Outside Scholarship Policies

Paying for College
1

<p>I'm in a unique situation. My family doesn't have a lot of need, and I'll be earning a full tuition merit scholarship to a school; however, there will still be approximately $13,000 remaining in room and board per year. I have been fortunate to receive some significant outside scholarships that can pay for all remaining costs for the next four years. Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that many schools will take these scholarships from me and use them to reduce the merit scholarships that they awarded to me. Will this be the case, and if so, is there any possible way to get around this policy? It's very frustrating that I've worked so hard to earn these scholarships when they won't even benefit my family. </p>

<p>I appreciate any responses from those who are well-versed in complicated financial aid policies.</p>

2

<p>You need to contact the school to see how they will handle this. From what I’ve read it is usually NEED BASED aid that would be decremented, NOT merit based aid. But check with your school for an accurate answer.</p>

3

<p>Schools that reduce need-based aid due to outside scholarships do so because of federal guidelines. A school which receives Title IV funding from the government cannot award aid in excess of a student’s determined need. Therefore, if the school has offered a student federal need-based aid (Pell, Perkins, SEOG, Stafford), it is required by law to reduce the amount of aid given (due to outside scholarships), on a dollar-for-dollar amount, so there is not an “overaward” (in which amount of need-based aid is greater than the published cost of attendance). </p>

<p>This comes into play only if a school is awarding Title IV funding. If you are receiving only merit-based aid from a school, they do not have to follow these guidelines and could, if they wanted to, allow you to use scholarships in excess of the cost of attendance (COA). Whether they will actually allow it, of course, is up to the school, so you should check with your school. But it is not mandated by federal guidelines, as with need-based aid.</p>

4

<p>Unfortunately, it has come to my attention that many schools will take these scholarships from me and use them to reduce the merit scholarships that they awarded to me. Will this be the case</p>

<p>Who told you that? Which schools are you talking about? Few schools will reduce MERIT scholarships because you received outside scholarships.</p>

<p>The only schools I know that will do this are the few that have policies that no student can have merit that exceeds tuition, but not many do this.</p>

<p>You might be confusing the rules for need-based aid, with the rules for merit-based aid. There are schools that will reduce NEED based aid if you get scholarships.</p>

5

<p>*I just finished up all of my standardized testing, so here are my stats:</p>

<p>2310 SAT (800 CR 780 M 730 W)
800 Math II; 800 Bio M; 790 Chemistry
4.0 uw gpa
National leadership position, many strong extracurriculars
Plenty of hours volunteering
Unfortunately, no research experience (my area lacks opportunities)
Probably decent essays and recs</p>

<p>I’m definitely going premed with hopes of going into surgery. I’m looking to enroll in a BA/MD program, and if I’m not accepted, I’m looking to get a large merit scholarship to minimize debt. Here’s my list so far (* indicates app to guaranteed program):</p>

<p>UAB*
UPitt*
Case Western*
Northeastern
BU*
Miami*
Wake Forest
Vanderbilt
Brown*</p>

<p>Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated, as my family is new to the college application process and I’m not sure if I’m considering all possibilities.*</p>

<p>Of the schools that give merit awards on your list, I don’t see any that would reduce your merit awards because of outside scholarships…what schools are you talking about and WHO told you this (other high school kids???).</p>

<p>it looks like you’re a rising senior in high school, so what scholarship awards have you already won?</p>

<p>As you know, you won’t get merit from Brown, and you may not get much from Vandy other than a NMF award of about $5k per year. </p>

<p>Since the BS/MD programs are very difficult to get accepted to, be sure to also apply to some schools that will give you full tuition or more for your stats. </p>

<p>With your ability to score well, getting into a BS/MD school might be nice, but isn’t necessary. You’d likely get accepted to a good med school no matter where you went to undergrad. Besides, you’d be OOS for at least UAB and/or UPitt.</p>

6

<p>Thank you for the responses; I’ve actually sent an email to the financial aid office to figure out the policy. The university that I was referring to is actually Northeastern. This is an excerpt from their financial aid website:</p>

<p>“You must report all private sources of student financial aid to the Northeastern University Office of Student Financial Services in writing. Outside awards are considered part of your aid package, and in most cases will be applied first to unmet financial need, then to replace loans and/or work-study, and if necessary, to reduce institutional grants and/or scholarships.”</p>

<p>Since I will not have unmet financial need, loans, work-study, or grants, I interpreted the policy to mean that they will reduce their merit award. I’ve been warned by peers that colleges do not allow outside scholarships to reduce a family’s EFC (however, they received need-based aid, so their situations are probably different). I’ve received a significant scholarship geared towards rural, underprivileged students, so that’s where I’ve earned most of the money. Does that clear things up a bit?</p>

7

<p>I’ve been warned by peers that colleges do not allow outside scholarships to reduce a family’s EFC (however they received need based aid…)</p>

<p>That’s a different situation. Colleges usually do not allow outside OR inside scholarships to reduce EFC when need-based aid is meeting need. Typically need-based aid is reduced first.</p>

<p>I think what NEU is saying is that if you receive a full tuition scholarship from them, and then you receive outside scholarships that cover MORE than room, board, books, etc, then the difference will reduce THEIR scholarship. They don’t want the sum of all merit to exceed COA (if some of the merit is THEIRS)…so they’ll reduce theirs if needed. However, if you were to receive 100%+ of COA in outside scholarships, they couldn’t reduce any of that. They’d be stealing…lol</p>

<p>however, they received need-based aid, so their situations are probably different). I’ve received a significant scholarship geared towards rural, underprivileged students</p>

<p>??? Your family doesn’t have a lot of need, so how are YOU underprivileged?</p>