Will This Outside Scholarship Reduce My Financial Aid?

Schools in our policy database

This tool currently covers 203schools with verified displacement policies. Each policy is sourced directly from the school’s financial aid pages or Common Data Set filings. Schools are added as our analyst team completes verification.

• Alabama: Alabama applies a cost-of-attendance cap to institutional scholarships. Outside scholarships don't trigger the loan-first or grant-first displacement some privates use; they count toward the COA ceiling and only reduce UA's own institutional award if total aid exceeds COA.
• SMU: SMU's outside-scholarship treatment is not stated explicitly on its public Student Financial Services pages. Families should confirm with SFS before assuming outside awards will add on top of institutional merit.
• Auburn: Auburn allows institutional scholarships and outside awards to stack up to published cost of attendance. Families must notify Auburn of outside awards to avoid over-award repayment situations.
• Oklahoma: OU's National Merit Finalist package explicitly allows outside scholarships to be added on top of the base package up to cost of attendance. Stacking for non-NMF students is less clearly published.
• Ole Miss: Ole Miss uses loan-first displacement. Outside scholarships reduce loan awards before touching other aid, and total aid cannot exceed cost of attendance.
• Mississippi State: Mississippi State caps total aid at Cost of Attendance. The published policy warns that institutional scholarships may be adjusted or canceled if outside awards push a student over COA, and MSU does not publish a loan-first or grant-first displacement order.
• Oklahoma State: When an outside award arrives, Oklahoma State reduces loans first before replacing other need-based aid such as grants or work-study — a loan-first displacement order. Separately, a Cost of Attendance cap governs how its own scholarships stack: automatic qualifier awards cannot exceed COA when combined with other aid, with Oklahoma's Promise and Cowboy Covenant explicitly stackable. A student may only have one tuition scholarship in effect at any time, and the University Assured and Partnered categories pay only the highest-value award from each category (except OK Promise and Cowboy Covenant).
• Arizona: The University of Arizona reduces undisbursed loans first when outside scholarships would create an over-award. Arizona Tuition Award and Wildcat Tuition Award cannot be combined with each other or with the National Scholars Tuition Award base. NMF and NMSF supplements layer on top of the base tuition award rather than replacing it.
• Kentucky: The University of Kentucky enforces a Cost of Attendance cap across all aid sources, and publishes a self-help-first over-award order: when combined aid exceeds COA or need, loans are canceled or reduced first, then Federal Work-Study is stopped. Outside scholarships must be reported via a Declaration of Additional Resources form.
• Liberty: Liberty does not cap outside scholarships at the student's full Cost of Attendance. Instead, combined federal grants, state grants, and Liberty institutional aid cannot exceed the combined cost of actual tuition and Tier 2 room and standard board charges. This is a narrower cap than the full COA used at most public flagships, and it is generous to outside-scholarship stacking.
• BYU: BYU's published scholarship eligibility page is explicit that recipients cannot combine awards from different semesters, and caps total institutional scholarship eligibility at 8 semesters of fall/winter scholarship per student. BYU does not publish an explicit displacement rule for how outside scholarships interact with institutional need-based aid calculations, it publishes an application order instead, routing outside funds to tuition, then class fees, then housing, meals, and personal items before refunding any leftover amount to the student.
• The Master's University: TMU allows merit, need-based, and outside scholarships to stack together in most cases, but publishes two specific restrictions: TMUC-named scholarships cannot stack with each other, and athletic-scholarship recipients forfeit all other institutional aid, qualifying only for federal/state aid and the outside portion of ministry or external scholarships. TMU does not publish an explicit loan-first or grant-first displacement rule for how outside scholarships interact with institutional aid packaging.
• Hillsdale: Hillsdale's defining stacking rule is that no federal or state aid enters the package at all. No Pell Grant, no federal Direct Loan, no Parent PLUS, no federal Work-Study, no GI Bill, and no state aid follow the student to Hillsdale as a matter of published institutional policy. Hillsdale replaces lost federal and state aid with privately funded institutional grants, scholarships, and certified private loans. Hillsdale's published policy documents that outside private scholarships are encouraged and "supplement and not replace" the dollars Hillsdale awards — they do not displace institutional aid (grant-first / non-displacing). Hillsdale also publishes a ceiling on certified private-loan borrowing: the cost-of-attendance worksheet line is the maximum a student can borrow without reducing eligibility for institutional financial aid.
• Grove City: Grove City is one of the cleanest outside-scholarship stacking environments in U.S. higher education because the college does not participate in any federal student aid program, so the federal overaward rule does not apply. Grove City's published policy is plain: outside scholarships will not decrease Grove City institutional aid unless the total amount of aid exceeds cost of attendance. The only ceiling is COA.
• TCU: Outside scholarships count as resources in the total aid package. TCU reduces loans and work-study first when possible, then adjusts grants and scholarships if needed, and total aid may not exceed cost of attendance. Institutional merit plus National Merit is separately capped at the cost of tuition.
• Baylor: Baylor first reduces work-study or educational loans when outside scholarships arrive, but federal and state regulations can force the financial aid office to adjust grants and scholarships too, so outside aid can displace institutional grants depending on the package.
• Tulane: Tulane does not reduce merit scholarships for outside awards, but reduces need-based aid to stay within cost of attendance, and all named full-tuition scholarships are mutually exclusive with each other.
• Wake Forest: External scholarships are added to the financial aid package if possible, but federal rules may require reductions to need-based loans and work-study, and total aid may not exceed the cost of attendance.
• Fordham: Presidential, Fordham, and Excellence in Theatre scholarships are reduced dollar-for-dollar by tuition-specific outside aid and by half for non-tuition-specific outside aid. Dean's, Loyola, Jogues, and need-based grants are adjusted dollar-for-dollar after outside scholarships fill unmet need, displacing subsidized loans, then work-study, then university grants.
• Case Western Reserve: Outside scholarships first reduce self-help aid (loans and work-study). If self-help is eliminated, outside scholarships may reduce need-based grants. Total aid from all sources cannot exceed cost of attendance.
• Lehigh: Outside scholarships first reduce loans and work-study. If total aid exceeds cost of attendance, Lehigh reduces institutional aid. State grants directly displace Lehigh grants dollar-for-dollar. Employer tuition benefits displace Lehigh grants once total gift-aid exceeds calculated need.
• Boston College: Outside scholarships first replace loans and work-study. Once self-help is eliminated, additional outside scholarships reduce BC institutional grants dollar-for-dollar because total aid cannot exceed demonstrated need. BC meets 100% of demonstrated need for all admitted students.
• USC: USC merit scholarships are mutually exclusive (student receives only the highest-value award). Outside scholarships typically replace loans and work-study first, and USC attempts to preserve university need-based grants. Total aid from all sources cannot exceed cost of attendance.
• LSU: LSU does not publish a dedicated stacking or outside-scholarship displacement policy on lsu.edu. Total aid from all sources cannot exceed cost of attendance (federal requirement). TOPS (state-funded) stacks with institutional aid subject to the COA cap.
• University of Miami: UM merit scholarships are tuition-restricted and cannot be combined with other merit or talent-based tuition-restricted aid (athletic, employee tuition benefits). Outside scholarships reduce self-help aid (loans, work-study) first before need-based grants. Total aid from all sources cannot exceed cost of attendance.
