Ugh! Too much scholarship money?

[LisaR]

I never thought I'd say those words. I hope I'm missing something here. We NEED the money, but can we use the money being awarded?

DD's freshman year is over on Thursday!

She received enough merit scholarships to cover all of her tuition and housing with a little leftover for her freshman year. Her college does not require a meal plan and she didn't want one. Cafeteria food is not her thing. We put the leftover money on her school ID which also works as a debit card. She could use it anywhere on campus (cafeteria, bookstore, restaurants on campus). We had to add money to it throughout the year because there wasn't enough scholarship money leftover. No biggie.

DD will receive those same scholarships her sophomore. In addition, she received a great job on campus this next year. She was told it was one of the highest paying jobs on campus, but she doesn't have a clue how much they pay her. Yes, I want to smack her upside the head! But she just found out they don't pay her in cash, they pay in a scholarship. On top of that, DH's work awards a one-time $2000 scholarship to all incoming sophomores who meet certain conditions (she does).

Far be it for me to complain about extra money. She NEEDS the money, but she doesn't need it in the way of scholarships. Between the ones from last year and the $2000 from DH's work, she will have more than enough to cover tuition, housing, and food on campus. I am the queen of bargain book shopping and her books won't cost more than $70. I'm guessing the scholarship for her job will be a couple thousand dollars minimum. She eats off campus all the time. I'd say that's where the vast majority of her money goes. She could really use that money for off campus food or grocery shopping and toiletries, but if they put it in her school account as a scholarship, she won't be able to use it off campus.

She plans on going on for her Ph.D. We are trying to save every penny we can on her undergrad so we have more to contribute for her graduate degrees. I will be so mad if she has scholarship money that goes unused! I was searching online and people were saying to use it on things like a laptop or printer. We bought those things brand new last year. Ugh! Why can't they just give her cash? If she works all those hours on campus and is awarded in a scholarship she can't even spend, that will just suck. Am I missing something? Is there a way to use this money off campus?

 

[kmb584]

Is it a federal work-study position? If so, the school is required to pay your daughter directly unless she indicates that she wants her wages to go towards tuition.

 

[LisaR]

Is it a federal work-study position? If so, the school is required to pay your daughter directly unless she indicates that she wants her wages to go towards tuition.

No, it is a regular, plain old job. I was shocked when she said they pay in a scholarship!

 

[hodgieha]

If the job won't pay in cash, would it be possible for her not to take the job and instead take a job off campus that pays in cash.

 

[trish4bruce]

Can she not be paid out whatever money she does not use? I work at a Canadian University and oversee all Graduate Student funding and that is what would happen here.

 

[gwynne]

I never thought I'd say those words. I hope I'm missing something here. We NEED the money, but can we use the money being awarded?

DD's freshman year is over on Thursday!

She received enough merit scholarships to cover all of her tuition and housing with a little leftover for her freshman year. Her college does not require a meal plan and she didn't want one. Cafeteria food is not her thing. We put the leftover money on her school ID which also works as a debit card. She could use it anywhere on campus (cafeteria, bookstore, restaurants on campus). We had to add money to it throughout the year because there wasn't enough scholarship money leftover. No biggie.

DD will receive those same scholarships her sophomore. In addition, she received a great job on campus this next year. She was told it was one of the highest paying jobs on campus, but she doesn't have a clue how much they pay her. Yes, I want to smack her upside the head! But she just found out they don't pay her in cash, they pay in a scholarship. On top of that, DH's work awards a one-time $2000 scholarship to all incoming sophomores who meet certain conditions (she does).

Far be it for me to complain about extra money. She NEEDS the money, but she doesn't need it in the way of scholarships. Between the ones from last year and the $2000 from DH's work, she will have more than enough to cover tuition, housing, and food on campus. I am the queen of bargain book shopping and her books won't cost more than $70. I'm guessing the scholarship for her job will be a couple thousand dollars minimum. She eats off campus all the time. I'd say that's where the vast majority of her money goes. She could really use that money for off campus food or grocery shopping and toiletries, but if they put it in her school account as a scholarship, she won't be able to use it off campus.

She plans on going on for her Ph.D. We are trying to save every penny we can on her undergrad so we have more to contribute for her graduate degrees. I will be so mad if she has scholarship money that goes unused! I was searching online and people were saying to use it on things like a laptop or printer. We bought those things brand new last year. Ugh! Why can't they just give her cash? If she works all those hours on campus and is awarded in a scholarship she can't even spend, that will just suck. Am I missing something? Is there a way to use this money off campus?

It sounds like your dd has been offered some very generous scholarships. She may have to make some compromises.
The best financially would be to eat in the cafeteria.
If grocery money is very important to her, then maybe some of the cash for later could be used for this. Kind of depends how you feel about it.
Or, she could obtain a regular job off campus where she would be paid in cash.

You didn't ask this, but if it were my student that was working this issue my answer would be: You have some choices and it's up to you to figure out what you want to do. (No, I wouldn't contribute grocery money to an undergrad when there is a cafeteria available.)
I didn't get involved with things like this with my students. They had to work through the choices themselves.

