Hello there!
I’m an international student who just got accepted to Upenn, but their policy doesn’t allow to “stack” scholarships. Because the Penn Grant isn’t suifficent, my only choice is to apply to external aid that exceeds the Penn Grant.
I had a discussion with a Penn FA staff to ask whether I could keep my four-year aid offer if I got an external scholarship larger than the Penn Grant, however, and this is what they’ve said: “You will always be given a financial aid package based on need. The EFC will always remain in place unfortunately.”
Now I’m really worried and aren’t exactly sure what this means. I could, of course, always say that I don’t accept the Penn Grant, but then because my international status, I’d probably not be able to apply for it ever again (Upenn is need-aware for intls), and the outside scholarship only has a 15% acceptance rate. Could you help me better understand what their letter means and what should I do next?
Thanks
-MG
Why not ask Penn for clarity.
You’ve given me $50K. I got an outside scholarship for $60K. What happens? it’s really a simple question.
It seems a simple question but they have resources on line as well.
“Outside scholarships are applied to your financial aid package and will be used to reduce or replace your summer savings expectation and work-study expectation with grant funding. Any outside scholarship funding beyond that will be balanced out by an equal reduction in Penn Grant.”
Outside Scholarships | Penn Student Registration & Financial Services| Penn Srfs (upenn.edu)
At many schools that meet financial need, reducing the amount you need through outside scholarships doesn’t help much. Since your outside scholarship reduces your need, you receive less need-based aid from the school.
Sometimes schools will allow you to benefit a small amount from outside scholarships but “counting” the scholarship toward the amount you were otherwise going to contribute from working over the summer, for example. But the benefit to you of earning an outside scholarship is often pretty limited at schools that meet full need.
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Thank you guys for your replies. I did just what you suggested and sked them what would happen if I got $60K from outside with my $50K aid. They said that they would refund the sponsor. Does this mean that there really isn’t anything I could do to reduce my costs?
Note: I can’t appeal my finaid since nothing changed drastically. Also, the scholarship I’m applying for is government-sponsored and recipients get published, so declaring it as income isn’t really on the table.
Unfortunately, whatever the school’s policy is stands. You may find more favorable treatment of the government funding at another school. I have to warn you that you will need to provide proof that you have the financial means to pay for the cost of your education that is not covered by the grant in order to get an F-1 visa. Please keep that in mind as you consider a school.