• ASU Barrett: ASU does not award multiple New American University scholarships to the same student: the higher-dollar tier replaces lower tiers, and the National Scholar (NMF/NRP) award replaces any prior NAMU merit. Per ASU's published policy, when an outside scholarship arrives the university reduces student loans and work-study first (self-help) before adjusting institutional grant aid — a loan-first displacement order.
• Vanderbilt: Outside scholarships first replace the student's earnings expectation (work-study) before reducing Vanderbilt need-based grant assistance. Outside scholarships cannot replace the Expected Family Contribution. Merit-based outside scholarships can be added on top of Vanderbilt merit awards up to the cost of attendance.
• Duke: Outside scholarships first replace loans and work-study in the aid package. Once self-help is eliminated, additional outside scholarship dollars reduce need-based Duke grant aid. Total aid cannot exceed the cost of attendance.
• Northwestern: Outside scholarships first reduce Federal Work-Study and need-based loans. Only after those are fully eliminated do outside scholarships reduce the Northwestern Scholarship (institutional grant). The financial aid office makes every effort to avoid reducing institutional grants.
• Rice: Outside scholarships first displace work-study, then reduce Rice institutional need-based grants. Pell grants and merit scholarships are protected and not reduced by outside aid. Total aid cannot exceed the cost of attendance.
• WashU: Outside scholarships do not automatically reduce WashU need-based or merit-based financial aid. They are generally added to the existing aid offer, but total aid from all sources cannot exceed the cost of attendance.
• Harvard: Outside scholarships first replace the student work expectation (~$3,500/year). Any excess reduces the Harvard scholarship dollar-for-dollar. Outside awards cannot reduce the parent contribution.
• Yale: Outside resources first reduce the Student Share ($3,700/year). Excess beyond $3,700 reduces the Yale Scholarship dollar-for-dollar. Up to $2,500 can be used for a one-time technology purchase instead of reducing Yale aid.
• Princeton: Outside scholarships reduce the Princeton grant dollar-for-dollar. Students may recover reduced funds for a one-time computer purchase.
• Stanford: Outside awards first replace the Student Responsibility (work earnings expectation). Excess reduces the Stanford scholarship dollar-for-dollar. Outside awards cannot replace the expected parent contribution.
• MIT: Outside scholarships first cover the student contribution (up to $5,400). Excess reduces the MIT Scholarship. Students may use a portion toward a one-time computer purchase or health insurance before the MIT Scholarship is reduced.
• UChicago: UChicago packages students up to full demonstrated need. Outside funding may reduce university grants to comply with federal regulations.
• Columbia: Outside scholarships first replace the Student Contribution and work expectation. Excess reduces the Columbia grant dollar-for-dollar. Outside scholarships will not reduce the Parent Contribution.
• Penn: Outside scholarships first replace summer savings, then work-study. Once those are exhausted, they reduce the Penn Grant dollar-for-dollar. Outside awards cannot reduce the parent contribution.
• Cornell: Outside scholarships reduce student loans and work-study dollar-for-dollar first. Only after self-help is fully eliminated may Cornell reduce institutional grants.
• Johns Hopkins: JHU has a favorable threshold: first-year students can bring up to $4,500 in private scholarships before the Hopkins grant is reduced. Returning students: up to $5,300.
• UCLA: Outside scholarships first reduce need-based loans and work-study. Only as a last resort do they reduce UCLA grants and institutional scholarships.
• UC Berkeley: Outside scholarships first reduce need-based loans and work-study. Only as a last resort do they reduce UC grants and institutional scholarships.
• UC San Diego: Outside scholarships first reduce need-based loans and work-study. Only as a last resort do they reduce UC grants and institutional scholarships.
• Cal Poly SLO: Outside scholarships must be reported. The specific displacement order is not publicly documented. Contact Cal Poly Financial Aid for case-specific guidance.
• Pepperdine: Outside scholarships may exceed tuition and fees but cannot exceed the standard cost of attendance. The Regents Scholars Program and George Pepperdine Achievement Award cannot be combined (student receives the higher award). The Christian Leadership Award stacks on top of merit awards. The Tuition Exchange Scholarship replaces all other institutional grants and scholarships.
• Emory: Outside scholarships are subject to the cost of attendance cap. Emory's published policy states the combined total of all financial aid cannot exceed a student's eligibility or cost of attendance, and outside scholarships will impact federal, state, and institutional aid. The National Merit Scholarship is an explicit exception: Emory states institutional grants will not be reduced by NMF award amounts.
• Santa Clara: SCU states that outside scholarships may affect the original financial aid award. The Financial Aid Office requires notification of all outside awards and issues a revised offer letter reflecting any changes. No published formula specifies whether outside scholarships displace merit aid, need-based grants, loans, or work-study first.
• Villanova: Outside scholarships reduce self-help aid first, then Villanova institutional grants if total aid exceeds demonstrated need. A student cannot receive funding that exceeds cost of attendance.
• Michigan: U-M treats outside scholarships as a resource within the financial aid package. Outside aid is first applied against unmet costs (gap between COA and EFC + aid), then reduces loan or Work-Study, and only reduces grants once loan/Work-Study has been fully replaced. State-funded awards and the Detroit-pipeline scholarships are an exception: they reduce U-M institutional grants directly.
• Ohio State: Ohio State applies a federal cost-of-attendance cap to the total aid package. Most institutional merit scholarships are explicitly non-combinable; the student receives whichever is largest. The single exception: National Buckeye stacks with Maximus, Provost, OR Trustees Scholarships. External scholarships are revised into the package once received and may reduce institutional aid if total exceeds COA.
• Illinois: Illinois's published policy is loan-first: private outside scholarships reduce loans and Federal Work-Study before grant aid. COA is the outer ceiling: total aid cannot exceed cost of attendance. Outside scholarship checks must be sent to OSFA with a Private Outside Scholarship Form, made payable to the University of Illinois with the student's name and UIN.
• Purdue: Purdue applies a federal cost-of-attendance cap. The total financial aid package may be reduced if it exceeds Purdue's COA. Indy Scholars + Trustees OR Presidential is the ONE explicit stackable pair (Indianapolis campus only). All other Purdue institutional merit awards are non-combinable. Outside scholarships count toward the COA cap. Awards are explicitly nonnegotiable.
• Wisconsin: UW-Madison applies a financial-need ceiling rather than a strict cost-of-attendance cap. Free and need-based aid (which includes scholarships) cannot exceed the student's calculated financial need. When an outside scholarship pushes the package over need, OSFA reduces other aid in the package, typically loans and work-study first.
• Indiana: Hutton Honors College discloses explicit displacement: HHC awards may not pay out as cash to the bursar account but instead reduce student/parent loan burden or federal/state grants. The broader IU policy on outside scholarship displacement is administered through OSFA on a case-by-case basis. The practical implication: HHC and Cox awards are useful but not always net new dollars when stacked on top of FAFSA-driven aid.
• Michigan State: MSU's institutional merit awards are residency-contingent (any change in residency status or receipt of an OOS tuition waiver disqualifies the OOS awards going forward). Honors College, National Merit, and Professorial Assistantship awards stack on top of the four-tier Non-resident Scholarship for OOS, or the in-state structure. Outside scholarship interaction is governed by federal Title IV COA caps administered through the Office of Financial Aid.
