List of outside scholarship + financial aid policies ("stacking", "scholarship displacement")

Paying for College
1

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/

2

WVU: Allows full stacking.
(Sorry, I’m not clear on how the abbreviations would work, but here’s the link and the relevant info.
https://financialaid.wvu.edu/home/scholarships/faqs#stack
External scholarships can be used in addition to institutional scholarships as long as it doesn’t put the student over their cost of attendance or impact their eligibility for need-based aid. The institution will defer to whatever will provide the best financial aid available to the student while following regulatory requirements.

3

In the news story linked to in the first post, about Maryland schools, it says this about Pitt:
At the University of Pittsburgh, administrators have publicly denounced the practice. Randall McCready, the director of financial aid, said he will only displace scholarships when a student’s aid exceeds tuition.

“Promoting access and affordability is a priority at the University of Pittsburgh,” he said in a statement.

(I find the quote hilarious, considering Pitt’s COA. But still…)