 

[Mokat76]

Tell her it's time to suck it up and eat on campus. It won't kill her. Congrats, BTW, on having such a smart, focused kid! Awesome.

 

[clh2]

I agree that she either needs to get an off-campus job, or she needs to get a meal plan.

Unless, of course, this is a job that is relevant to her major, and would look good on an application for subsequent colleges.

 

[Mkrop]

I will tell her if she were my kids, you have 2 choices, eat on campus or forgo the campus job and get a cash job off campus. Life is about choices sometimes.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Not sure how her college handles it, but all scholarship money after tuition is considered income for our daughter. Just something to look into and think about.

 

[Allison]

If she ends up with a credit on her student account, why can't she request it be paid out? My child had their credit automatically sent to them via a check.

 

[Allison]

Not sure how her college handles it, but all scholarship money after tuition is considered income for our daughter. Just something to look into and think about.

That's based on federal law. Money used for room/board/living expenses is taxable.

 

[Trackey79]

I have to say I am with the others and I would tell her she needs to eat on campus. I know at FSU the meal plan includes more than just cafeteria food. There are several chain restaurants on campus that participate in the meal plan program. Does her's have something similar? If she really wants the on campus job, she may need to sacrifice and eat on campus. If the campus job is not that big of a deal to her, then I would suggest she get an off campus job to supplement the money so she can have the food she wants.

 

[LisaR]

The job is very relevant to her major and will look great on grad school applications.

Eating on campus more often really isn't even an option the way the campus is set up. Freshman housing and the cafeteria are on one side of the campus, the campus is in the middle, and the sophomore and up section is on the complete opposite side. There isn't a cafeteria for them. They are welcome to use the one on the freshman side, but it is a hike and a half. She will likely never even step foot on that side once this year is over. This school isn't big on meal plans which I loved......until now! The only convenient options are fast food choices and she can really only stomach so much of that. She eats at Einsteins almost every day. I can't see her spending thousands of dollars on fast food. She simply doesn't eat that much in those types of restaurants. Her Einsteins bill is like $5 on a good day and $2 is the norm.

I told her she needs to find out a dollar amount of this scholarship before coming home next week and she needs to talk to someone on campus to see if that can somehow be used for things like groceries; maybe ordering things from Amazon or something? Like I said, I'm thrilled she is getting all this money, but annoyed that she might have to let it go when she could really use it. And I'll feel so bad if she puts in all those work hours and ends up with basically no pay.

 

[LisaR]

If she ends up with a credit on her student account, why can't she request it be paid out? My child had their credit automatically sent to them via a check.

That would be fantastic!! I will definitely tell her to look into that. Thanks!

 

[madge]

Does the school have an overaward policy? Do the scholarships amount to more than the total Cost of Attendance? (can you tell I just sat through a financial aid presentation last week? )

Can she use the money for a study abroad program? Laptop/Computer/iPad? Upgraded housing?

 

[gwynne]

Does the school have an overaward policy? Do the scholarships amount to more than the total Cost of Attendance? (can you tell I just sat through a financial aid presentation last week? )

Can she use the money for a study abroad program? Laptop/Computer/iPad? Upgraded housing?

This. OP, Often you can find information on the school's website. Might be worth a read.

 

[LisaR]

Does the school have an overaward policy? Do the scholarships amount to more than the total Cost of Attendance? (can you tell I just sat through a financial aid presentation last week? )

Can she use the money for a study abroad program? Laptop/Computer/iPad? Upgraded housing?

Thanks! We will definitely be checking into it. And study abroad! I didn't even think of that!! She definitely wants to do that. Thanks so much for mentioning it. I would really hate to just let any money go.

 

[barkley]

Does the school have an overaward policy? Do the scholarships amount to more than the total Cost of Attendance? (can you tell I just sat through a financial aid presentation last week? )

Can she use the money for a study abroad program? Laptop/Computer/iPad? Upgraded housing?

that's something that def. needs to be looked at-most schools will not permit a student to receive between outside sources and the scholarships they administer-more than their published cost of attendance. if they see that the outside amounts will nudge the student over the cost of attendance-they start reducing the amounts of the ones they offer (including jobs).

 

[MSSANDRA]

that's something that def. needs to be looked at-most schools will not permit a student to receive between outside sources and the scholarships they administer-more than their published cost of attendance. if they see that the outside amounts will nudge the student over the cost of attendance-they start reducing the amounts of the ones they offer (including jobs).

This is what we found as well. It looks like the on campus job is not the right one for her. She needs cash, not more scholarship money. My DS attends a large university and there are tons of places to eat besides the cafeteria that they can use the declining balance card for. Lots of fast food choices. He is not a fan of the cafeteria either but uses that some, plus the other choices. Any off campus food, I consider more of a social outing thing and that would be his choice and cost responsibility. I would encourage her to contact the finance office and talk to them about her choices.