Since the interaction between outside scholarships and financial aid varies for different colleges, how about making a list of different college policies?
Specify the order in which parts of the financial aid package are replaced. Use the following abbreviations for common terms (not all colleges include all of the following):
UN = unmet need
SL = student loan (federal direct loan)
SW = student work expectation or work study
SC = student contribution = SL + SW
IG = institutional grants (i.e. grants from the college)
PC = parent contribution expectation
Full “stacking” examples (IG is reduced last):
CMU: UN, SL, SW, PC, IG https://www.cmu.edu/sfs/financial-aid/types/scholarships-and-grants/outside.html
Maryland public universities: (UN + SC + PC), IG https://www.baltimoresun.com/education/bs-md-scholarship-displacement-20170704-story.html
St. Olaf: SL, SW, PC, IG https://wp.stolaf.edu/financialaid/outside-scholarships/
Better for the student than typical policy, but not full “stacking” examples:
Pomona: SW, 1/2 IG + 1/2 PC (after SW is replaced, half of outside scholarship reduces IG and half replaces PC) https://www.pomona.edu/financial-aid/policies/outside-scholarships-reporting
Some “stacking” (SC (+ UN if present) amount; unclear about whether IG or PC is reduced next after all of SC is replaced):
Claremont McKenna: SC, ? https://www.cmc.edu/financial-aid/frequently-asked-questions
Harvey Mudd: SC, ? https://www.hmc.edu/admission/afford/scholarships-and-grants/outside-scholarships/
Reed: SW, SL, ? https://www.reed.edu/financialaid/outside-scholarships.html
Typical limited “stacking” examples (limited to SC (+ UN if present) amount before reducing IG; PC is reduced last):
Columbia: SC, IG, PC https://cc-seas.financialaid.columbia.edu/content/outside-scholarships
Cornell: SC, IG, PC https://finaid.cornell.edu/types-aid/grants-and-scholarships/outside-scholarships
Hamilton: SW, SL, IG, PC https://www.hamilton.edu/admission/finaid/scholarships
MIT: SW, IG, PC https://sfs.mit.edu/undergraduate-students/types-of-aid/other-scholarships-grants/
NYU: UN, SL, SW, IG, PC https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/financial-aid-and-scholarships/scholarships-and-grants.html
Northeastern: UN, SC, IG, PC https://studentfinance.northeastern.edu/applying-for-aid/undergraduate/types-of-aid/scholarships/outside-scholarships/
Northwestern: SL, SW, IG, PC https://undergradaid.northwestern.edu/types-of-aid/scholarships-grants/outside-scholarships.html
Notre Dame: SC, IG, PC https://financialaid.nd.edu/prospective-students/funding/scholarship-grant-assistance/private-scholarships/
Rochester: SC, IG, PC https://enrollment.rochester.edu/financial-aid/outside-scholarships/
Stanford: SW, IG, PC https://financialaid.stanford.edu/aid/outside/index.html
UCB: SC, IG, PC https://financialaid.berkeley.edu/outside-scholarships
UCLA: SC, IG, PC https://www.financialaid.ucla.edu/FAQ-and-Links/Scholarships
UNC-CH: SC, IG, PC https://studentaid.unc.edu/current/what-aid-is-available/outside-scholarships/
WPI: UN, SW, SL, IG, PC https://www.wpi.edu/offices/bursar/scholarships
Worse for the student than typical policy examples (IG is reduced before all of UN + SC is replaced):
Macalester: first $500 to (SC + PC), 1/2 IG + 1/2 (SC + PC) https://www.macalester.edu/financialaid/policies/outsidescholarships-2/