• Iowa: Iowa applies a strict cost-of-attendance cap per Title IV. The sum of all scholarships and grants (institutional + outside + federal/state) cannot exceed COA. When outside scholarships push the package over COA or financial need, University of Iowa scholarships and grants are reduced. Within the institutional pool, Iowa Flagship Award, Iowa Scholars Award, and National Scholars Award explicitly do not stack with each other; the highest-dollar award is automatically applied.
• Minnesota: UMN applies a strict cost-of-attendance cap: total financial aid offered cannot exceed COA for the aid year. The published reduction order (which awards reduce first when total exceeds COA) is not publicly documented; OSFA administers on a case-by-case basis. Reciprocity-state residents (MN, ND, WI, Manitoba) are explicitly excluded from the National Scholarship; they receive reciprocity tuition rates instead, which is itself a form of merit-equivalent benefit.
• Maryland: Maryland enforces an institutional cost-of-attendance cap on combined merit + need + outside aid. The President's Scholarship policy explicitly says the award may be reduced by other merit funds so that the student does not financially benefit beyond UMD direct costs plus the book allowance. Outside scholarships count as a financial resource and can trigger overawards.
• Rutgers: Rutgers caps total aid (institutional, federal, state, and outside) at the cost of attendance. The signature constraint is the single-award merit process: admits get one Rutgers merit scholarship, not several stacked. Need-based aid, the Scarlet Guarantee, the Garden State Guarantee, and outside scholarships all stack on top of merit but are constrained by the COA cap.
• Nebraska: When an outside scholarship arrives, Nebraska reduces self-help aid (loans or work-study) first so all aid stays within the cost of attendance, and — unlike most schools — does not reduce or cancel its campus-based scholarships for outside awards unless required by law (loan-first displacement). The Chancellor's Tuition Scholarship and Regents Scholar Tuition Commitment remain a separate constraint: they cannot be combined with any other tuition benefit or waiver from federal, state, or University sources; they replace, not stack with, other tuition-specific awards. Other merit, need-based grants, and outside scholarships layer on top within the cost of attendance.
• Notre Dame: Notre Dame meets 100% of demonstrated financial need with no-loan offers; the headline aid story is need-based, not merit. The critical stacking rule: students who receive both a merit scholarship and a need-based scholarship from the University are subject to a reduction or elimination of the need-based portion in accordance with federal regulations and institutional policy. Outside scholarships also reduce the financial aid package because ND already meets full need.
• Northeastern: Northeastern caps total aid at the cost of attendance and has a specific outside-scholarship displacement order: outside awards apply FIRST to unmet financial need, THEN to replace loans and/or work-study, AND if still excess, reduce institutional grants and/or scholarships. Internal merit awards stack with each other (e.g. Honors + Dean's, or Honors + National Merit) within the COA cap, but accepting a National Scholar award can specifically reduce previously awarded NU Grant funds.
• Texas A&M: Texas A&M does NOT stack named Academic Scholarships; students who qualify for more than one of President's Endowed, Lechner, or McFadden are offered only the highest-dollar award. National Merit awards are an exception: they stack on top of other freshman scholarships.
• Florida: Florida Bright Futures + Benacquisto + National Merit are explicitly designed to stack to cost of attendance for Florida-resident National Merit Scholars. UF-administered merit awards (Presidential ladder, Florida Merit Scholarships) layer on top. Outside private scholarships count as a financial resource; per UF's published policy they may reduce other aid once total aid exceeds federal eligibility, and which aid is reduced depends on the type of aid received. UF does not state a fixed self-help-first order.
• UVA: UVA meets 100% of demonstrated need: outside scholarships replace 'self-help' aid (Direct Subsidized Loans, Institutional/Nursing Loans, Federal Work Study) FIRST, before reducing state and University grants. Total aid cannot exceed cost of attendance.
• UNC Chapel Hill: Students may accept only ONE non-need-based academic award from UNC, even if considered for multiple. UNC also no longer offers college-sponsored scholarships to National Merit Finalists. Outside scholarship treatment for Covenant and other need-based recipients is governed by the standard self-help displacement order.
• UGA: HOPE and Zell Miller are state-funded and cannot exceed total tuition charges for the semester. UGA outside-scholarship policy reduces self-help (loans and Federal Work Study) BEFORE federal or institutional gift aid. External scholarships of $1,000+ are split evenly across fall/spring unless the donor directs otherwise.
• Georgia Tech: Georgia Tech treats outside scholarships as part of the total cost-of-attendance package. Outside awards reduce need-based aid first when total aid exceeds demonstrated need; institutional merit (Stamps, Gold, Provost) is generally protected unless the student is over-awarded.
• Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech makes a four-year combined-aid commitment per the Office of University Scholarships and Financial Aid: 'the combined total of grants and scholarships will remain unchanged provided students maintain eligibility.' Outside scholarships are part of the total package; VT will adjust the institutional grant/scholarship mix rather than reducing combined aid below the original commitment, except where federal regulations require it.
• Florida State: FSU stacks state Bright Futures + institutional Vires/Presidential merit + outside scholarships. Private scholarships must be reported as outside aid and are counted as a financial resource in determining need, so the aid award may be adjusted at any time during the year. FSU's published outside-scholarship policy does not state which aid type is reduced first or a specific cost-of-attendance ceiling, so families should ask Student Financial Services to model the interaction.
• Tennessee: UT Knoxville stacks state HOPE + Tri-Star (UT Promise, Pledge, Flagship) + institutional Volunteer/Provost + outside scholarships up to the cost of attendance and UT-specified award maximums. Volunteer + Orange & White cannot combine; most other awards can stack subject to the COA cap.
• Arkansas: Arkansas applies a Cost of Attendance Overaward Policy: combined institutional aid + state aid + outside scholarships cannot exceed the COA. Awards are reduced (cancelled or reduced) until the overaward is eliminated. The NRTA is treated as a tuition reduction (not a cash scholarship), which means it does not displace need-based aid the way a cash scholarship would.
• Mizzou: Mizzou applies a cost-of-attendance cap: federal, state, institutional, and private aid combined cannot exceed the annually assigned COA. Outside scholarships displace need-based aid first; institutional merit awards are typically protected. Bright Flight (state) explicitly stacks on top of most institutional automatics per Mizzou's combination chart.
• South Carolina: USC's general university awards are mostly mutually exclusive: recipients receive only one general award, with three explicit exceptions (the Provost Scholars Award, Presidential Scholars Award, and USC STEM Supplement, each of which can combine with another general award). State scholarships (Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, HOPE) explicitly stack on top of general university awards per state regulations. Total aid cannot exceed cost of attendance.
• Clemson: Clemson's recruiting scholarships (National Scholars, Trustee, Presidential, Palmetto Pact, Clemson Non-Resident Merit, Clemson Scholars, Lyceum, Out-of-State Tuition Scholarship) are renewable four-year awards based on residency. They CAN be combined with each other and with the state-funded Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, and HOPE Scholarships, but the Clemson Non-Resident Merit Scholarship is reduced or removed if a student receives tuition-specific aid such as an ROTC scholarship. Total aid cannot exceed cost of attendance.
• NC State: NC State applies the Estimated Cost of Attendance cap to total financial aid resources. Outside scholarships must be reported promptly to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid; if total aid exceeds COA, need-based grants are typically reduced before merit. National Merit Finalists do NOT receive automatic NC State institutional funding; this is unusual among public flagships and a key planning constraint.
