<p>I was just notified that I received a local scholarship for $1,000. A few thousand dollars is going to make a big difference for me so I am tickled pink but wondered if I should send this notice to the colleges that I applied to or should I wait until I receive an offer of admissions?</p>
<p>I originally thought I would send it in since I hoped it might help to increase my chances of being offered admissions to some of the reach or low match schools ? ? But since my EFC should qualify me for some need-based financial aid I wondered that if I sent it in now they might just reduce the amount of the FA package by the amount of this scholarship?</p>
<p>I know I have to notify them later about any outside scholarships but I am hoping these can be used to reduce my need for loans, work study, or out of pocket cost instead of simply taking away from any aid package the college might otherwise offer.</p>
<p>I would wait until you receive your FA award letters. Others may tell you different, but that is what I would do. Each college handles outside scholarships differently. Some will reduce their aid while others will reduce your loans. I would wait and see.</p>
<p>Milk and sugar is right in the advice to wait. Generally you only need to report the scholarship if it will be paid directly to the school. In that case it may affect your FA package. My D’s school will take an outside scholarship and use it first to cancel any student loans in the package. If the amount is more than the student loans, the scholarship will reduce her grant.</p>
<p>If the money is paid to you directly you can usually do what you want with it. Save it, use it toward tuition, use it for college expenses like books or buy a computer with it.</p>
<p>“Generally you only need to report the scholarship if it will be paid directly to the school.”</p>
<p>“If the money is paid to you directly you can usually do what you want with it.”</p>
<p>I am not trying to be argumentative, librarymom, so please don’t get offended. I just would really like to hear other perspectives about the accuracy of your understanding. Is this the way the colleges view our obligations to inform them?</p>
<p>Check your colleges website first to see if all scholarships are to be reported to the college depending on who it is made out to. My son’s college says ALL scholarships are to be reported. I think the people who give you the scholarship have to somehow report it to the IRS too.</p>
<p>I’m not offended, but you certainly don’t need to tell a college about a scholarship before you are even accepted, unless of course you feel the prestigiousness of the scholarship will boost your chances to be admitted. Not to offend you, but I think that would be presumptuous to assume they need to know about the scholarship before they have decided to admit you.</p>
<p>D1 and D2’s schools (both comptetitive) only want to know about scholarships being paid directly to them. Both have substantial FA awards. That’s my understanding. However as other posters have said, other schools may have different rules.</p>