<p>First, as some have implied, not absolutely every program adheres to the May 1st date convention.</p>
<p>Second, the awarding of scholarships comes from a variety of sources and is a generally a separate function from reply date conventions. There is nothing illegal, immoral, or shady about making money available to a student and assigning a deadline date to that offer which would expire prior to May 1st.</p>
<p>....Many schools do try to influence you to make an earlier decision, there is nothing wrong with that. Yes, the caveat is, as others have written, accepting the money in a timely fashion does not necessarily commit you to attending the school. </p>
<p>On the other hand some administrations do have use or lose it deadlines on awarding of scholarship money, and if it doesn't get claimed by a certain date, it goes away into some one else's pocket.</p>
<p>As others have pointed out communication with your program is the most effective way to get the best information on how to proceed.</p>