<p>I have a question re outside scholarships.
If my D is receiving financial aid, and she has received an outside scholarship that is paid directly to her that states it can be used for "college related expenses", what is her obligation to report it to her college?
Is it enough that she uses it for some college expense (and there are many) other than tuition or room and board?
Also if she receives monetary gifts for graduation, do those also need to be reported?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Grad gifts will not have to be reported. That’s no different than a birthday or Christmas gift. An outside scholarship SHOULD be reported to the college. Most have a form you use to report the money. </p>
<p>If you’re gapped, chances are the scholarship will have no bearing on fin. aid. at all. If you have loans/ws, the money may used to reduce those. But some schools, like the one my d1 attends, do not adjust fin aid because of an outside scholarship UNLESS they are required to do so by fed fin aid regs. So, as long as the money, combined with the school’s fin aid, is not exceeding COA, you get to keep it. My own d has more than her need met, no loans, no ws, but she still gets to use her small church scholarship to pay toward our contribution. The school still asks that the amount of the outside scholarship be reported. What happens with outside scholarships should be in your fin aid guide from the school. If it’s not, call the fin aid office.</p>
<p>If it is used for anything other than tuition, books and fees (say, you use it for room and board) it will have to be reported to the IRS for 2102. It also needs to be reported on your FASFA for next year as income/contributions for this year.</p>
<p>Ask the school if it should be reported to them or not. With my D, for her freshman year, the outside scholarship changed her federal loans from sub to unsub. It did not reduce her workstudy or needs grant.</p>