Will 8k private scholarship affect FAFSA aid packages? Payment timing question

Congrats on your daughter's scholarship! Most schools have a "displacement policy" where outside scholarships reduce loans first, then work-study, and lastly grants. But every school handles it differently. The actual payment SCHEDULE (2 vs 4 payments) shouldn't matter - only the total amount matters for aid calculations. Schools typically have a threshold where they start reducing institutional aid, but it varies widely.

Your daughter must report this scholarship on her FAFSA. The payment schedule (2 or 4 payments) won't affect her aid calculation at all. What matters is the total amount ($8k) and whether it's a one-time or renewable scholarship. Regarding thresholds, there's no universal FAFSA rule. Each school has its own policy about how outside scholarships impact their institutional aid. Some schools allow students to receive full outside scholarships plus their full financial aid package up to the cost of attendance. Others will reduce institutional grants dollar-for-dollar after a certain threshold. For example, one of my kid's schools allowed outside scholarships up to $6,000 before reducing institutional aid, but that was a few years ago and at a specific school.

I got a $7500 scholarship last year and my state university reduced my grant by almost the same amount 😡 total bs because I was COUNTING on that money for living expenses. Each school does it different tho. The payment schedule itself doesn't matter at all for FAFSA - its just the total amount that counts as "other financial assistance" and gets reported.

the payment schedule won't affect anything with FAFSA... the schools care about total dollar amount only. but honestly i would take the 4 payments option because it gives you more flexibility. if something goes wrong with grades or whatever you don't lose as much money at once.

Financial aid counselor here. The payment schedule won't impact FAFSA calculations at all - only the total amount matters. What you need to look up is each school's "outside scholarship policy" - most publish this on their financial aid websites. Generally, schools follow this order when reducing aid due to outside scholarships: 1. Loans first (this is good!) 2. Work-study next 3. Institutional grants/scholarships last Some schools have a threshold before they start reducing institutional aid (might be $500-$5000 depending on the school). Others follow a fixed percentage reduction formula. Most importantly - after you receive all aid packages, you can request a "professional judgment review" if the outside scholarship negatively impacts your daughter's aid. Many schools will work with you, especially for high-achieving students.

I've been trying to reach someone at my son's school about a similar issue for WEEKS but keep getting voicemail hell and no responses. Has anyone had success actually talking to a real person at financial aid offices? I'm going crazy with these deadlines approaching.

Update: I finally heard back from one of the schools (the private college). They said they'll reduce loans first, then work-study, before touching grants. Also, they have a $3,000 threshold before they start reducing institutional aid at all. So it sounds like the 2-payment vs 4-payment schedule doesn't matter - but I'm going with 4 payments as someone suggested, just for the flexibility. Still waiting on the other two schools!

Quick update on thresholds - I just checked the policies at a few top schools: - Harvard: outside scholarships reduce their calculated parent contribution - Stanford: reduces loans first, then summer work expectation, then university scholarship - Yale: reduces student's self-help expectation first - Princeton: reduces campus job expectations first Every school handles it differently, but most private schools have fairly generous policies these days. Public universities tend to be more strict with displacement.

just curious - what kind of scholarship is this? might apply for my kid next year lol

Congratulations on your daughter's scholarship! As someone new to this process, I'm finding all this information incredibly helpful. I had no idea that schools had such different policies for handling outside scholarships. My son is a junior and we're just starting to think about college financing - should I be researching these displacement policies now for the schools on his list? Also, is there a good resource for finding local community foundation scholarships like the one your daughter received? It sounds like those might be less competitive than the big national ones everyone applies for.