• Iowa State: Iowa State applies cost of attendance as a hard cap on total aid. Most automatic awards (Loyal, Forever, True, Academic Achievement Award) are mutually exclusive; students receive the single highest award they qualify for. Full-tuition awards (Iowa NMF, GWC Carver, First Cyclones) replace automatic awards entirely and have specific stacking restrictions documented per program. ROTC and tuition-specific aid interactions follow standard COA-cap displacement.
• Agnes Scott: Agnes Scott's named institutional scholarships (Hopkins Music, Presbyterian, Wasserman, Whitehead, Campus Visit Award) explicitly stack on top of the earned academic merit scholarship / $100K+ Promise. No published rule was found describing how third-party OUTSIDE scholarships displace institutional aid.
• Allegheny: The scholarship page lists external/outside scholarship resources but does not state how OUTSIDE/private scholarships interact with or displace Allegheny institutional aid. Multiple Allegheny awards (Trustee + Referral + Visit Grant) are presented as separately renewable, implying they stack, but a formal stacking/cap policy was not found on the pages opened.
• American: American applies three nested caps to total aid: (1) tuition-restricted awards cannot together exceed tuition; (2) need-based aid plus gift aid cannot exceed financial need; (3) total aid cannot exceed cost of attendance. Above any cap, AU reduces loans and work-study before grants and scholarships. AU merit scholarships and the AU Grant are tuition-only. AU also caps institutional scholarships at one per student.
• Appalachian State: Outside scholarships must be reported to Financial Aid and are incorporated into the student's package; the published policy explicitly allows institutional aid to be adjusted in response.
• Belmont: Belmont applies outside, federal, and state aid first toward expenses. Institutional aid is non-refundable, so when outside scholarships combined with other resources cover or exceed cost of attendance, Belmont's institutional scholarship gets reduced rather than refunded back to the student.
• Beloit College: Beloit College merit-based scholarships may be awarded in combination up to a maximum of $49,000 annually.
• Brown: Brown does not adjust its institutional grant when a student wins an outside scholarship. Per the published policy, private outside scholarships reduce the student's expected summer earnings and/or campus employment first — leaving the Brown grant intact up to that cap.
• Bucknell: Bucknell publishes a clean COA cap on gift aid from all sources. Once total gift aid (Bucknell + federal + state + private + tuition benefits + VA + similar) reaches Bucknell's cost of attendance, Bucknell reduces its own aid — both need-based and merit-based — dollar for dollar to prevent surplus. Non-need loans (Unsubsidized Stafford, PLUS, Alternative) do not trigger a reduction.
• Butler: All Butler gift assistance (including the Academic Scholarship) is for tuition only unless otherwise stated and is limited to full-time students pursuing a first bachelor's degree. The Morton-Finney 'full tuition' ceiling and the Butler Tuition Guarantee 'full tuition' are both reached by COMBINING Butler gift aid with state and federal aid, not by a single flat award.
• CMU: CMU's published outside-scholarship policy is unusually friendly: institutional aid is NOT reduced when outside scholarships arrive unless total aid exceeds COA or exceeds financial need. Even then, federal aid (loans first) is reduced before institutional grant.
• Catholic University: University scholarships apply only to tuition charges and are not refundable. Merit and need-based aid combined cannot exceed total tuition charges. Tuition Exchange cannot be combined with any other CUA scholarship or grant; the John Paul II grant and music awards can be combined with other merit up to full tuition.
• Centre: Centre publishes an unusually specific outside-scholarship rule: outside awards under $1,000 do not reduce the Centre grant; outside awards of $1,000 or more may reduce it. All outside scholarships must be reported to the Office of Financial Aid.
• Champlain: Outside scholarships do NOT reduce a Champlain scholarship in most cases. EXCEPTIONS: tuition benefits, tuition exchange, and military/veterans' benefits are not treated as outside scholarships and could impact eligibility for additional Champlain scholarships. The Count-On-It guarantee (merit never declines at full-time + 2.0 GPA) does not extend to recipients of Champlain tuition benefits, Tuition Exchange scholarships, or Yellow Ribbon benefits, nor to need-based federal/state grants and Champlain funds impacted by them.
• Clark: Clark's aid is based on the assumption you receive no non-Clark aid; if you do, Clark may revise its offer. For MERIT-based outside scholarships, outside funds first fill unmet need, then reduce self-help (work-study, then loans), and any remainder reduces the Clark grant DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR. NON-merit outside awards (federal/state grants) reduce the Clark grant dollar-for-dollar. Tuition subsidies based on a parent's employment reduce the Clark grant $0.50 per dollar after the first $5,000. All Clark merit + need-based aid is capped at eight semesters.
• Colgate: Colgate handles outside scholarships differently based on type: MERIT-based outside awards first offset family contribution, work-study, and loans (student-favorable). State/federal ENTITLEMENT aid and parent-employer tuition benefits reduce the Colgate Grant dollar-for-dollar (less favorable).
• Charleston: CofC's explicit non-stackable rule means most institutional merit awards cannot combine with each other — students receive the single most beneficial CofC merit. SC state awards (Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, HOPE) stack with CofC merit per the SC Talent Initiative. Out-of-state tuition waivers from all sources combined cannot exceed the OOS differential.
• CU Boulder: When outside or additional aid arrives, CU Boulder tries to reduce loans first, but explicitly reserves the right to replace other need-based aid such as grants or work-study when necessary. Loan-first is the goal, but not a guarantee.
• Davidson: Davidson uses an unusually student-friendly outside-scholarship rule: outside funds first reduce the student employment award, then the Expected Family Contribution. Only after total outside resources exceed $5,000/year — OR student employment and EFC have both been fully replaced — does Davidson aid get reduced. This explicitly protects Davidson Trust grants from displacement up to a meaningful threshold.
• Dickinson: Total aid cannot exceed need as computed by federally approved methodology. Crucially, the college will always reduce or eliminate SELF-HELP (loans or work) before reducing grant aid — a family-favorable order. Tuition Exchange recipients cannot receive any other Dickinson merit scholarship.
• Drew: Favorable to merit holders: outside scholarships first fill unmet need, then may reduce self-help (work-study/loans). Drew need-based grants are reduced only if total scholarships+grants exceed financial need. Outside awards have NO impact on Drew merit scholarships unless total grants+scholarships exceed the cost of attendance (a COA cap that protects merit).
• Drexel: Drexel uses a grant-first displacement rule for named scholarships and outside awards. The institutional grant (Drexel Grant) is reduced or replaced by named/external scholarships rather than the outside dollars adding cash on top. The university spells this out directly in its named-scholarship system.
• Duquesne University: Any student awarded scholarship funds from outside entities or third-party organizations should have scholarship funds sent to Duquesne's Cashier's Office.
• Eckerd: Total awards cannot exceed the cost of attendance (a COA cap). The need-based Eckerd College Grant may at any point be replaced in whole or part by a named (donor) scholarship. Veterans' Yellow Ribbon institutional grant explicitly REPLACES any previously awarded Eckerd scholarship or grant.
