<p>Other than the rare "Full Ride Scholarhip," I don't see many instances where a student can earn a "Room & Board" scholarship. I see lots of set amounts for tuition: $5000, $10,000, 1/2, 3/4, etc," but never "free or reduced R&B." Does anyone have any experience with this? Usually all the outside scholarships are aimed at tuition as well. I know volunteering as a RA will usually get a break on R&B, but does anyone know of any other ways to cut down on the R&B bill? I do understand that the R&B portion of a "Full Ride" is taxed. Thanks.</p>
<p>Lukester, your observation matches my experience with my D last year.
She was able to reduce R&B by receiving multiple scholarships. If child has good statistics, they may qualify for multiple scholarships from the Univ. (if they allow you to stack) and then qualify for other outside scholarships that, when combined, may pay for tuition, books and then cut into R&B. However if you are able to get scholarships to cover tuition, count your blessings, most students don't even come close to this. Also the % tuition are better than the fixed amount because you are protected from tuition increases. Good Luck with scholarships.
It sounds like you on the right track looking at all cost. Because of pressure to keep tuition increases low, many univ. have increased R&B at a much greater rate than inflation because this cost usually is not as widely published. Our experience was that R&B varies widely between univ. ranging from $5.5K to $10k/yr. which can sway total cost of college significantly.</p>
<p>Remember also, that any "scholarships" that cover room and board are considered taxable income.</p>
<p>wfb, when you say, "She was able to reduce R&B by receiving multiple scholarships," was she able to apply a tuition scholarship towards R&B? We have a pre-paid tuition plan for our S. This plan is only allowed to pay for tuition. If it is not used, then we are reimbursed the initial payment plus a palsy interest rate. Therefore, it is to our advantage if the schools offer &B scholarships as opposed to tuition scholarships. Don't get me wrong, we would be thrilled at ANY merit aid coming our way. We feel very confident our S will land some decent merit aid at some of his safety and match schools. Trying to slay the R&B beast is a different story.</p>
<p>Lukester, every univ. is different so you have to ask very specific question on how merit aid is handled and interacts (I'd ask for specifics in writing, which is usually provided anyway). In her case, she received one univ. merit scholarship that covered tuition, up to 15 hour a semester, (this superseded another univ. scholarship for less $ that was originally offered) and another univ. endowed merit scholarship for $2500/yr that could be used with the tuition scholarship for any expense charge with the bursar (including books charged through the univ. bookstore). She also received $2500/yr in outside scholarships that could be used for any expense (tuition, fees, books and R&B). She is taking more than 15 hours a sem. but with extra tuition cost plus fees and books, she does have $ left over that is applied to R&B. When you get to this level of detail, you will be on a first name basis with the admissions officers and scholarship coordiators in Fin. Aid.
This goes a little off topic but may apply when S received merit offers. Most scholarships are for 1 year and then renew. Pay attention to the renewal requirements. D had similar scholarship offers from two univ., one renewal required 3.5 average and the other 3.0. D is studying engineering, a major know for difficulty achieving high GPA. She probably could have gotten the 3.5 but, for other reasons, selected the school with 3.0 renewal requirements. This helped take the pressure off when adjusting to college freshman year.</p>