I feel like this is a ridiculous question, please bear with me guys.
So on Thursday I was notified that I received a $1000 scholarship from my school board, and Friday I was notified that I received a $1000 scholarship from a local organization. This is amazing for me and I’m very excited!
I work at McDonald’s and will be receiving the Archways to Opportunity tuition assistance of $2,500, and with my other financial aid my bill will be a little over $100. I can receive the tuition assistance if it covers costs that aren’t already being covered by aid I do not have to pay back (scholarships and grants).
How do I go about using these scholarships for my spring semester? One of them has to be used during the 2018-19 school year and the other doesn’t specify at all. Do I just tell my financial aid officer when I email her the scanned copies of my notification? Both scholarships send my school a check directly.
What is the total cost of attendance at your college (tuition and fees, if you are commuting, or tuition/room/board/fees if you are living on campus)? Are . you getting financial aid from the college? The reason I ask is because it is very common that outside scholarships are used to REPLACE financial aid that the school gives your. In other words, the outside scholarships are not IN ADDITION to the school’s financial aid.
The answer to your question could depend on your answer to these questions.
Just ask, but if they won’t do it, for you it is not an issue as your BF can be refunded to you (if your school allows that) or some other funds like your Pell grant or SEOG. If that happens, you can just use the BF funds for spring.
@brantly The annual COA is ~$36,000 And only ~$30,000 is billed. I received $4,000 in merit aid, $211 per credit your from Bright Futures (going to come to $3,798 my fall semester), the full $6,095 in Pell, the EASE Grant ($3,500) and the FSAG and FSEG ($2,500).
When I first visited the school I met with my financial aid counselor and she said the school will stack outside scholarships with my current financial aid package unless I go over the COA (the ~$36,000). If I do exceed that amount they would replace loans first.
And I am living on campus, at my school freshman are required to.
@twoinanddone
I would be totally fine with that but if I use the $2,000 in outside scholarships it would just replace $2,000 from my tuition assistance at McDonald’s. Thank you for the info though about Bright Futures, I wasn’t aware that you could those funds refunded! Will definitely keep that in mind for later terms.
From your list, the EASE (was that formerly FRAG?) can only be applied to tuition. The school can choose what to allow the Bright Futures to apply to - tuition, room and board, study abroad, or refunded to the student. (D’s school only allowed it for billed charges, not to be refunded.) The Pell can be refunded.
You have a way to go to get to $36k.
Merit: $4000
Pell: $6095
BF: $7600
EASE $3500
FEOG $2500
$23,695
If you have $2500 from McDonalds, and $1000 from two other outside scholarships, that’s $28,195. If you then sign for the loans, you’ll have a small overage of the billed amounts.
@twoinanddone Yes, The EASE is the new FRAG. But the McDonald’s tuition assistance only applies to my fall semester because I will not be working there during the school year. My only concern is making sure the McDonald’s tuition assistance is covered first.
If you take 1/2 of the school/federal funds, $11,848, and add the McDonalds and the 2x$1000, you are at $16347. Still under $18000 ($36000/2 COA per year).
Are you sure the $2500 from McDonalds will all be paid in the fall?
Just ask the school. It is unlikely they will hold over funds they receive in the fall because of accounting issues. I think they will refund any money they have on your account (if these numbers are correct, you should be billed $15000 and would get a refund of $1347) and you can just hold that for second semester. That’s all without loan money that you can just turn down. For second semester, you’d have $11848 toward your bill of $15000, plus the $1347 you saved from the first semester refund.
My D’s school divided outside scholarships between the two semesters.
You have to ask. But if there is overage (I don’t see it in your figures, but anyway) it can be refunded to you or you can ask them to keep it on account to apply to net semester.