• Elizabethtown: Outside scholarships first fill unmet need (including need-based self-help); if they exceed unmet need, the College reduces its need-based gift aid (e.g., Trustee Scholarship) dollar-for-dollar. Merit scholarships (Excelsior/Presidential/Founders/Dean's) are NOT reduced by outside scholarships, BUT are reduced if the student receives tuition benefits or if total gift aid exceeds the cost of Tuition, Food, and Housing (a COA-subset cap). Late PA state grants reduce institutional need-based gift aid 100%.
• Florida Tech: Florida Tech grants can be used alongside most Florida Tech scholarships, and several $2,500 grants (Scouting, Robotics, Legacy, Family) plus the PTK scholarship are explicitly 'stackable with other Florida Tech Scholarships.' The pages do not state how third-party/outside private scholarships are treated.
• Florida Southern: FSC reserves the right to reduce institutional academic scholarships if a student receives scholarships from multiple sources, to stay within college packaging parameters. FSC Grants and Academic Scholarships are likely replaced with donor funds (a thank-you letter is then required). Major-specific scholarships are forfeited if the student changes majors and are NOT replaced.
• Furman: Furman caps gift aid at total cost of attendance. Outside scholarships stack on top of Furman aid up to that ceiling; when total gift aid (Furman + federal + state + private) exceeds COA, Furman reduces its own grants/scholarships to bring the total back under the cap.
• George Mason: Most merit awards can combine with other scholarships and aid, but because merit applies only to tuition and mandatory charges, a merit award may be cancelled or adjusted if other aid/scholarship/benefit pays partial or full tuition. Outside (private) scholarships are treated as resources: if they exceed a student's need or cost of attendance, the OSFA first reduces student loans or Federal Work-Study.
• GWU: Outside resources are treated as part of the need-based aid package, not as additive to it. The one exception is outside scholarships awarded to new students after May 1 — those apply to unmet need rather than displacing institutional aid. GW Employee Benefits and Tuition Exchange cannot combine with most GW merit and grant awards.
• Georgetown: Georgetown publishes a four-step displacement order for outside scholarships: student expected contribution, federal loan, federal work-study/campus employment, then University need-based scholarship. Unlike Brown, Georgetown WILL reduce its own grant once self-help is fully displaced.
• Gettysburg: Merit scholarships can be combined with need-based grants, federal/state grants, loans, and work-study. Outside scholarships reduce work-study and/or loans first; once those are exhausted and federal need is exceeded, the Gettysburg College Grant is reduced. Total aid from all sources may not exceed the family's estimated federal financial need (PLUS/alternative loans plus other aid cannot exceed COA). Merit scholarship values themselves are fixed once enrolled.
• Hamilton: Hamilton's outside-scholarship policy is loan-first: outside awards first replace self-help (work-study and loans) before they touch the Hamilton College Scholarship. Outside awards exceeding the self-help components do replace Hamilton grant, but the loan/work-study layer protects institutional aid from displacement for most outside scholarships.
• JMU: JMU applies federal/state over-award rules: total financial aid (institutional + federal + state + outside) cannot exceed cost of attendance. Outside scholarships must be reported via the Outside Scholarship/Award Notification Form. Receipt of outside funds 'may reduce your eligibility for need-based state and federal financial aid.' The package can fluctuate throughout the year as outside aid is reported.
• Kalamazoo College: Kalamazoo College merit scholarships can apply to study abroad or study away experiences.
• Knox College: The combination of Knox scholarships and grants and federal and state grants cannot exceed the cost of tuition.
• Lafayette: Lafayette explicitly does not displace institutional grant aid in response to outside scholarships, except when total aid would exceed federal limits — one of the most stacker-friendly published policies among LACs of this tier.
• Lawrence University: The Wisconsin Academic Excellence Scholarship ($2,250/year) may be combined with other Lawrence scholarships.
• Lewis & Clark: Tuition Exchange recipients cannot receive other institutional merit scholarships (and it may reduce need-based aid). Aid from outside Lewis & Clark (scholarships, loans, educational benefits) 'can have an impact on a student's eligibility for other aid programs,' and the College may issue a revised award. First-time freshmen are capped at 8 semesters of L&C institutional aid (12 semesters of federal aid). No explicit dollar-for-dollar outside-scholarship displacement formula or COA-cap figure was published on the pages opened.
• Lipscomb: The Trustee Scholarship is not stackable with any other Lipscomb institutional aid.
• Loyola Maryland: Outside scholarships are layered onto the package 'in the most favorable way possible' — they first cover any remaining balance, then reduce self-help (loans/work-study) before institutional grants are touched.
• Loyola Marymount: Outside resources are coordinated with the LMU offer. If outside scholarships cover tuition and fees and were not disclosed up front, the LMU Grant is reduced or canceled — grant-first displacement, the worst flavor for stackers.
• Loyola Chicago: Loyola Chicago documents both a tuition-cap rule for merit (outside + merit scholarship cannot exceed tuition; merit is reduced first) and a need-based rule (private scholarships may reduce need-based aid, with loans and work-study cut before grants per federal regulations).
• Macalester: Macalester runs one of the cleanest and most family-friendly outside-scholarship policies in the U.S. Outside aid does NOT affect Macalester merit scholarships at all. For need-based grants, the first $10,000 in outside scholarships is fully protected; above $10,000, only half of the excess reduces Macalester need-based grants — and only up to the cost-of-attendance ceiling.
• Marquette: Outside scholarships first stack against unmet need. They begin displacing institutional aid once the total either exceeds tuition (for tuition-restricted awards) or exceeds total cost of attendance (for the full package). Marquette is explicit that merit awards can be cut when the combination tops these caps.
• Mercer: Mercer reduces self-help (loans, work-study) before institutional grants when outside scholarships displace existing aid. The published rule is unambiguous: loans go first, grants only if necessary. All outside scholarships must be reported in writing.
• Miami (Ohio): Miami's published scholarship adjustment policy is mixed/grant-first when tuition-covering aid stacks: scholarships covering tuition and fees may be reduced when other tuition-covering aid arrives or when total aid exceeds COA. Most lower-tier merit scholarships are not tuition-specific and are unaffected.
• Michigan Tech: Michigan Tech's tuition-equalizing / resident-rate awards behave as 'one award only' against the main scholarship: the non-resident Alumni Legacy Award cannot be combined with the National Scholars Program, University Student Aid Grant, Military Family Education Award, or International Ambassador Scholarship; the Military Family Education Award cannot be combined with National Scholars, Alumni Legacy, or University Student Aid Grant; and the College Partners Pathway Award cannot be combined with the National Transfer Scholarship. No general outside-scholarship displacement rule was published on these pages.
• Missouri S&T: The automatic Groundbreaker packages cannot be combined with the top competitive full-tuition awards: the in-state Groundbreaker cannot combine with the National Merit Semifinalist Scholarship or Chancellor's Scholarship; the out-of-state Groundbreaker cannot combine with the National Merit Semifinalist Scholarship or Distinguished Scholars Award. The National Merit Scholarship is not stackable with other merit scholarships.
• Muhlenberg: No explicit policy was found on how outside/private scholarships interact with Muhlenberg aid. The merit page states merit is a fixed amount, will not increase, and any unused portion (part-time, withdrawal, early graduation) is forfeited. Talent awards are described as additive to merit.
• NYU: NYU's policy is unusually generous about outside scholarship layering compared to peer privates: outside scholarships generally do NOT displace NYU institutional aid below the cost-of-attendance ceiling. Displacement happens only when total financial aid (including outside) would exceed COA. Outside checks should be sent to the Bursar's StudentLink Center.
