<p>Do outside, private scholarships contribute to bring down the EFC?</p>
<p>or...</p>
<p>do these types of scholarships have a certain effect on the finaid package first, before lowering the EFC?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Do outside, private scholarships contribute to bring down the EFC?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>no. first they reduce the self help portion of your financial aid package (work study, student loans).. Then they reduce the amount of grant aid that you receive from the school. Your outside scholarship would essentially have to wipe out your whole financial aid package before lowering your EFC.</p>
<p>So... don't even bother applying to scholarships?</p>
<p>no... it means do the amount that covers the loans/workstudies.</p>
<p>is it possible for the exceeding amounts to cover following years' costs?</p>
<p>Usually not. Daughter has had overages and they would not allow her to carry over, so, she had to decline some portions of some scholarships. It seems that colleges work with specific years, and the reason you cannot carry over is that you can only receive funds for the year you're actually enrolled. She has recieved a few refund checks, although they were for small overages - less than $1,000 each time.</p>
<p>Just in case, though, check with your specific school - there may be some reason why you might be able to carry over excess funds.</p>