Bausch and Lomb science award

[Yokennyr]

My D received this award last year in HS. We visited and LOVED UofR…and it’s now her first choice and ours too. She has applied. Is this award considered an outside scholarship? Because UofR applies outside scholarships to work study and loans first…then to need based aid, according to the website. We are just beginning to realize what a big difference this could make for us.

[WayOutWestMom]

The B&L high school award is not considered an outside scholarship since it’s awarded by UR and can only be used if your D attends UR. It can’t be used if she attends another school. Not even Eastman.

If an award winner is admitted to Rochester and receives a High School Award scholarship, can they use it at another college or at Rochester’s Eastman School of Music?
No. Award winners are considered for the appropriate merit scholarship if admitted to The College and would not be able to use the scholarship at another institution or Eastman.

**If a student receives this award, is it more likely they will be admitted to Rochester and receive a scholarship? **
The Office of Admissions values the selection of students for these awards and considers this honor along with the rest of a student’s application. However, it does not guarantee admission to Rochester or the receipt of a merit scholarship.

See: http://enrollment.rochester.edu/hsawards/#tab2

Basically the only guaranteed benefit your D will receive from her high school award is a waiver of her UR application fee.

All applicants at UR are considered for merit regardless of whether they have been high school award winners or not.

[WayOutWestMom]

At UR, merit awards are applied to need first. That is they replace UR-based grant aid first. Only after merit has replaced all institutional grants will merit start reducing loans or work study.

[Yokennyr]

Thank you WayOutWestMom. That was about what I was thinking. I do believe I read somewhere that at the U of R that outside scholarships would first be applied to work study…then loans…then need based air from the school. Do you know that to be true?

[WayOutWestMom]

How do scholarships that I receive from outside the University of Rochester affect my financial package?
The amount of the outside scholarships received will reduce the work-study and loan awards before reducing university need-based grants. The combination of outside awards and Rochester-packaged awards may not exceed a student’s institutional need or cost of attendance.

my emphasis

http://enrollment.rochester.edu/financial-aid/undergrads/#tab8

Note that like all private U’s UR uses its own private methodology for calculating institutional need. Institutional need is not the same as your EFC based upon FAFSA calculations.

[Yokennyr]

thank you.

[Daddio3]

If you run their net price calculator, they give you an opportunity to try a number of merit scholarship amounts and you can see what it does to the overall financial aid. My memory from two years ago is that about 70% of the merit came directly from the grants, and the other 30% came off work study and/or loans. But my experience was also that the offer we ultimately got was not as good ($2-3k worse) as the calculator with a VERY straightforward financial situation. Also, their travel amount was really low – barely enough to get my kid there and back once (implying he would not come home for Christmas). Still, the offer was solid compared to our other offers.