• NC State: Total financial aid resources at NC State cannot exceed the Estimated Cost of Attendance.
• Ohio U: Ohio University applies a strict cost-of-attendance cap on all financial assistance (institutional, federal, state, plus outside Estimated Financial Assistance). When outside EFA is added, Federal Direct Loans are typically reduced first, but certain grant funds may also require reduction. Outside scholarship checks of $1,000 or less are applied fully to fall semester; larger awards split fall/spring.
• Pomona: Pomona's published outside-scholarship order is unusually student-favorable: outside awards first reduce the standard student contribution ($1,900 for first-years), then the student work award ($2,800), then the expected parent contribution, and only after all three of those are absorbed does Pomona reduce its own institutional scholarship.
• Providence: Outside scholarships (including tuition benefits) are treated as need-based and applied against unmet need first. If an adjustment is needed, the reduction begins with the least-beneficial monies: loans are reduced/reallocated first, then work study, then institutional assistance only if necessary. Outside scholarships do not replace the family contribution.
• Quinnipiac: Total aid is capped at the cost of attendance (the COA 'represents the maximum financial aid you may receive'). Additional resources — athletic scholarships, Tuition Exchange grants, veterans benefits, outside scholarships, etc. — may affect the aid calculated. The Multiple Sibling Award is a tuition-only benefit that cannot be used on top of other tuition benefits or toward housing/fees/indirect costs. Town scholarships are awarded in place of other academic scholarships.
• Rollins College: Donald J. Cram Science Scholarships are typically awarded in addition to one of Rollins' other academic scholarships.
• Rowan: Merit is residency-EXCLUSIVE: the Rowan University Scholars Program serves first-time (in-state) students while the Brown & Gold award serves out-of-state students — students qualify for one track or the other, not both. NJ income-based tuition-free programs (Garden State Guarantee for juniors/seniors; Rowan Opportunity Program for first-/second-years) reduce tuition and fees AFTER all other grants and scholarships to a net cost of zero or reduced amount. The pages do not state a private/outside-scholarship displacement rule.
• Saint Louis U: SLU requires students to report outside scholarships and notes that each award is governed by its own donor-specified limits (e.g., tuition-restricted vs cost-of-attendance restricted). The public site does not publish a single displacement formula — call the Office of Student Financial Services before assuming a large outside award will stack on top of the Vice Presidents' or Presidential tier.
• Samford: Samford's published policy is that the University Grant (need-based) may be reduced or cancelled if a student is later awarded additional Samford institutional funds or if need changes — an internal stacking limit, not specifically an outside-scholarship rule.
• Seattle U: Seattle University requires students to report outside scholarships, labels them 'Private Outside Scholarship' on the award letter, and disburses them equally across the three quarters unless the donor specifies otherwise. The public outside-scholarship page does not state which fund (institutional aid vs. self-help) is reduced first when a package must be revised.
• Sewanee: Sewanee documents internal stacking rules clearly (Wilkins layers on top of EQB; Hopper layers on top of any other academic scholarship; arts and choir fellowships stack on top of academic awards) but does not publish a single uniform displacement formula for outside private scholarships. Contact the Office of Financial Aid before counting on layering a large external award on top of a Vice-Chancellor's or Benedict.
• Smith: Smith's published outside-aid policy is self-help first: outside aid reduces work-study first, then can offset a one-time computer purchase or Smith health insurance, with any excess replacing Smith Grant dollar-for-dollar. State and federal grants displace Smith Grant dollar-for-dollar. Merit scholarships fill need before adding to grant.
• St. Lawrence: St. Lawrence does not stack scholarships; students can be awarded only one merit or specialty scholarship, and if they qualify for multiple such scholarships, the highest monetary value scholarship is awarded.
• Stetson: Stetson awards merit packages on an 'all sources of funding' model — institutional aid can be reduced to accommodate outside scholarships, and total aid will not exceed actual educational costs.
• Stony Brook: Stony Brook caps total aid at the budgeted cost of attendance and generally awards only one institutional scholarship per student — 'the most beneficial scholarship offer that we can make.' Outside scholarships, federal/state aid, and institutional merit all share the COA bucket.
• Syracuse: Syracuse's published policy is loan-first displacement: self-help (Federal Work-Study and educational loans) is reduced before the SU Grant when outside scholarships arrive. Tuition-specific outside awards, however, directly reduce the need-based SU Grant dollar-for-dollar.
• Texas Tech: Outside scholarships at TTU can reduce federal/state need-based aid (subsidized loans, work-study, state aid, institutional grants), but TTU explicitly protects UNIVERSITY scholarships — meaning the Presidential Merit award is not reduced by outside aid.
• Trinity (TX): Trinity publishes one of the clearest external-scholarship policies in higher ed: non-need families can stack outside scholarships on top of merit up to cost of attendance; need-based families have outside awards capped at financial need, with self-help (loans and work-study) reduced before any institutional gift aid.
• Truman State: Automatic awards are generally stackable and renewable, and a student may receive multiple automatic and/or competitive awards. BUT: (1) Truman-funded scholarships apply only to tuition and on-campus room and meal plans — never to fees; (2) competitive awards (Pershing, Kirk, Harry S. Truman) supersede all other Truman-funded awards, except the Bulldog Legacy Award (which can combine with everything except Pershing); (3) out-of-state-portion awards (Out-of-State TruMerit, Non-Resident Tuition Waiver, Non-Resident Tuition Grant, MSEP) cannot be combined — only the greatest-value one is given; (4) NEMO does not stack with Top Scholar or TruPlus; (5) some larger awards replace/supersede smaller ones.
• Tufts: Tufts is explicitly need-based only — no merit aid. The published outside-scholarship rule is one of the clearest loan-first policies in higher ed: outside aid first reduces the Tufts Loan, then the Direct Loan and work-study, and only after self-help is exhausted does the Tufts Grant decrease. Family contribution is not reduced by outside aid.
• UC Davis: UC Davis publishes one of the clearest displacement orders in higher education: incoming scholarships (UC Davis or outside) first cover unmet need, then reduce self-help (loans and work-study), and only reduce grants and other gift aid as a last resort. That makes outside scholarships unusually safe to layer on.
• UC Irvine: When outside scholarships arrive, UCI reduces loans and work-study first before touching grants. This is a student-favorable order — outside aid functions as loan-replacement rather than grant-replacement up to the loan/work-study cap.
• UCSB: UCSB's UC system rule is explicit: nonresident undergraduates are ineligible for UC need-based aid and not typically awarded institutional scholarships beyond the Regents and Domestic Nonresident programs. The Domestic Nonresident Scholarship is applied as a tuition reduction, not refundable cash. For California residents, UCSB scholarships and need-based aid follow the UC Education Finance Model with self-help (work/loan) plus parent contributions plus grants/scholarships.
• UCF: UCF requires self-reporting of outside scholarships through the Self-Report Tool. When the total package exceeds Cost of Attendance or assessed financial need, UCF may reduce other aid components — grants, work study, or loans — without committing to a specific order.
• UConn: When total aid (including outside scholarships) exceeds Cost of Attendance or demonstrated need, UConn reduces in this published order: loans first, then work-study, then need-based grants and scholarships. Institutional grant aid is protected until self-help aid is fully removed.
