<p>Something happened that I would like opinions on. Our D received merit scholarships from three schools. She eliminated one of those schools. Both of the schools she wants to attend are out of state and the degree she will pursue is specialized enough that only about thirty schools throughout the country are undergraduate accredited for this type of program. </p>
<p>School A gave her a fairly good merit scholarship for all four years. School B wrote to her in mid February and gave her approximately 1/3 of what School A gave her. School B also encouraged students to apply for other scholarships, which entailed a separate application process in order to be considered, which she did. Two weeks ago she received another letter from school B stating that she had been awarded a Deans list scholarship. In the letter there was NO mention that this scholarship was in lieu of the original amount; we thought that it meant the second scholarship was in addition to the first award. The total amount from school B still did not equal the amount as school A, but was significant enough that it made attending school B less of a financial burden. School B is also her first choice, due to location, ease of getting to and from, and type of students it attracts- so she was quite excited when she received what she thought to be a second scholarship as well.</p>
<p>Tonight, we were going to put a deposit down and accept admission to school B when I told D to go to the financial aid page and check the amounts in all categories. In the scholarship and grant category column, the first scholarship stated cancelled and the total amount was for the second scholarship only. She was shocked and upset to see this (as was I). There was no notification at all, except to read the word cancelled in the column and the second merit scholarship amount in the next. </p>
<p>Is it just me or is this weird and tacky? As I said, there was no indication anywhere in the second award letter that the second merit scholarship was in lieu of the first. It really makes me question this university now; if they do this, before she has even committed, what other surprises will there be in the future? </p>
<p>You may want to play one school off against the other, in trying to get more $$. This might work if they consider themselves peers.
If it was USC and she had to interview for the merit award, and was awarded a lower scholarship, there is not much you can do.</p>
<p>I think you should make a phone call first thing in the morning to verify the cancellation. (My fingers are crossed for you that it is simply a clerical error)</p>
<p>Have you looked on the school’s scholarship webpage to see if it says anywhere that students may only receive ONE scholarship or that scholarships are not “stackable” or some language like that?</p>
<p>Several years ago my son received a merit scholarship at a handful of private colleges. We went to admitted students day at his first choice and during the financial aid session, one of the counselors said to the group of parents and students that certain awards were not stackable. Clearly, his offer had those awards that were “non-stacking”.</p>
<p>I spoke up at the session realizing that this was probably a mistake. It was. He lost half the aid package. In hindsight, I could have kept quiet and they may not have noticed…that year. I can’t tell you how many parents came up to me afterwards and told me I was crazy.</p>
<p>I was afraid of year 2, 3 and 4, and realized that changed the equation. That aid package was undoable, with the proper changes made. I am glad we realized going into it then, as opposed to later on.</p>
<p>My S was awarded 4 scholarships from Marquette. It clearly states that some scholarships supercede others. It ended up that the scholarship he was originally awarded was taken away when he won another one. Another scholarship he received said it could be combined with original but total could not excede tuition. It can be confusing. I hope your spouse is able to verify everything (and get the original award back).</p>
<p>Total to not exceed tuition is very reasonable. This stackable notion without clear description in the award is underhanded IMO. Beware that some of these merit awards have a lot of conditions and strings attached (such as GPA requirements).</p>
<p>Definitely understand the GPA requirements. I know of one boy who is on the verge of having to leave a school because he under the 3.25 min GPA stipulated by his scholarship. He compounded the problem by placing out of calc 1 and 2. because of the 5 he got in AP calc BC. calc 3 (or whatever it is called) is very demanding.</p>
<p>Our family had one “sort of similar” situation. The school’s FA department was really hard to communicate with, so we wrote the experience off as “just one of those things.” That said, it would have been REALLY annoying had my D elected to attend the school. </p>
<p>If this is your D’s favorite school, I’d make sure I understood what the school’s FA commitments are for the next four years. JMHO of course.</p>