Sunshine State Sue Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 We received our financial aid award a few days ago. As expected, it contains only an academic scholarship and loans. We are in the process of applying for a small scholarship from our credit union. The school's website says: Adjustments to ScholarshipsOutside Scholarship Adjustment Policy:An outside scholarship from a private donor will not impact an academic scholarship, though it could impact a CSM Grant. so I thought I was safe, but now I'm not so sure because the financial aid award came with this information: Outside Scholarships: Many of our students will receive scholarships from community or other private organizations. Federal regulations require students to notify their institution of any outside support. By federal regulations, these scholarships cannot replace the expected family contribution portion of support, and we may need to re-evaluate the financial assistance shown on the Financial Aid Announcement. Please notify us... Our EFC is 2x what we will need to pay based on COA - academic scholarship - athletic scholarship I'm confused if this is saying that they will reduce the academic scholarship if ds is awarded an outside scholarship. Is that what it means? And I'm wondering if I made a huge mistake filling out the FAFSA because now the school knows we can "afford" more than we will be paying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 Maybe I just answered my own question. More from the school's website: We are required to treat outside scholarships as an additional resource. If you have received a need-based grant as part of your financial aid award, it may be reduced by your outside scholarship. Student loans and/or work study may also be reduced. I think this means I am safe and we should proceed with the credit union scholarship application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Gack! Sue! How stressful! :eek: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalea Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Thanks for sharing part of your journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 That is soooooo stressful! I am sorry. My best guess is to just contact the financial aid office and talk to someone directly. Record the conversation or make them put their answer in writing, whatever it is, so if they then do the opposite, you can come back and say, "No. This is what you said and promised." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alef Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Since her scholarship is academic not need based I think you may not need to worry, but definitely contact the financial aid office to check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 You are correct in your second post - it should not affect you since you're not getting need based aid. The federal gov't requires a family to meet their EFC (or get granted an appeal) before getting any federal grants (Pell, etc) or (I believe) subsidized loans (vs unsubsidized) or federal work study. It in no way affects a school offering merit aid or any non-federal aid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 Thanks, Creekland. What is the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Sue, For subsidized loans, the government pays the interest while the student is in school full-time. On unsubsidized loans, the interest begins accruing as soon as the loan is disbursed. I believe that to qualify for subsidized loans, you have to have "financial need", so the Cost of Attendance - free aid (e.g. grants) - your EFC must leave some money still owed that would be your need. When the direct federal loan is used to meet part of your "need", then some of it can be subsidized. If you fill out a FAFSA, and don't have "need" after scholarships and EFC are subtracted, then you wouldn't qualify for the subsidized loan but could still take out the unsubsidized loan. Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 For subsidized loans, the government pays the interest while the student is in school full-time. On unsubsidized loans, the interest begins accruing as soon as the loan is disbursed. Oh man. I had subsidized loans in college, and I thought all educational loans were that way. Wow. Well, that will end the debate between dh and me. He didn't want ds to take out loans, and I thought it would be reasonable for ds to take out some loans. I completely change my mind if they are unsubsidized. Definitely won't bother with the FAFSA again. :tongue_smilie: I appreciate the clarification, Brenda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimseycat Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Hi Sue, I had a similar situation recently and the way the college FA office explained it to me was that any outside scholarships would first be applied to loans (to reduce the amount having to be borrowed) and then if the scholarship covered all the loans (haha!) they would apply it to any work study that had been added as part of the FA package. Hypothetically, if you were offered both Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans you could refuse the Unsub one and apply the scholarship money to make up for that deficit. Unsub's are usually a higher interest rate as well. :( HTH, Annika Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Thanks, Annika. That was helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Just beware that what is taken away first depends highly upon the school. At some schools they reduce grants first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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