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External Scholarships

About External Scholarships

These are privately funded scholarships available to students and their families. These scholarships do not need to be repaid and are funded from a variety of sources including community organizations, local and national foundations, employers, state and federal agencies, and private donors.

Information about scholarships is free and may be found on the internet, in the reference sections of most public libraries, as well as high school counseling and guidance offices.  A good source of scholarship information for upper division (junior/senior grade level) students may be their academic major department office and the Web sites of professional associations in their academic disciplines.

You are required to report any outside scholarships to the school's financial aid office. Federal rules concerning "over award situations" require the school to reduce the financial aid package when the sum of financial aid from all sources exceeds the school's cost of education. If you fail to report an outside scholarship, you may be required to repay the school or the government all or part of your need-based financial aid package.

How to Avoid Scams

To avoid being a victim of a scholarship scam, students and their families should keep in mind the following tips:

  • Typically, scholarship applications do not require your social security number. 
  • If you must pay money to get some money, it might be a scam.
  • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  • Never invest more than a postage stamp to get information about a scholarship.
  • Legitimate scholarship foundations do not charge application fees.
  • If you are suspicious of an offer, it is usually with good reason.
  • Nobody can guarantee that you'll be awarded a scholarship.

Scholarship Database Tips

Hints for using scholarship databases:

  1. Remember to narrow your search terms
  2. Be as specific as you can about your personal "identifiers"
  3. "Un-check" box which gives your approval for the site sharing information with affiliate partners
  4. Be sure to check your email often as most scholarship organizations/agencies only communicate via email. 
  5. Keep track of all scholarships that you apply to, including the date you applied, what their deadline date is and a contact person with the scholarship agency in case you need to follow up with that individual.

ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Scholarship Website External Scholarships Listings

The External Opportunities posted on the ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Scholarship Website are provided for informational purposes only. Inclusion in the listing does not constitute an endorsement by ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½.  ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ cannot guarantee the accuracy, or the timelines of information found at any of the links in the listing. It is critical that you verify the scholarship information, particularly where deadlines are concerned.

  • ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Scholarship Website (not compatible with Internet Explorer)
  • Under the “Opportunities” tab on the homepage select “External”
  • May search by keywords: specific majors and career choice 

Scholarship Search Engines

(each will open in a new window)

Recipient of External Scholarship

  1. EXPECTING AN EXTERNAL SCHOLARSHIP?
    The organization that awards you the scholarship will generally mail the check to ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Cashier’s Office. If they mail it to you directly, please bring it to the Cashier’s Office in Holloway Hall for processing.  On occasion, the agency may mail the check to the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships.  If that is the case our office will deliver the check to the Cashier’ Office for processing to your student account. 
     
  2. YOUR SCHOLARSHIP AWARD:
    After the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships has received notice of the student's external scholarship check(s), it is added to the student's financial aid award package.  Other financial aid already in place may have to be reduced/canceled in order to prevent an over award situation based on Federal regulations.
     
  3. NOTIFICATION:
    An email notification is sent out informing the student of their updated financial aid award. The turn-around time for complete processing of external scholarships is one to two weeks.
     
  4. DISBURSEMENT:
    After all charges are paid, any money remaining will be disbursed to you via refund preference with BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc.  For information about the refund process and Bank Mobile Disbursements please visit here:  Student Refund Information | ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Where to Mail Scholarship Checks

Mail scholarship checks to:

ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½
Cashier Office
PO Box 2195
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½, MD 21802

Donors-Scholarship Check Information Requirements

If any important information is missing, checks will not be processed and will be returned.

  • Make the check  payable to ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½
  • Enter the  student’s name and student ID in the memo section of the check.
  • Provide any specific awarding eligibility in a letter to accompany the check (i.e. full time or part time enrollment and min. GPA requirement). If none is provided, we will assume you have confirmed eligibility and will disburse funds if the recipient is enrolled.
  • Let us know if the check is for one semester, should be divided equally between fall and spring semesters, or if a second payment will be sent for the spring semester. If none is provided, funds will be applied equally to fall and spring semesters during that academic year. 
  • Provide your contact information if we should need to contact you.