<p>I'm not really sure how this works. Say that I got a $10000 scholarship from an outside source and I want to apply it to a college that expects my family contribution to be $5000 and $1000 from me. I just now read that I can only apply my outside scholarships to summer savings and work program or something. So does this mean that outside scholarships cannot be applied to what my family has been deemed to contribute? Do most scholarship programs work like this though?</p>
<p>We had the same question, and contacted each of the colleges. Their policies varied from “We reduce your grant by the amount of the outside scholarship” to “We reduce your loans and workstudy first, and then reduce your grant” (this was the most frequent response we got) to “You can apply the first $6000 to your EFC, and then we reduce your grant.”</p>
<p>Each college sets their own rules, but most colleges follow a practice of letting you use outside scholarship money to offset the self-help portion of your financial aid package (your earnings and student loans) – but not the parental contribution part. So at a certain point (usually around $5-$7000), the outside scholarship simply results in a reduction of your college grant. Basically, in their view, if you have received $X from another source, then you no longer “need” that $X from them.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>All above is true…</p>
<p>Typically, the only time scholarships offset EFC is when they are so large that they exceed the FA package. For instance…Let’s say your COA is $30k, your EFC is $20k, and your FA package is $10k in loans…but your outside Scholarship is for $20k, at that point, the amount that your family would have to pay would drop to $10k.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what a college would do in the above scenario if the FA package was $10k in a grant (instead of a loan)? Would the school take back that grant? Or would they consider the grant a “gift” that has been awarded you, and then your $20k outside scholarship would cover EFC?</p>
<p>The OP’s question is a bit tricky as the policies vary by college. However, I do believe that in most cases, financial aid in total can NOT exceed the cost of attendance at the school. So…if you get a outside scholarship, typically schools will reduce other aid given to you. First they will reduce any loans, then they will reduce things like work study, then grants. </p>
<p>Remember that the cost of attendance includes things other than university billable costs (billable costs are things like tuition/room/board/fees). COA also includes travel, books and an allowance for personal expenses.</p>
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<p>I think that’s the case everywhere, thumper, or at least everywhere we looked. Otherwise, schools could actually end up paying students to attend, instead of covering costs which is what FA is intended for. It would be a nice problem to have, though.</p>