• UAB: IB or Cambridge AICE Diploma Holders receive an additional $2,500 per year at UAB, stackable on top of any automatic merit award. Students may receive only one national scholarship award.
• Dayton: Dayton requires students to report outside scholarships through the Porches student portal but does not publish a displacement formula. Families cannot tell from the public site whether an outside award will offset institutional merit aid, loans, or work-study — call Flyer Student Services before banking on stacking on top of a Trustees' or President's award.
• Houston: UH caps total aid at the student's cost of attendance except for Pell Grant recipients, who may stack aid up to COA + the Pell amount. Awards are subject to change as the entire package is finalized.
• University of Maryland: UMD's five institutional merit scholarships (Banneker/Key, Frederick Douglass, Maryland Transfer, President's, and Dean's) cannot be combined with each other. Students may receive only one. They can, however, be combined with other grants and scholarships (need-based and outside awards), subject to cost-of-attendance cap.
• UMass Amherst: UMass Amherst Financial Aid Services explicitly reserves the right to reduce institutional awards when outside scholarships, loans, or tuition credits are reported after the original offer — total aid cannot exceed estimated need/cost per federal regulations. The Chancellor's Award and NERSP New England regional discount are mutually exclusive.
• University of Montana: UMAAS is tuition-designated: it can only be applied to tuition and cannot be combined with any other full-tuition waiver. If a student holds multiple tuition-designated awards, the total of all tuition waivers cannot exceed the cost of tuition; UMAAS is reduced or canceled if the student receives another tuition waiver or third-party tuition coverage. Out-of-state UMAAS is forfeited entirely if the student is awarded the WUE or establishes Montana residency.
• Oregon: UO's Apex Scholarship policy is explicit no-displacement: outside scholarships do not reduce the Apex amount. The Summit cannot combine with Apex or UO Excellence (one or the other), but combines with Presidential, Duck Excellence, and General University Scholarships. Residency change downstream reduces non-resident awards to resident-equivalent amounts.
• Pitt: Pitt applies a cost-of-attendance over-award cap. Outside scholarships and grants are reported through the Financial Aid Welcome Center; once the total package would exceed COA (or financial need, for need-based aid), Pitt reduces previously offered institutional, state, federal, or private funding to bring the package back under the cap.
• Portland: Only ONE named merit scholarship is awarded and they cannot be combined. For OUTSIDE/private scholarships, UP will reduce loans and/or work-study first whenever possible (favorable, loan-first). Awards under $1,000 generally apply to the semester received; larger ones split evenly fall/spring.
• Puget Sound: Students studying abroad may apply Puget Sound scholarships and grants to their study abroad program. Program fees (assessed for study abroad) range from $300 up to $2,400, with the majority at the $300 tier.
• URI: The Schilling Scholars award explicitly stacks up to $20,000/yr on top of the University/Presidential merit scholarship. The pages opened do not state how OUTSIDE/private (third-party) scholarships interact with URI aid.
• Rochester: Rochester's foundational rule: merit scholarships are used to meet financial need if need exists. For need-eligible students, the merit award replaces the institutional grant rather than stacking. Rochester awards only one merit scholarship per student.
• South Alabama: Students awarded both a Mitchell Business Scholarship and a USA Freshman Admission Scholarship must choose which scholarship they wish to accept; they cannot receive both.
• USF: USF caps total aid at the estimated cost of attendance per federal regulations. Out-of-state waivers cannot combine with one another (same tuition portion), and the OOS waiver tier is canceled outright if a student updates to Florida residency. The waiver does NOT convert to an in-state equivalent.
• Southern Miss: USM Honors College students may only receive one scholarship package (Honors Scholar Award, Discovery, or Presidential); they are mutually exclusive.
• University of Tampa: Institutional scholarships and grants at The University of Tampa are not stackable with ROTC tuition scholarships from the military.
• UT Austin: UT Austin applies a federal/state COA cap with a loan-first reduction ordering. Outside scholarships first fill unmet need; once total aid hits cost of attendance or financial need, UT reduces loans before any other aid type. Outside scholarship displacement is documented on the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid policy page.
• Pacific: Federal COA cap: total aid (scholarships + grants + loans + work-study + outside awards) cannot exceed the cost of attendance. When the cap is hit, the Office of Financial Aid reduces self-help (loans and work-study) first 'whenever possible' before adjusting scholarships and grants — but scholarships/grants CAN be reduced once self-help is exhausted. (A separate rule found via search but not confirmable on an opened page states a Pacific grant/scholarship plus any other tuition award cannot exceed actual tuition — see Section C.)
• UW Seattle: UW applies federal cost-of-attendance over-award rules. Outside scholarships must be reported to the Office of Financial Aid; private scholarship checks of $2,000+ are split across remaining quarters, and smaller checks are applied to the current quarter. The policy does not specify whether loans or grants are reduced first when displacement occurs.
• Wyoming: The Cowboy Commitment normally cannot be combined with any other institutional scholarship aid, including those made possible by the UW Foundation.
• Wheaton (IL): Wheaton applies a hard cap on institutional scholarship and grant aid at the cost of tuition for the year. When outside scholarships plus Wheaton institutional aid exceed tuition, the Wheaton-funded portion is reduced first to bring the total to or below the tuition line — not cost of attendance, just tuition.
• Colorado State: Total aid (scholarships, grants, work-study, loans) may not exceed CSU's one-year cost of attendance. When a scholarship causes an over-award, CSU reduces loans first where possible, but may also reduce work-study, non-Pell grants, and/or scholarships if needed.
• Elon: Elon states that in most cases an outside scholarship will not reduce your Elon award. When a reduction is required, Elon cuts student loans and/or work first, and only reduces a scholarship or grant where absolutely necessary — a genuinely student-friendly, loan-first displacement order.
• Cincinnati: UC treats all scholarships, regardless of source, as need-based funding for federal aid purposes, and outside awards can reduce eligibility for other need-based aid. Reductions most often hit loans or work-study first, but scholarship adjustments are possible under the scholarship-limit policy when total aid exceeds the cost-of-attendance budget.
• Delaware: Delaware is unusually explicit that an outside scholarship can REDUCE or CANCEL your institutional award. UD's institutional funding is designed to offset tuition and mandatory fees, so if an outside award is also meant to cover tuition, UD may pull back its own scholarship dollars rather than let you keep both — this is institutional-aid displacement, not loan-first.
• Louisville: Louisville publishes a clear overaward/stacking policy. When you bring an outside scholarship, the office reduces self-help aid (loans and work-study) FIRST before touching any grant or scholarship — so an outside award generally replaces your loans rather than displacing your institutional merit, up to the cost-of-attendance ceiling.
• Richmond: For students receiving need-based aid, outside scholarships hit self-help (loans and work-study) first, then reduce need-based grants once they exceed the self-help amount — because Richmond meets 100% of need, outside money cannot grow the total package beyond demonstrated need. For students without a need-based award, outside scholarships can be brought in up to the full cost of attendance.
• Washington and Lee: Washington and Lee runs a no-loan financial aid model and meets 100% of demonstrated need. All outside awards must be reported to the Office of Financial Aid, but the public pages do not publish a dollar-for-dollar displacement formula for how an outside scholarship interacts with institutional grant aid — call the aid office before assuming an outside award lowers the family bill rather than replacing existing grant.
