Aid Adjustments and Outside Awards
Awards, such as a scholarship from a church, corporation or fraternal organization can be very helpful in defraying some of the costs of college. These outside resources may affect the amount of aid the student receives from the school, but they are typically considered as replacement for the least desirable form of assistance.
If the outside resource (scholarship, grant, etc.) has been reported to the Financial Aid office prior to the creation of a financial aid award, it will normally be taken into account when the financial aid award is made. In this situation the outside resource will be named on the award letter; that way the student knows that the aid has already been adjusted to account for the outside award. Students who receive a financial aid award that does not show a known outside resource should report the outside resource to the Financial Aid Office immediately.
If the financial aid award from UW-Stevens Point is made without knowledge of the outside resource, an adjustment of the financial aid will be made as soon as it is reported to the Financial Aid Office. As above, aid will be adjusted. If the amount of the outside resource is small (under $300), it may be possible to invoke an over-award tolerance which is permitted by law and not reduce aid which has been offered. However, that may have already been done for other awards, in which case, a full adjustment will have to be made. The Financial Aid Office staff always tries to find other ways of accommodating the outside resource so as to eliminate the need for an aid reduction, and in some cases it is possible to add other known costs to the student's budget, such as loan fees. In the end however, if the amount of the outside scholarship cannot be covered by any of the above means, reduction of other aid will occur. If it is necessary to reduce a Stafford loan that has already been processed, the guarantor Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation (GLHEC) is notified by the school to adjust the loan.