External scholarship benefits at Rice

MSmom&dad · 02-09-2009, 02:53 PM

Our D is EA Rice and she'll be there in the fall! Now to pay for it all...
How do external scholarships work at Rice? Can any current owls comment?

Specifically if D wins a large scholarship does it:
1) replace only loans + workstudy
2) replace loans + workstudy + some portion of the family EC
3) ???

If EFC is reduced is there a formula? Thanks in advance.

anxiousmom · 02-09-2009, 05:50 PM

It depends on how large a scholarship. Usually it's choice number 1 unless the amount is large enough to meet all your EFC and then some (in which case it would replace needbased aid.) But, you should read the FA website at Rice, and/or clarify with them if you have any questions.
from the website,"Outside Scholarships: It's important for Rice to know what outside scholarships you expect to receive. These scholarships are first used to replace self-help aid such as loans and work study, and subsequently may replace a portion of any need-based institutional funds provided by Rice."

MSmom&dad · 02-09-2009, 06:01 PM

That's what I suspected, but its the "may replace a portion of any need-based institutional funds provided by Rice" that puzzles me. It would be nice if that were clarified (and admissions/aid are so busy I thought I could get away with asking here). If no one knows I'll try fin. aid in a few days,

maysixxmom · 02-09-2009, 10:40 PM

D's NMS & another local scholarship replaced HER freshman year loan. Her package still included work study.

MSmom&dad · 02-10-2009, 06:32 AM

Thanks maysix. In our D's case there is an opportunity to win a "region restricted" + "major restricted" award - no guarantees she will win - but its value would greatly exceed loans + workstudy. Replacing loans + workstudy would be great, but I wondered if any of the EFC could also be reduced. It sounds like I'll need to contact Rice directly. If I get any general policy statement I'll post here for others to see.

tjd · 02-10-2009, 09:04 AM

MSmom&dad, I have the same question, so please post if you're able to find the answer. After outside merit scholarships replace loans and work study, what happens next? Does it begin to eat into grants and need-based scholarships, or reduce EFC? And does this vary from one school to another?

MSmom&dad · 02-10-2009, 12:13 PM

tjd - I've sent the following email to Rice. I'll post the response when I get it so others who read this board don't need to repeat the request to Rice.
----------------------------------------------------
Our daughter xxxxx has been accepted for fall '09 Rice U. admission. She is really excited!
We have received preliminary aid information from your office as part of that early admission and she is now searching for additional scholarship money.

There are two local scholarships that she will apply for and both have the potential to exceed the loan + work-study portion of her preliminary award.
What is Rice's policy about such awards? For example, she hopes to win a $10,000 annual scholarship. If loans and work study were $5,000 would the additional $5,000 reduce her/our EFC (while maintaining Rice's aid award) or would her aid-award be reduced by $5,000 (or some other amount).

It would help us plan how large a loan we need to set up, whether she takes a higher-paying summer job, or whether she interns (with little or no pay) to be eligible for one of these two scholarship possibilities.

Thanks for your help!

MSmom&dad · 02-10-2009, 01:04 PM

That was fast. Here's the reply:
=======================
Thank you for your email. The following link contains details regarding Outside Scholarships: Financial Aid at Rice University. The aid would be reduced (not the EFC).
-----------------------------
So it looks like the best you can do is replace loans + work study.

tjd · 02-10-2009, 01:32 PM

Thanks for the information. It's what I expected, but discouraging nonetheless, since for us the EFC is not an acceptable contribution. What this means is that, even though we'll qualify for some financial aid, the only way it will work is if we opt out of financial aid and try to cobble together merit aid that exceeds what we would have gotten in financial aid ... a daunting task.

anxiousmom · 02-10-2009, 05:08 PM

That is S.O.P for most universities.

maysixxmom · 02-10-2009, 05:18 PM

Additionally, at least for us, each year Rice has either awarded merit aid OR need based aid. Never both. The first year they actually told her she didn't qualify for any merit aid!

MSmom&dad · 02-11-2009, 09:21 AM

It's interesting that this is SOP for many universities, but I find it surprising. Don't misunderstand - I think that Rice is very generous with aid and we will manage to fund our D's education, but...

I (perhaps naively) thought universities would want students to pursue outside scholarships. This policy seems counterproductive. The maximum Rice loan is now pegged at $10,000/4 years and I assume workstudy is constant for all students at $900/semester. So by my math if my D secures a annual $4,300 scholarship she will have gained the maximum benefit to her (us) and will have no incentive to continue seeking funds.

It would seem to be in a university's interest to "share the wealth" once the loan/workstudy threshold is exceeded. Rice students are obviously very competitive for scholarship awards (they have to be to be admitted to Rice!). If we were allowed, for example, a 1:1 split of "excess" awards she would aggressively pursue other opportunities. The student share could be used to reduce the family EFC and Rice's share would support other students.

maysixxmom · 02-11-2009, 03:00 PM

I should also point out that in our case D's student loan amounts are on TOP of paying the EFC. The EFC each year has been exactly the number indicated by FAFSA.

sreis · 02-14-2009, 11:43 AM

"If we were allowed, for example, a 1:1 split of 'excess' awards she would aggressively pursue other opportunities. The student share could be used to reduce the family EFC and Rice's share would support other students."

The EFC doesn't take into account scholarships, I don't think. I don't really see what the EFC has to do with the situation. As far as I understand, if your daughter gets a scholarship that replaces loans, work-study, and still has some left over, then that will replace some need-based scholarships, which would be in effect "sharing the wealth" because Rice wouldn't give out some of the need-based funds she qualified for originally. It actually would be as if the EFC were reduced.

You're right that she won't have much incentive to continue seeking funds once (or if) she passes the loan/work-study because then everything is paid for in full, with or without the part of the external scholarship which exceeds the loan/work-study. But if a student would rather earn a merit scholarship than receive a need-based one, that is an incentive right there. It wouldn't affect debt at the end, but I wouldn't say there is no difference between the two. The EFC is just a number: if a student replaces all loans and work-study with merit scholarship, the *real* family contribution (rather than *expected*) is zero, so I don't see why adjusting the EFC matters.

sreis · 02-14-2009, 11:52 AM

tjd wrote: "After outside merit scholarships replace loans and work study, what happens next? Does it begin to eat into grants and need-based scholarships, or reduce EFC? And does this vary from one school to another?"

Yes, it's right in the quote in post #2. Since it does eventually replace grants and need-based scholarships, it sounds equivalent to reducing the EFC and matching need-based aid for that new amount.