TIP OF THE WEEK - March 15

Receiving Additional Financial Aid

If the student receives additional financial aid from an outside resource he/she should report it to the university they will attend. You must technically report the scholarship to the financial aid office if it is from a university or governmental sector. Unfortunately, the university will adjust your financial aid package to compensate.  Nevertheless, the outside scholarship will still have some beneficial effects. At some universities, outside scholarships are used to reduce the self-help level (the amount of loans and/or work-study that was given to you in your award package). For example, at MIT, the outside scholarship is first applied to reducing the self-help level, and only when the scholarship exceeds self-help does it replace institutional grants.

And as with most financial aid packages, the student must reapply each year for the aid that they are receiving from the outside source.  If your financial circumstances change, you may get more or less aid.  Note that your eligibility for financial aid may change significantly, especially if you have a different number of family members in college. Therefore, it is imperative that all financial aid forms get filled out correctly and get sent to the respective colleges in a timely fashion to ensure the best funding package each and every year.