<p>If I receive financial aid or merit scholarships from a school, will additional scholarships act as "bonus" money, or would the amount won simply be subtracted from what the school offers? I'm expecting to receive a certain amount of financial aid, so I wanted to know if it would be worth it for me to apply to small scholarships.</p>
<p>It depends on the school, each has their own policy about stacking scholarships and how they deal with outside scholarships.</p>
<p>OP, almost all schools will allow you to apply outside scholarships against loans and/or work study. So by all means, every little bit helps.</p>
<p>*OP, almost all schools will allow you to apply outside scholarships against loans and/or work study. So by all means, every little bit helps. *</p>
<p>True…but if the scholarships exceed those amounts, many schools will reduce grants as well.</p>
<p>so, if you have an EFC of $3k and you were given a 20k grant, a 5k loan, and $2k in work study and the school had a COA of $30k, but then you got $10k in scholarships, the school might wipe away the loan and work study, but also reduce the grant by $3k. EFC will probably not be reduced.</p>
<p>However, it’s always good to get rid of loans!! and work study if you can.</p>
<p>You need to ask the school what their policy is.</p>
<p>If you are on full financial aid that is comprised solely of grants, it is highly unlikely that they won’t be reduced by outside scholarships. You got the money because you NEEDED it. When you get outside money and don’t NEED that aid anymore, it goes back to the school to be used for others who still need it. You did not earn that money, it is given for NEED. </p>
<p>So, if you have a generous financial aid package, it might not be the best use of your time to apply to outside scholarships since those amounts will likely reduce the need grants in your package. Check directly with your school as to how they specifically handle these things first since different schools can do things in different ways.</p>
<p>Ask your schools. I was as surprised as heck to learn all three of the schools my d1 was considering would allow her to keep her outside scholarships without impact on financial aid. And i asked specifically because the tuition benefit received covers full need. Now, we’re not talking about huge amounts ($300 here, $500 there), but still . . .</p>
<p>I think a lot of people don’t understand the term “need” as used in financial aid.
Cost of Attendance (COA) - Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) = Need</p>
<p>I think some people assume that their EFC is part of “need”.</p>