College officials worry that too many of their peers use merit aid to "buy" students whose test scores will burnish their institutions' rankings in "U.S. News & World Report." In fact, the debate about financial aid on today's campuses has led to the near vilification of merit aid. The lament is that money is often diverted…

Describes how 28 private colleges have endorsed a set of policies designed to preserve need-blind admissions. The group agreed on guidelines for the formula used to calculate a family's ability to pay for college, resulting in more aid for more needy students. (EV)

Congress made significant revisions in the methods used to evaluate families' income and college expenses to decide how much aid students should receive. Administrators say that needy students will receive less aid next year, although some students who do not need more aid will be eligible for it. (MLW)

Tables showing the estimated student aid for 1986-87 in each state in undergraduate, and graduate and professional categories, and by need-based and non-need-based assistance are presented. (MLW)