Community Scholarships

My daughter has a merit scholarship to the university that she’ll be attending in the fall. Is she required to report this scholarship to her school? She’s planning on using the scholarship to pay for a laptop that she’ll need for school. The merit scholarship only pays for some of her school tuition and dorm. Will they lower her merit scholarship?

The school’s policies on reporting outside scholarships can probably be found on the school’s financial aid web page. If it’s not there, call the financial and office and ask. Every school sets it’s own policies, so without knowing the school, it’s impossible to give you the definitive answer you seek. (Although in my experience it would be unusual if there is no requirement to report an outside scholarship.)

In my experience a true merit scholarship that is not based on financial need does not change when you receive outside scholarships. I.E. my DD’19 received a certain amount based on her GPA and ACT per the school’s chart- there was no qualifier as to her financial or outside scholarship status. Your school may be different though?

If she is receiving ANY federal aid (and maybe school or state aid too if based on FAFSA) she must report any scholarships. It probably won’t change any aid she’s receiving but she has to report it and let them figure it out.