Stacking of Outside Scholarships

Since the college admissions process is now over, I’ve begun applying to scholarships in hopes of decreasing that high cost of attendance. However, I recently checked the Georgetown financial aid website (I’m planning on attending Georgetown), and it says, “The outside awards you report will be used to reduce or eliminate your loan or student employment before any adjustment in your need-based scholarship award will be made.” So basically…even if I manage to win an outside scholarship, it doesn’t change my cost of attendance, since they will just see it as lessening my financial need?

As I searched online I realized many schools do not allow outside scholarships to “stack” (this was a huge surprise for me), and I’m honestly kind of bummed…because although my parents can pay the expected family contribution Georgetown calculated, it still will be kind of a burden for my family, which I had hoped to lessen.

I’m just wondering, why don’t universities allow scholarships to stack? They determine “need” based on their own formula (Georgetown’s expected family contribution was much higher than what FAFSA calculated), and then if a family doesn’t agree with their calculations, and a student works hard to earn scholarships, they don’t really matter unless they exceed the aid already provided by the university?

I know it’s hard to win outside scholarships regardless, but this kind of de-motivates me since I highly doubt I’d get enough to exceed the aid they have already given me.

“'I’ve begun applying to scholarships in hopes of decreasing that high cost of attendance.”

It is far, far too late in the scholarship cycle. Sorry. The time to have been applying was the fall, and even then the chances of outside scholarships are very low.

Do you have any affordable options? Only your schools will be able to tell you if scholarships stack. Most schools will not allow it.

If Georgetown doesn’t stack scholarships…that’s it!

Some schools do…this one doesn’t.

And, correct, per that quote Georgetown does not allow stacking. They do allow you to take the loans out as the first FA piece that gets cut, though, so that’s somewhat nice.

In order for your EFC to be reduced, you would have to get outside scholarships that would essentially eliminate all of your need based aid.

The only thing the the FAFSA does is determine your eligibility for federal aid. As you know, Georgetown uses the CSS profile to get a fuller picture of your family’s finances in order to distribute their own institutional aid.

If Georgetown is going to be a financial hardship for your family, do you have an affordable option?

Reducing loans is HUGE!!! That may as well be stacked, as you never have to repay. In the long run, that’s a good thing.

I mean, OP will probably still have to take the Stafford loans towards their family contribution if it’s going to be a “burden”. So it’ll probably net even.

Many outside scholarships are one-time, small amounts of money. You need a 4- year plan for financing Georgetown

Your outside scholarships reduce your need based grants from Georgetown, and any subsidized loans and work study.

You can still take out unsubsidized loans, and get a non work study job to contribute to the costs.

You can also get a summer job.

Outside scholarships are usually smaller amounts and most often only for one year.

It is frustrating, but if you can find some outside scholarships, you’re replacing money you have to pay back with money you don’t. That’s worth something.

Thanks for all the responses. I think I misused the word “burden.” I just felt like ranting, I guess, and exaggerated my situation. My family is paying practically the same amount as what we’d have to pay to Georgetown for my sister and I to attend an international school in Shanghai (international schools here are very expensive). Since my mom and sister are going to move to California next year, and my sister will attend a public school, my family can pay the expected family contribution for Georgetown. Even so, I want to do something to help. If outside scholarships are not possible, perhaps I can work during the summer to reduce the loans.

Georgetown is the cheapest option after University of Washington. We used to live in California, but since I am going to school in Shanghai and not a resident anymore, I don’t count as a resident there anymore, and don’t qualify for in-state tuition.

@CourtneyThurston could you please stop discouraging students with universal statements. Yes there are private scholarship deadlines in the fall, but there are also still scholarships available that entering freshmen could apply to-Society of Women Engineers is due May 1, Great Minds in Stem is due April 30, Adelante is due June 5 and Hispanic Scholarship Fund due April 6 are just a few examples. Giving the impression to high school students that if they didn’t apply to private scholarships in the fall means they are out of the game is very discouraging and they might not make the effort to do the research to find private scholarships still accepting applications. I have helped students apply to a lot of private scholarships due from January to March and even later so that is another period when private scholarships are due. Locally in my area we have many scholarships still accepting applications through the summer. @ibananamonkey has clearly done his/her homework in terms of researching private scholarships because they said they have begun applying to private scholarships (so therefore they know of scholarships still open) and they also said they know “it’s hard to win outside scholarships.”

@ibananamonkey As others have advised you, it is still a good idea to apply to these scholarships for reduction in loans and work-study. You will graduate with less debt, plus you could get a non-work study job while in college which would give you additional funds. Good luck to you at Gtown.

All of those are, on average, small and one-time. It is a fact that the vast majority of outside scholarship opportunities have past, especially all of the full-ride/huge ones (which OP needs if he/she wants to dig into the family contribution).

At this point, you’re looking at a lot of effort in searching for very little, if any, reward.

The time [for which applying for outside scholarships actually made sense] HAS past.

Maybe throw an app or two out for local scholarships to knock out a loan, but nothing major can really be done at this point. If the school is unaffordable, you’ll have to pick a better option.

deleted to post more constructive thing below

Look. I’m gonna bow out after this post because I know we have fundamentally different ideas about what price tag is worth it and what’s not, and how to go about strategizing. Nothing is going to change that, and that’s fine.

While you’re right that there are a small number of scholarships still open, that number is NOTHING compared to the ~400 scholarships I have in spreadsheets for fall. I found and applied to maybe 5-10 scholarships in the spring in comparison. The opportunities, especially the very lucrative ones [with the exception of Buick*], dry up by the end of the fall semester. They really, really do.

“'I’ve begun applying to scholarships in hopes of decreasing that high cost of attendance.”

Students NEED to know that the time to do this in IN THE FALL. The spring is for book money and dorm supplies and maybe a loan replacement or two if you get really lucky. You AREN’T magically going to make your family contribution disappear in the Spring*, especially not when you’re in APRIL.

A school allowing you to use outside scholarships for loans and student employment is pretty huge. That can be up to around $8000 of money you had to borrow (and pay back) or earn that you wouldn’t have to.

If you can find scholarships still accepting apps now, great - they will help!

Try for scholarships, especially smaller local ones where you might have a niche. Our church does several small ones for active members and the requirements aren’t deadly for the reward. We have two scholarships in our sights for DS that aren’t due until the end of April. It all helps. I’ve been treating it like a job search – tell everyone that you are looking.