the scale, public-university environment, and Austin location.

WashU may make sense for a student whose merit package closes enough of the price gap to make its smaller private-campus setting, residential experience, and particular academic resources worth the added cost.

Finally, compare the remaining cost with the amount your family can pay without heavy borrowing. Merit scholarships used for qualified tuition and required course materials are typically not taxable, but amounts applied to room and board can be taxable, so read the award’s permitted uses.