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Stonehill· Scholarship Stacking

Stacking Outside Scholarships at Stonehill

How Stonehill treats outside scholarships when they arrive on top of institutional merit aid.

Verified Jun 20268 days ago· CC

The verdict

Loan-first displacement

At Stonehill, an outside scholarship reduces loan offers before touching institutional grants. The strategy follows from that: every $1 in outside scholarship is effectively $1 less in graduation debt.

stonehill.edu publishes the $82,460 cost-of-attendance worksheet the math is run against.

Stacking policy at Stonehill

Outside/private scholarships are applied loan-first: students must report all private scholarships, and Stonehill reduces SEOG/Perkins-MASS NIL loans, then Federal Work-Study, then the Federal Direct Loan, in that order. Stonehill's own gift aid is protected and is only cut if total gift aid exceeds federal need or billed costs (a billed-cost / need cap overlay).

From the Award Guidelines: students must notify Student Financial Services of all private scholarships so any effect on awarded resources can be determined. If federal regulations require an adjustment, the College eliminates/reduces 1) SEOG then Perkins/MASS NIL Loans, 2) Federal Work-Study, then 3) Federal Direct Student Loan, in that order. Stonehill gift aid is not reduced unless total gift aid exceeds federal need or billed costs. Note the three named admission merit awards and the Catholic High School Scholarship are mutually exclusive programs (you hold one, not several Stonehill merit awards at once).

Source: https://www.stonehill.edu/offices-and-services/financial-aid/undergraduate-students/how-to-apply-for-financial-aid/award-guidelines/

Common stacking mistakes

  • Assuming the Catholic High School Scholarship stacks on top of the Shields/Stonehill/Founders merit awards.

    The Catholic HS Scholarship is its own program — a student who is part of another Stonehill scholarship or grant program is not eligible for it. You receive one Stonehill merit pathway, not several added together.

Stacking questions families ask

If I win an outside scholarship, does it cut my Stonehill merit money?
Not first. You must report all private scholarships. If an adjustment is required, Stonehill reduces SEOG/Perkins-NIL loans, then Federal Work-Study, then the Federal Direct Loan, in that order. Your Stonehill gift aid is only reduced if your total gift aid exceeds federal need or billed costs.

Aid-office script (copy & send)

A binding written answer beats a verbal hallway promise. This script is keyed to Stonehill's published displacement type. Paste it, fill in your name, and send it before you accept an outside award.

Subject: Outside-scholarship treatment question, fall applicant

Dear Stonehill Financial Aid Office,

I'm a fall applicant reviewing how outside scholarships interact with my institutional aid package. I've read the public policy at https://www.stonehill.edu/offices-and-services/financial-aid/undergraduate-students/how-to-apply-for-financial-aid/award-guidelines/ and the $82,460 cost-of-attendance worksheet.

If I win a $5,000 outside scholarship after the package is built, can you confirm it reduces my Direct Loan offer first, before any institutional grant is touched?

If the loan offer is smaller than the outside award, what is the next aid type that gets reduced (work-study, institutional grant, other)?

A written answer (email is fine) is important because the outside-scholarship awarding bodies want confirmation before disbursing. Thank you for the time.

— [Student name], [Application ID if available]

How Stonehill compares across our verified dataset

  • 99 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

    Stonehill is in the modest minority (99 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Stonehill is one of them. The cohort minority (82 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Stonehill’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

More on Stonehill merit aid