<p>Are you allowed to use your scholarship money (let's say you get a $4,000 per year scholarship from Bank of America) toward paying your room & board?</p>
<p>My mom said her co-worker's daughter wasn't allowed to do that with her Bank of America scholarship, but I don't think this is true?</p>
<p>Any feedback would be great.</p>
<p>It depends on the awarding body. Most usually have no stipulations.</p>
<p>Depends. The awarding body may have restrictions, and, if not restricted, colleges tend to apply awards first to tuition/fees and then to room and board if amount is greater than tuition/fees and if it is a one-year or annual scholarship, they may split it into two semesters.</p>
<p>The scholarship is called the Joe Biden Scholarship and is offered by Bank of America because my mother is an employee. I had to submit a long essay, a resume, fill out financial aid surveys, send my FAFSA/CSS and fill out a bunch of stuff.</p>
<p>On Bowdoin’s website it says:</p>
<p>“Bowdoin does not classify employer-funded tuition benefits as student merit scholarships and does not permit these benefits to replace calculated “family contribution” for financial aid purposes.”</p>
<p>What does this mean? Can I still use the scholarship to buy books, pencils, etc. If the check from Bank of America is addressed to Bowdoin College will I not be able to use it because Bowdoin will just reject it?</p>
<p>Why don’t they allow the use of this money? I don’t get it. It’s just money to pay for school fees.</p>
<p>Your sticking point is whether or not it was actually a competitively awarded scholarship or as Bowdoin may wonder if it’s just an “employer-funded tuition benefit”. Some compensation packages include things such as this. </p>
<p>You should have your mom speak with her HR department. If indeed it’s a merit scholarship, she will need to get documentation BoA HR and then argue w/Bowdoin FA. Frankly, it’s worth the fight. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>“…employer-funded tuition benefits…”</p>
<p>This is not a merit-based scholarship. For example, I work at “The Company,” and one of my benefits is $10,000 per year for my child’s tuition (regardless of college, child’s stats, etc.). It is not competitively awarded; my child gets it because I work at “The Company.”</p>
<p>Your award sounds like something different. At DD’s school, her National Merit company award always arrives after we have paid the bill. The college just sends her a check.</p>
<p>There also seems to be the issue of what the family’s EFC is for the school.</p>
<p>Light…How much did the school say your family is supposed to pay?</p>
<p>What other aid did you get from your school?</p>
<p>Hmmm… I think you have a problem but I don’t think it lies in the phrase above. This does not sound like an employer-funded tuition benefit. If it <em>is</em> one, your school has clearly stated that they will not use to reduce EFC. That means that if you’re getting financial aid, the school will give you the award and decrease their aid by the same amount. </p>
<p>But you have a problem even if this is not an employer-funded tuition benefit (which it doesn’t sound like it is). When one of my kids applied to Bowdoin a few years, back, it met full need without loans. If it still does that, you are likely to face the same problem. Schools that meet full need will award you your scholarship but will decrease the amount they give you. Why? Well basically because they won’t let you off the hook for your EFC. If you have a 0 EFC, they’ll still decrease their aid because federal rules prohibit them from awarding more than the cost of attendance. </p>
<p>The one exception I know of is if you receive no aid from Bowdoin or less aid than the scholarship. In that case, it is likely that you will get benefit from the scholarship.</p>
<p>What I’d expect is that Bowdoin would use the scholarship to first reduce loans (if there are any in your FA award), then workstudy and then, possibly, the student summer earnings contribution.</p>
<p>This doesn’t have to do with room & board versus tuition – those are both part of your cost of attendance. The only reason it could is if the scholarship provider has that provision, in which case Bowdoin could apply it there and shift their own institutional aid over to room & board. </p>
<p>It’s more about the college’s policy towards outside scholarships. It is typical for schools to not reduce the family’s expected contribution with outside scholarships. They usually apply them to loans, workstudy, and then (some Profile schools, but not all) apply them the student summer earnings piece.</p>
<p>If the scholarship is large enough that it’s in excess of those things, then it will replace institutional aid that the school is giving from its own funds. I don’t honestly understand why people have a problem with this. The school grants institutional aid to meet need. If the need is reduced by the scholarship award, then why should the school be handing out more of its own money in excess of the determined need?</p>
<p>I’m not saying the OP is arguing that they should, just making a general observation.</p>