<p>My eldest son will start his freshman year of college in the fall. I work at a different college in administration and will recieve some money toward his tuition(it is a very nice perk) from my employer. I was told that I hand my employer the college bill and they will "coordinate" aid. If the college he goes to gives him any aid, it will be subtracted from the tuition benefit. For example, if my employer plans to give up to $10,000 in tuition and my son is awarded a $7,000 scholarship, my employer will only give $3,000. For most of the expensive private schools, that still leaves alot of expense.<br>
Where does that leave him with applying for scholarships from organizations other than his college? Should he not bother? Is there a way to apply any aid he gets to his room and board so as not to compromise his tuition benefit from my employer? My employer will only see the college bill..does every bit of aid show up on there?
Thank-you</p>
<p>My dh is on staff at a small private college that offers full tuition benefits. The college exchanges these benefits with 600+ other colleges through an outside organization. In our case no money actually changes hands between the colleges; it's more a barter situation where each college must keep the number of imports and exports in the program in balance over a period of time.</p>
<p>The schools that admitted my son and offered him the tuition benefit specified that any merit awards, as well as any Federal or state aid grants, would be stacked inside the tuition benefit, so that the total grant aid was never greater than full tuition. </p>
<p>Private scholarships from outside organizations, however, could be applied to room/board/fees. Also, several of the schools allow departmental scholarships to be used beyond the amount of full tuition. One school would apply ds's music $ to private lesson fees, another would use the music $ toward room/board.</p>
<p>You'd need to ask your employer about the use of private scholarship grants for your remaining expenses.</p>
<p>My dd's college bills always listed all applicable grants and tuition benefits on her bill, with the remaining balance to be paid listed at the bottom.</p>
<p>I would not count on having no communication at all between your employer and your son's school as far as the amount of scholarship aid available that might reduce your benefit.</p>
<p>I think that it is clear that anything that the college gives your your son will be coordiated with your tuition plan. As for outside scholarships, it really depends on how they are applied. Some may send you a check outright, and it is your responsibility to report this money. Others will be made out to the student and the college to be sent to the college once endorsed by the student. Also, some just send a form and award certificate to the student; the student completes the form with college info and the check is directly sent to the college. You need to talk with other employees who have had college aged kids using this benefit to find out what they have done. Do keep in mind that any room and board scholarships are supposed to reported for taxes.</p>