A new report examines how widely colleges provide financial aid to students who do not demonstrate financial need, focusing on merit scholarships that function as enrollment discounts. The analysis notes that documenting prevalence is difficult due to limited data transparency, but it describes how this aid strategy is commonly used to compete for high-revenue students. The investigation addresses a core affordability and access issue for higher education: if non-need aid is increasingly routine, the incentives driving institutional aid packaging may shift away from need-based objectives even as families see complex, institution-specific discounting. For admissions and financial aid leaders, the development points to an accountability gap—without clearer data on how often and why aid is offered to non-need students, sector-wide debates over equity and value remain hard to verify.