How are external scholarships handled? If I was awarded an outside scholarship and given a check made payable to the school, do I need to mail it to them or do I wait until I begin school?
You can bring it to the school when you go to Bama Bound. When are you going?
@mom2collegekids I’m going May 28th/29th. I’ll do that then. Thanks!
However, one of the scholarships won’t have the check made until I let them see my class schedule, which I assume I won’t be able to receive until bama bound. Should I just wait till the school year behinds for that one?
sure, you can do that for that one.
If you are receiving any financial aid you should mail the other check to them as soon as you receive it. My d walked one check in when she got to campus. Her work study was cut after she had found a job. If she had sent it in earlier, we would have known the final package beforehand.
@“Yankee Belle” is there a chance of an outside scholarship reducing the amount of the stafford loan?
@tobester - You should ask your question about the Stafford loan over in the Financial Aid forum. Really, that’s where the experts are.
Also, if you owe money for first semester, you’ll need to get it paid by the August deadline (unless you make special arrangements with Student Accounts), so it’s better to mail it rather than wait. Be aware that all outside scholarship checks will automatically be divided in half, with the first half applied to first semester and the second half held for second semester. If you want the entire thing applied to first semester, attach a note to the check telling them that.
@tobester - Sorry, it took me a moment to figure this out. Outside scholarships will not impact your Stafford loan eligibility. Your loan for 2015-16 is based on your 2014 income . . . so you could win the lottery this year and you’d still be eligible.
It also would not result in work study being cut, unless the student elected to have the scholarship funds replace the work study funds. At a private college that meets full need, outside scholarships usually result in a dollar-for-dollar reduction of institutional grant monies - unless you elect to apply the outside scholarship to work study or loans, but that’s up to the student to decide.