The phrase 'based on academic merit' is correct and perfectly usable in written English.
You can use it to refer to criteria in a selection or evaluation process, for example, "The scholarship is awarded to applicants based on academic merit, SAT scores, and extracurricular activities."
Financial aid is not "need-based". All applicants are considered for financial aid awards based on academic merit and potential success as a teaching or research assistant.
Because they're based on academic merit, identify those that match your strengths and talents.
These awards are competitively allocated and are based on academic merit and research potential.
In some cases, colleges will award scholarships based on academic merit, but the amount of the award will be based on financial need.
Developed in 2003, the awards are based on academic merit and encourage international Chinese students to achieve first-class results during their studies.
Awarded to two entering students based on academic merit, leadership experience, and an interest in and commitment to the field of law and technology.
Admission into the doctoral program in the Field of Computer Science is based purely on academic merit.
Indeed, the very nature of the crimes alleged by the government illustrates the ways in which college admissions are not based only on academic merit.
Some educators, parents and students worry that if admissions are based purely on academic merit, selective universities will be dominated by whites and Asians and admit few blacks and Latinos, as a result of socioeconomic factors and an enduring test-score gap.
She also earned a $38,000 scholarship based on academic, not athletic, merit.
Finally, Lowell — and his counterparts at Yale and Princeton — realized that if a definition of merit based on academic prowess was leading to the wrong kind of student, the solution was to change the definition of merit.
