Hi all! I’m wondering if anyone has experience with trying to negotiate with LACs to convert tuition-restricted merit aid to become unrestricted (ie eligible for helping with room and board)? If so, I’d love to hear your experiences.
We will have an employer based aid option that with help with tuition and this program and restricted merit aid will “cancel each other out.” So we’d benefit greatly from having it help with room and board.
This would be college specific…but in general…I believe the answer is no. If the college merit award is for tuition, that is what it MUST be used for.
Any chance the employer sponsored money might be able to be converted for room and board use? I’d ask that.
Not what was asked, but I believe merit which is for room and board is taxable – only merit award covering tuition is not taxable.
Sadly no, it too is tuition only. Rock and a hard place!
If you have need aid, it would likely reduce it. Your title says merit.
It may be that if you get a specific $ amount in merit and your employer sends in a check, you will get a refund.
This happened with my daughter’s school. Her merit was more than tuition - every semester we got money back via a check from the school.
But the first year, my company gave her a $1K scholarship and that quarter we got back $1K more.
All that said, if you have free tuition - whether from the school or work - that’s awesome.
But you have to explain to the school- and let them know, you want to take advantage of both.
I don’t think there’s any negotiation to happen - they’ll explain the process of how it will work - as my daughter’s school did.