Scholarship check made out to me - what should I do with it?

Paying for College
1

I received my scholarship check today for 1500. My fall semester has already been covered by financial aid, grants, another outside scholarship, and about 2700 from my own pocket (no loans). My outside scholarship is only for one semester, however, and I am looking at about 5500 to pay for the spring 2016 semester (I’m planning to take out about 2750 in loans).

Am I allowed to reserve my scholarship check for the sping semester? The check is written out to me, not my university. I’ve already emailed them about it but have not received a reply yet. I’m just worried they’ll lower my aid because I’ve already covered my fall semester. :frowning: I really don’t want this to happen because I’m trying to pay for college myself and I still have the next 3 years to finance. My scholarships are just one-time - I don’t want them to adjust my financial aid for all four years! Can anyone advise me on what to do in this situation. Thanks so much

2

just deposit it and use it to help pay Spring semester costs.

3

Make sure you report it to your school. It does not matter if the check is sent to you or to the school directly. It may be fine to save it for the next semester but it may be better to pay for the next semester by the end of the year to avoid tax issue. Note that your financial aid may be adjusted because of that depending on your school’s policy.

4

Yes, ask if it can be applied to spring semester. When you are at school you can stop at bursar’s office and sign chevk over to university.

Hopefully your aid for fall won’t be reduced since you paid $2700 out of pocket.

5

^ It does not matter if you have paid part of the cost out of pocket if that is part of the EFC. What they check is if your need has been reduced. Usually, they will reduce the loan first.