Hi, does anyone know if Ohio State deducts merit scholarships given if I receive any private scholarships or sources of aid? Thanks in advance!
In most cases they would not reduce the financial aid package because of outside scholarships - the exception being if those outside scholarships and the aid package they provide together are greater than the cost of attendance.
https://sfa.osu.edu/current-student/about-aid/types-of-aid/scholarships “Federal regulations require that external scholarships be considered part of a student’s overall financial aid package, which cannot exceed the cost of attendance. Once a payment from an external scholarship is applied, your financial aid package may be revised to include the amount of the scholarship.”
So, if you have a full ride (tuition, fees, room, board, book etc) already or somehow managed to get more than the cost of attendance you can’t cash the excess part of it out for extra income beyond cost of attendance. If your financial need was completely met, but part of that was loans, it’s usually the loan amounts that are reduced by outside scholarships.
My daughter has been able to keep all of her outside scholarship money as there was always a portion of undergraduate tuition and fees we had to cover, either with cash or loans.
My son has tuition waiver from OSU and an external scholarship which gets deposited to OSU in Fall. In his first year when had to stay in OSU housing, the external scholarship covered part of room and board in Fall. Then from second year onwards, there is some leftover excess amount in Fall after paying fees, etc. which OSU promptly refunds to my son’s bank account. My son uses it for 2-3 months on apartment rental etc.
Here’s the Cost of Attendance figures for undergraduates https://sfa.osu.edu/current-student/about-aid/financial-aid-eligibility
Yes, if the student lives off campus and the COA includes an amount for housing off campus, and the scholarships and aid exceed the amounts billed by the university, there might be a possibility for a refund, which then can be used for off campus rent.
Don’t forget, any scholarships or grants that exceed tuition, fees and books, are taxable income to the student.