I understand that your need-based aid cannot exceed your school’s cost of attendance, but the majority of my financial aid is merit-based scholarships. Only the HOPE and Ned McWherter seem to be FAFSA calculated, but will my other scholarships be taken away if I surpass the COA?
You are required to report ALL received scholarships to you college. It is not likely that you will be able to receive funds that exceed the cost of attendance at your school.
If you receive outside scholarships, it is very possible that school awards will be reduced.
You need to contact your college about this.
Are the HOPE and McWherter need based? I thought they were merit based, based on gpa, scores, and any other requirements. They might require the FAFSA to be filed, but is income considered in awarding them?
The school has to review all the scholarships and see if there are restrictions on how they can be applied. Some merit scholarships are still restricted to tuition, or the student is required to be a business major, or can only be used at certain schools. They try to use as many of the scholarships as they can to make it the best deal for you. However, often nothing can be refunded to the student, but only used for billed costs.