• Washington State: WSU does not publish a dollar-for-dollar displacement formula for outside scholarships, but it requires you to report all outside funding so it can adjust your package before disbursement and avoid an over-award repayment. The bigger stacking trap is internal: the WUE Cougar awards and several in-state awards explicitly cannot be combined with the National Merit Scholarship.
• Chapman: Chapman does not publish a plain-English displacement formula on its public outside-scholarships page. The page focuses on where to find outside awards and avoiding scams, and does not state whether an outside scholarship reduces loans, work-study, or institutional aid first. Families should confirm the order of reduction with the financial aid office before assuming an outside award stacks on top of academic merit.
• Denison: Denison requires outside scholarships to be reported to the financial aid office and says an adjustment to your aid 'may or may not' be necessary — there is no published displacement formula. Total aid from all sources cannot exceed the cost of attendance. Because top Denison awards can already reach full tuition, families should confirm with the aid office whether an outside award adds to the package or displaces institutional aid before counting on it.
• DePaul: DePaul requires students to report all outside scholarships and other external resources, and those resources are factored into eligibility for federal, state, and institutional aid — including tuition-restricted and need-based aid. DePaul's public compliance page does not publish a fixed order of reduction (loans first vs. institutional aid first), so families should confirm whether an outside award offsets institutional aid before counting on stacking.
• Stevens: Stevens requires students to report outside scholarships to the Office of Financial Aid but does not publish a displacement formula stating whether outside awards reduce institutional aid, loans, or unmet need first. Because Stevens merit scholarships cannot exceed the cost of tuition, an outside award could push a near-full-tuition package over that cap and trigger an adjustment. Confirm the treatment with the aid office before counting on it.
• Texas State: Texas State caps total aid at your cost of attendance and financial need. If an outside scholarship creates an over-award, the school reduces loans first, then work-study — it does not reach into your assured merit scholarship first. That makes Texas State friendlier to stacking outside money than schools that cut institutional aid first.
• North Texas (UNT): UNT lets outside scholarships stack on top of institutional merit up to your Cost of Attendance — it only reduces aid if an outside award pushes you over COA or over your FAFSA-calculated need. You must report any external scholarship to Financial Aid and Scholarships so it can be posted.
• Vermont (UVM): UVM caps total gift aid at the cost of attendance — your scholarship can be reduced or cancelled if grants, scholarships, employer benefits, and VA benefits together exceed COA. UVM's policy page documents this COA ceiling but does not publish a specific reduction order for outside private scholarships, so confirm with Student Financial Services before assuming an outside award stacks on top of a Presidential or Trustees scholarship.
• Whitworth: Outside scholarships from local, regional, or national organizations can usually be stacked on top of Whitworth scholarships and grants.
• Wichita State: The Honors College Merit Scholarship may be combined with the Freshmen Merit Scholarship or the Transfer Merit Scholarship if the student qualifies for both.
• Wofford: Comprehensive-fee cap: for a boarding student, gift aid (federal/state/institutional grants and scholarships) may not exceed the total comprehensive fee (tuition, fees, food and housing) plus a book allowance; for a day student, scholarships/grants may not exceed tuition + fees + a book allowance — unless the student uses student/parent loans. Outside scholarships must be reported and the package recalculated; when the cap would be exceeded, the Wofford scholarship/grant is reduced. Scholarships are available for a total of eight semesters.
• WPI: WPI does not publish an outside-scholarship displacement formula on its public policy pages. Its published merit policy focuses on renewal mechanics — full-time status and passing 24 credits across the A-D terms, with a 5% scholarship cut if a student passes only 21 credits. Families should ask the financial aid office how an outside award interacts with a Presidential or specialty scholarship before counting on it.
• Xavier (OH): Xavier publishes an Institutional Aid Awarding Policy, but its public undergraduate scholarship pages do not state a plain-English displacement order for outside scholarships (loans first vs. institutional aid first). Families should confirm with Student Financial Services whether an outside award offsets the automatic academic scholarship before assuming it stacks.
• Dartmouth: Outside scholarships first replace a student's leave-term earnings, employment expectation, and any optional loan. Only amounts that exceed those reduce the Dartmouth Scholarship dollar-for-dollar; they never reduce the calculated Parent Contribution.
• Drake: Drake requires students to report outside scholarships to the Financial Aid Office. Its public outside-scholarship page does not publish a displacement order (which aid is reduced first), so families cannot tell from the site whether an outside award will retire loans or trim the Presidential Scholarship. Confirm with the aid office before counting on stacking.
• Kenyon: Federal rules require students to report outside scholarships to Kenyon's Office of Financial Aid. Kenyon's published terms do not state a displacement order — which aid is reduced first if total aid exceeds need or cost of attendance — so the effect of an outside award on a Kenyon merit or need-based package cannot be determined from the public site. Confirm with the aid office.
• Oberlin: Oberlin requires students to report all outside scholarships. Favorably, outside scholarships first replace self-help — student loans and student employment — in the original aid package, so a typical outside award retires loans rather than cutting Oberlin grant money. Note that other need-based grants and entitlements do replace Oberlin grants/scholarships dollar for dollar.
• Saint Joseph's: Saint Joseph's instructs students to report any outside scholarship to the Financial Aid Office but does not publish a displacement formula. Whether an outside award reduces institutional aid, reduces loans, or fills unmet need is not stated on the public site — confirm with finaid@sju.edu before counting on stacking on top of a University Scholarship.
• Denver: DU applies outside (private) scholarships to unmet need first. If the outside award pushes total aid above demonstrated need or the cost of attendance, DU reduces student loans first, then work-study, and only then institutional scholarships or grants — a favorable loan-first order that protects merit money in most cases.
• New Hampshire: UNH asks students to report outside scholarships to the Financial Aid Office but does not publish a displacement formula on its public site. Whether an outside award reduces loans, reduces institutional aid, or fills unmet need is not stated publicly — confirm with the aid office (603-862-3600, financial.aid@unh.edu) before counting on stacking on top of a GPA-banded merit award.
• Tulsa: Tulsa's headline National Merit package explicitly cannot be combined with other UTulsa scholarships — it replaces them. For general outside/private scholarships, Tulsa does not publish a displacement formula on the pages reviewed, so families should confirm with the Office of Admission/Financial Aid before assuming an outside award adds to an institutional one.
• Williams: Outside scholarships can first be used to buy a new computer; any leftover amount then reduces the student's Williams grant. Because Williams packages no loans or work-study, there is no self-help cushion for outside awards to replace before they reach the institutional grant.

When this tool is wrong

This tool produces estimates based on published policies. It can be wrong in several specific ways:

• Internal policies differ from published ones. Some schools have unpublished internal guidelines that handle edge cases differently from the public-facing policy.
• Professional judgment overrides. Financial aid officers can use professional judgment to override standard displacement rules in individual cases, particularly when a family’s circumstances have changed.
• Scholarship-specific terms. Some outside scholarships have their own terms that interact with institutional aid in ways this calculator doesn’t model.
• Mid-year policy changes. Schools can change their stacking policies between academic years. Our database is updated quarterly, but there may be a lag.

The bottom line: use this tool to get a directional answer and to understand the mechanics. Then confirm with the school in writing before making financial decisions based on the estimate.

Frequently asked questions