Displacement of Scholarship Awards: The Untold Story
Did you know that many universities and colleges in the United States punish students who receive private or non-school-sponsored scholarships? The term for this is "scholarship award displacement." Scholarship award displacement, sometimes known as "over-award" by universities, may have an influence on a student's school's need-based financial aid grants, even if the scholarship(s) do not cover all of their expenditures. Many institutions feel that by concealing this approach, they may "redistribute help" to those who need it the most. Institutional assistance may be reduced first, whereas loans and work-study may be replaced before institutional aid is reduced. According to a poll, 50% of college students who get private scholarships or other outside help had their scholarship award displaced. This prohibits students from taking full use of their scholarships.
The National Association of Scholarship Providers (NSPA) released a white paper in September 2013 titled "Impact of Award Displacement on Students and Families: Recommendations for Colleges, Universities, Policymakers, and Scholarship Providers." In December 2017, Rice University President Justin Onwenu spearheaded a nationwide movement called #HandsOffMyScholarship, which gained traction. Scholarship relocation was denounced by the campaign, which called on state and federal officials to end it. Maryland became the first state in the country to prohibit scholarship award displacement at all of the state's public colleges in 2017. Michele Waxman Johnson, a former Vice President of Central Scholarship, spearheaded lobbying efforts in Maryland that resulted in the passage of SB327/HB 266.
In 2019, my 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation, YesSheCanCampaign, joined the battle to solve scholarship award displacement. After winning a $25,000 scholarship from a private scholarship organisation in 2019, I experienced scholarship displacement as an undergraduate student. My institution reduced half of my need-based scholarship, federal work-study, and raised my federal debt once I informed them about this scholarship. I was left with a bill for over $15,000 that I had to pay out of pocket. My university offered me two options: drop out or take out a private loan. While I was dealing with this heinous behaviour, I learnt that my friend Gabrielle had also been displaced from her scholarship grant. Our institution never informed us of their stance on private scholarships or how it would affect a private scholarship. My university went so far as to urge students to seek for private scholarships. After finding that scholarship award displacement was a countrywide problem, my group began a national effort to solve the problem. Troy Singleton, my local State Senator, gave me the great chance to tell my experience. He presented a measure (S985/A3789) to prohibit scholarship award displacement at all public colleges in New Jersey within a few months. Governor Murphy signed the bill into law on September 24, 2021, making New Jersey the second state to prohibit scholarship award relocation.
However, the ascent does not end here.
In Washington, DC, in 2019, I had the great chance to tell my experience with Congressman Andy Kim (D-NJ). Congressman Kim and Congressman Mike Kelly (R-PA) launched the Helping Students Plan for College Act on September 27, 2021, the nation's first legislative legislation to address scholarship award displacement.
Our company created DisScholared, a free ed-tech portal that helps students and families understand universities' private scholarship procedures and the practise of scholarship award displacement, in the summer of 2021. Our mission is to provide students and their families with the information they need to make educated college and financial choices. We discovered via our study and experiences that several colleges do not disclose their private scholarship regulations. Our website has a database of private scholarship regulations as well as tools to assist students, families, college counsellors, charitable organisations, and others in navigating this problem.
Displacement of scholarship awards is finally making national headlines. There have been several articles that provide advice on how to deal with this problem. Our group firmly believes that no student should be punished for receiving a private scholarship, and we will continue to fight until the practise of scholarship award relocation is abolished. It is our responsibility to guarantee that every student has access to the resources, opportunity, and funds necessary to pursue a higher education. The ascent goes on.
Comments
Post a Comment