<p>I know I've seen these threads and I apologize for the repeat, but it's a difficult topic to "search".</p>
<p>D has received a few outside scholarships - one $2000, one $1500 and a couple $1000 - the biggest two will be sent directly to the school so I know they will adjust her fin aid (though I hope it doesn't affect grants/loans much- she's attending a private school so even with merit aid we have a good size portion to pay...)</p>
<p>The smaller scholarships ($1000 and under) were just given to her in hand as a check. How reasonable is it (can you tell I want to be honest, but not harm ourselves?) for us to not report these to the school - since they are not written to the school and are in our hands it seems more of a "gift" per say.</p>
<p>Please share your advice/experience in handling these type of scholarships.</p>
<p>I would think it might have to do with if they are called "scholarships" & I don't know for sure, but I think you will have to show it somewhere, like income on the FAFSA if not a scholarship. I have won some essay contetsts and consider the $ prizes because they didn't call them scholarships and the $ came to me, but I did count it in my savings for my FAFSA. Would be interested to see what others say.</p>
<p>i rec'd a few in my name and will not be reporting it to the school. if you are receiving any need-based financial aid from the school, then you will probably need to report it. but if it's merit-based, then i think not (i got merit based).</p>
<p>I actually asked my financial aid officer at my school this question the other day. She said that if the check is made out to the school it must be reported as a scholarship. If the check is written to the student and is not used for educational purposes, it does not need to be reported. However, if the check is made out to the student and is used for educational purposes, it must be reported as a scholarship, regardless of whether it is titled a scholarship by the organization or not. As dt123 said, check with your institution for their policy. You can always call and ask hypothetically. </p>
<p>Personally, I had this situation and reported all my scholarships except two small $50 awards written to me. I ended up using them for something other than educational expenses, so I didn't report them.</p>
<p>I have what might seem a silly question but here goes.....
If my D receives a sizable financial aid offer from a private college (say $15,000) and I must report any additional outside scholarships she receives which will then likely be deducted from her FA offer, why even try for any additional awards unless you could get enough to go over the original $15,000?</p>
<p>Depends what form the financial aid offer is. My daughters includes loans and WS. She has received a couple of additional scholarships and we are happy to see the loans reduced.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I actually asked my financial aid officer at my school this question the other day. She said that if the check is made out to the school it must be reported as a scholarship. If the check is written to the student and is not used for educational purposes, it does not need to be reported.
[/quote]
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<p>It eventually will get reported as income because the people who gave you the scholarship will report it to the IRS and you will be required to report it in your FA next year (so you never really "get away" with not reporting it).</p>
<p>Sybbie, that's what I was looking for. I figured we would have to record/report the outside scholarships at some point, some place. So I guess it would be a good idea for me to make a copy of the checks before we cash/deposit them into the bank.</p>
<p>So...at the end of this year.. how do we report both:
-scholarships sent directly to the school
-- scholarships given to D and cashed/deposited into her account.<br>
On taxes???
On FA forms?</p>
<p>As you can see, I need things plain and simple, in writing, to remember!!!</p>