Is this free ride need based or merit based?
Does the college allow stacking of aid?
Yes, you can use some scholarships for room and board, and other college expenses beside tuition…but if these expenses are not qualified educational expenses…those scholarships will be considered taxable income for the student…so plan accordingly.
I am referring to merit based full tuition/free ride situation. When applying for scholarships, it is made known ahead of time what they can be applied to?
The schools will use their scholarships for billable costs…UNLESS your kid gets a scholarship that specifically states that it can be used for tuition only.
If you have a question…you can contact the college directly. There is some variation so that really would be the best way to get an accurate answer.
My D had full tuition merit from her college, but applied to a few local scholarships for her major.
She was awarded around $2,000 and the college applied them to her bill, half for each semester.
Since she had free tuition, and we wanted to claim the AOTC for her books and fees, she reported the local scholarships as taxable income on her tax return (since they paid for room and board).
Her local scholarships had no restrictions on usage.
For a full ride? No. There’s no point. Full tuition? Yes. If the award is merit based, apply for more that can be put toward room/board with the understanding that the amount will be taxable. Also, check college policy about how outside money is applied.
Just curious, if a students gets offered free tuition or a full ride (and they expect to accept that school) is there any reason to apply for outside scholarships? I do not know much about how outside scholarships work and I understand they probably have differing rules but would some be able to be applied to room and board or extra expenses, etc. instead of tuition? Is there a way to know in advance exactly what they can be applied towards so they do not go unused or take away from another student? Are some scholarships just awarded to child to use as they wish?
Note that it is a conditional guarantee, requiring a 3.5 college GPA (overall and in pre-med courses), 505 MCAT score, and the usual pre-med extracurriculars.
https://honors.vcu.edu/admissions/guaranteed-admission-programs/gmed-requirements/
My son had a choice of a full ride at UAH (National Merit Finalist) or basically next to no money given, to go to Purdue. We left the choice up to him and told him to go where he wanted to go. He picked UAH. Plans to study Aerospace Engineering.
Look at the published Cost of Attendance (COA) for the relevant school. COA typically includes tuition, fees, average room and board plus an allowance for personal expense, travel, etc. Once the COA is covered (whether need or merit award), any additional outside scholarships won’t net you anything. The school is going to reduce any institutional aid by the overage.
This is what ordinarylives means. True full ride covers the full COA. Full tuition doesn’t. Typically there would be at least $10k, probably at least $15k, shortfall between the COA and the tuition scholarship. So outside scholarships can often be stacked (not always, check school over award policy) in this situation.
We were in a similar situation and our son is at UCF with a full ride and very happy. He is premed, so no debt until med school now. He seems to love it down there…considering we’ve had a rough winter here in New Hampshire.
@FrozenMaineMom, has your daughter made a decision?
^OP’s daughter is still a junior. It seems to me premature to contemplate a choice between UCF and Yale/Harvard at this point.
Oops been a while since I read the original post.
I am in a similar situation. I was a single mom for 8 years making @35k. I recently remarried and now won’t qualify for as much if any aid. There are many reasons why we might not have any savings for college and for me it was years of being a single mom and living paycheck to paycheck. I am searching for affordable schools that also offer a ton of merit based scholarships in the South. She is my “brainy” child and longs to be in an environment with like minded people. Not sure we can afford those types of schools. She loves GAtech but wants to major in biology and minor in English and they don’t have an English program. So we shall see. We are also looking at UGA honors but we are searching for other schools to visit.
Different choices for different families. Each family’s situation is different. Also, even assuming your family can afford a prestigious private college on full pay, it does not mean the family should do it. I was seriously requesting my kid to consider attending Univ of South Carolina Honors College on merit scholarship instead of attending Stanford as a full pay. I met plenty of smart people from state public schools and I met dummies from Ivies, so it’s really up to you.
@randomsoulshine would Emory work? They do meet full need and have the programs you are looking for.
We are going to check out Emory and I am at this moment watching videos of their Oxford College option. In the end it will come down to money. Thank you!
This is an old thread but a relevant issue. D was offered a full ride merit at a small oos school, a partial athletic at an in state flagship and she chose the full ride. She liked the fit and had plans to attend law school. She was able to participate in a sport, excel in the honors college, be a research assistant and get good grades. Six years later, she is entering her last year of law school. And because we didn’t pay for undergrad, we’ve been able to help her.