<p>It was certainly true for me. I attend Georgetown, which gives need-based financial aid and no merit awards. I received around $45,000 in need-based grants for my first year, but this sum was just decreased when I won outside scholarships and replaced by the scholarship money. They take off loans and work-study awards first, however, so this could benefit you if your financial aid package includes a significant amount in Stafford or other loans. My outside scholarship money was so much though, that once the loan and work-study were replaced, it just dipped into my grant money.</p>
<p>They see this outside scholarship money as extra income that does not go toward my EFC for the school. For example, by EFC for Georgetown (from their FA office) is around $7,000/year. I will owe this REGARDLESS of outside scholarships that I get because they will just take away their grants instead of crediting it towards my bill total in addition to grants. </p>
<p>It does really stink actually, because I found myself wondering, why did I even bother? But all in all I think it is worth it. For example, I got some recurring scholarships (pay out every year a certain amount). These are helpful because even if your EFC goes up and you don’t get as much FA from the college, that money will always be there.</p>
<p>Basically, whether these scholarships will help you much depends on which college you will attend and their specific FA policies. Outside scholarships will affect how much need-based aid you get, NOT merit aid, so if your college offers a large merit scholarship, you will get to keep that regardless of other scholarships. So, your specific financial situation determines how effective the scholarships will be, too. If you attend Georgetown and receive no need-based aid, outside scholarships WILL help you because they are just money for you then; no grants for the college to take away.</p>
<p>I hope that helps a little. It really will depend on your specific situation and your college choice. This information might help us help you a little more.</p>