Yeah, the way I look at it one should never feel bad about applying for a scholarship. If the scholarship committee wants to give it to someone that is less likely to have other scholarships then that is their prerogative, of course, but it isn’t the applicant’s responsibility to take themselves out of the running. Also, even though my kiddo is planning on going to a full-ride NSMF university, that isn’t a 100% at this point. If he ends up somewhere else then additional smaller scholarships will help. He also is planning on grad or med school, so anything beyond his undergrad degree will definitely be helpful further down the line.
Some families are kinder than others, if they know their path and have some guarantees then they don’t apply just to boast about the million dollar they were collectively offered from 30 schools and 15 outside scholarship programs. If they get something they are not going to use then they decline the offer ASAP so someone else can get off the waitlist before opportunity is no longer useful.
@FrozenMaineMom , I think there’s some language in the FL Benacquisto law which restricts FL universities from awarding additional scholarships to NMFs over the cost of attendance. Nevertheless, it seems to have been left to the individual schools to administer. UF won’t award anymore. FSU allows my son to keep one of the university scholarships he was awarded (but not another) and his small department sponsored scholarship. Funds remaining after payment of tuition and room are directly deposited into his checking account, leaving him about $3,000 a semester extra after payment of full meal plan and books. He uses some for spending money so he does not have to get a job and can concentrate on his studies, and saves the rest for summer study or grad school.