D has been accepted to terrific university with merit scholarship. The letter with the scholarship amount says that it is renewable for four years, as long as she “makes satisfactory progress toward her degree.”
We also were offered a PLUS Loan, but we have decided to decline it, as we can pay that amount from the fund we had set aside for it.
Someone told us that if you don’t accept the PLUS Loan, the college will think that you have more money and so will reduce the scholarship in the second year because of that.
Can anyone speak to this? If D keeps up her grades and does what she is meant to do, is there likely to be any problem with renewing the amount offered this year?
Thanks in advance!
Satisfactory progress towards a degree usually means that she maintain a minimum GPA, which should be stated, and does not take a year off, for example. The letter should be specific about this.
I have never heard of declining a loan affecting merit aid in the future. Institutional need based grants may be unlikely in the futurethough should you seek them out.
Absolutely not! Who told you that!
Furthermore…it sounds like the merit award is a typical 4 year award that is continued each year as long as the minimum GPA (and maybe minimum credits) is fulfilled. Schools do NOT reduce merit awards based on Plus loans…either taken or not taken.
A school can’t conclude that you have more money just because you didn’t take the Plus loan. Maybe you took a private loan or HELOC or ? …not taking Plus tells them nothing.
As an aside (nothing to do with Plus), is this merit award based on “need” at all? What did the award say? (again, this still wouldn’t have anything to do with Plus).