Will a scholarship cover my basics?
I haven't finished my basics. Will a scholarship pay for the basics to, or go straight to what I'm majoring in? #scholarships #college
3 answers
Paula-Ann’s Answer
However, we did not have "common curriculum," everyone took classes according to their major's requirements and prerequisites. According to my associates who attend public and community colleges, many of their scholarships were used on core curriculum or basics first because they completed these classes before their major requirements, so inside and outside scholarships were used up on those classes first.
Also, it depends on the type of scholarship. Some outside scholarships allow the money to go directly into your account, but some require the money to be sent directly to your school's financial aid office. If the money is sent directly to the school, it is up to the discretion of the financial aid office to distribute funds, but I would contact them by phone/email to ask if I could decide how and when the money is distributed. Some financial aid offices are more flexible than others, so they might have a strict and enumerated way to distribute funds. If it is an inside scholarship from the school, then again I would contact financial aid to ask if I could have any input about what classes or expenses the money is put toward.
Hope this helps!
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Nicole’s Answer
A gentle refresher or reminder on some sources for scholarships...that is that scholarships can and do come from many places. There are scholarships that come from colleges/universities, that come from public entities like state or federal programs...and another strong source for scholarships are from corporations and private civic-related groups. Oftentimes the scholarships from corporations or private groups can be used to cover "the basics" like housing, food and traceable expenses like the cost of books or fees that may not be a part of tuition.
When applying to scholarships, it is good practice to get clarity on what the scholarship would cover. It is also good practice to apply to as many relevant scholarships as possible to ensure you maximize all your high school hard work ;).
Best of luck to you!
Paul’s Answer
It depends upon how much scholarship money you received and what you consider to be your basics. Schools have various criteria for how much they decide to award in scholarship money so no one can give you a definitive answer until you see the amount. For example, if tuition costs $10,000 per semester and you are awarded $4000 per semester in scholarships, you have to come up with the difference of $6000. It doesn't matter whether the classes are your core requirements, required courses or electives. The $4000 scholarship is applied to your term bill off the top so it isn't allocated among your classes.