<p>Has anyone had experience or know how GW credits outside scholarships?
Reading other threads it seems schools don't handle outside scholarship the same way.</p>
<p>See <a href=“https://financialaid.gwu.edu/sites/financialaid.gwu.edu/files/downloads/RESC_1415.pdf[quote]”>https://financialaid.gwu.edu/sites/financialaid.gwu.edu/files/downloads/RESC_1415.pdf
</p>
<p>GW does not seem to be that specific about how they allocate outside scholarships. Here is often what the problem is with schools like GW. GW does not meet full need for those students who have need, even by its own institutional calculation. It meets less than 60% of need on average. In cases like this, unless the school financial aid award specifically tells the student what the instutional expected contribution is from the family, there is now way of telling. One knows FAFSA EFC as the SAR will report it to you. But all a student often gets from a school is what the school is giving, not what the school would be giving if it were meeting need under its own definition. If GW does make this clear, then it makes it easy in that outside scholarships will be applied towards unmet need by GW defintion first, unless , the FAFSA unmet need is smaller, in which case, federal laws come into play (rarely happens). </p>
<p>The problem is that awards are usually in the form of self help and grants. Schools often will say that any outside awards (after unmet need is met) will then replace the workstudy and loans,starting with the unsubsidiized loans if they are included as part of the aid package. GW does not say that. So the school could take those outside awards and reduce the need first, reconfigure the package leaving self help in there or just reduce the grants first. That’s how vague the wording is. </p>
<p>You have to call the fin aid officer and ask the person to spell out exactly how outside awards will reduce the GW award unless the policy as shown by 4kidsdad is expanded upon on their site or their info so you can see the integration works. </p>