<p>Hi, I'm from Maryland and I'm looking into colleges within the state. I'm a Senior this fall in high school. I want to apply for dormitory expense scholarships. Where should I start? Thanks!</p>
<p>I don’t know of any scholarships that just cover dorm costs. The majority of aid is provided by the school you attend or the federal gov’t. You can borrow $5.5K in a direct loan from the feds. Then you have to look to the school to see what they have. In reality you should be able to earn some $ over the summer to help fund the dorm.</p>
<p>I dont want federal loans; I’m looking for better alternatives.</p>
<p>I heard that there was some aid in Maryland state that covers at least partial dorm costs for in-state colleges. Any ideas of what this aid might be called?</p>
<p>UMBC has some pretty good scholarship money through its Meyerhof and other scholarships. The Banneker Key at College Park is even more competitive. </p>
<p>Your guidance counselor has to recommend you for the Meyerhof.</p>
<p>If I am not mistaken, dorm costs are not considered “approved educational expenses” by the government. So, that means if you had a scholarship that was applied toward room and or board (food), you would have to pay tax on that amount covered.</p>
<p>FWIW, nobody WANTS any sort of loans, whether they are government or not. However, what we WANT and the way things usually work, are two different things. Even if you get outstanding aid, unless it is from one of the very few schools that does not package loans as part of financial aid, you can expect to at least have some sort of loan as part of your fin. aid package.</p>