Outside Scholarships

Most financial aid professionals and guidance counselors recommend students use Fastweb when searching for outside scholarships online. This web site is free for students and does a nationwide search for scholarships. Libraries, a parent’s employer, and community organizations are other good places to inquire. We also recommend sending inquiry letters to companies asking for information on available scholarships.

All legitimate scholarship searches should be free and should not ask for any credit card or bank information. If a family is unsure of the legitimacy of a scholarship offer or search, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Financial Aid or the Better Business Bureau.

The following is a list of reputable scholarship search engines our students have found helpful:

Fast Web      
Broke Scholar                                                
College Gold                                                
College Board                                              
Fin Aid                                                      
Go College                                                    
Student Scholarship Search         
www.scholarships.com
www.schoolsoup.com
www.dosomething.org
www.scholarshipamerica.org                  

The following is a list of scholarships for 2009-2010 academic year that we hope our students pursue. Some of the websites have not been updated for 2009-2010, but keep checking back because they will be soon. Keep in mind that February-March is when most outside scholarship applications are due. Scholarships are then usually awarded in May-June.  All of the following scholarships have different criteria, applications, and application dates. Please click on the links below to find out more information about the scholarships and how to apply.

Cleveland Scholarship Program                    
LEAF                                                               
Cleveland Foundation Scholarships               
Ohio Transfer Council                                    
Cleveland Association of Broadcasters         
United Negro College Fund                           
Hispanic Scholarship Fund                             
American Advertising Federation                  
Ohio Center for Broadcasting                                   
Coca-Cola                                                       
Tylenol                                                                       
Sallie Mae*                                                  
AES*                                                              
PNC*                                                              
Upromise 
Association of the United States Army 2009 Scholarship Program
Women in Service to Appalachia Scholarship
Talbots Scholarship
Replicon, Inc. Scholarship (for current students)
US Bank Internet Scholarship
Stop the Hate! Youth Speak Out Scholarship
Department of Homeland Security Scholarships

*The links denoted with an asterisk are scholarships sponsored by lenders. These lenders are not affiliated with John Carroll University. As with all outside scholarship searches, it is important for students to review them carefully and adhere to deadlines.                        

If a student receives an outside scholarship, it must be reported to the Office of Financial Aid as a resource. Depending on the student’s financial aid situation, additional scholarships could cause a reduction in other types of assistance.
Our policy on outside funding
Outside scholarships and the research you do to gain additional support for your college education should be rewarded. Overall, you should not be penalized for the research that you do. While you are required to report any outside scholarships to the school's financial aid office, we hope that the policies of JCU and how we treat outside funding will benefit you to the extent possible.

Every college and university has an outside scholarship policy that specifies what happens to your need-based financial aid package when you win a merit scholarship. An outside scholarship is any scholarship not awarded by the government or the school, such as a scholarship provided by a private sector company, philanthropist or foundation. Outside scholarships are considered resources, meaning that they have the potential to reduce your financial aid package dollar for dollar. Often we may not have a choice in the matter. Federal rules concerning "overaward situations" require the school to reduce the financial aid package when the sum of financial aid from all sources exceeds our total cost of education by more than $300.

Our policy is to apply the outside scholarship to unmet need, and then reduce self-help (loans and work-study) before touching institutional grants. This lets you replace your loans, which must be repaid, with the outside scholarship.