Do You Have to Pay Back Scholarships?

College Scholarships are prizes awarded for the student’s academic or athletic achievement, meaning they are completely free so you don’t have to pay them back. But you have to keep in mind, that if you fail to do certain obligations then you will lose or have to repay the scholarships.

If you are reading this article then you are certainly facing some confusion and fear of losing your scholarship(s), and what is worse, you may have to pay back your scholarships.

In this article, we will learn about scholarships and we will try to answer your questions. 

What is a Scholarship?

It is a form of financial aid awarded to students to pursue further education, It is free monetary benefits offered based on many your performance in criteria like athletic, merit, and other students achievements and attributes the scholarship provider uses this as a marketing tactic or it reflects the values and social responsibility of the scholarship provider. 

Also read: How to get a scholarship?

Factors that cost you your scholarships

You don’t have to pay back scholarships unless you fall under the below-mentioned situations

1. Dropping Out or changing colleges

Students are required to pay back the scholarships when the student drops out of college, they are required to pay back the unused portion of their scholarship depending on the refund policies.

Dropping out of college and you can still keep the scholarship under certain conditions such as the death of a student’s family member or sickness and other critical conditions. It also depends on the policies of the scholarship. Incase if the college is the scholarship provider, you will have to consult the Financial Aid Office.

2. Changing your Major

Withdrawal from the program after receiving your scholarship may lead you to lose the scholarship or you will have to repay depending on the scholarship provider if the college itself is the sponsorer then mostly you will lose the scholarship but in terms of third-party you may have to repay

For example, let’s say you have chosen mechanical engineering, and later you have changed to biotechnology after receiving a scholarship, in that situation, depending on the scholarship policies you may have to repay the scholarship money.

3. Irresponsibility

The recipient should have certain responsibilities to maintain the scholarship, being irresponsible in maintaining credit hours for students who have enrolled full time, and when a scholarship provider awards the money, you have to be aware of the scholarship provider terms for what and where you can use your scholarship money. 

4. When not maintaining the minimum GPA

You should remember that if you have received an academic scholarship you have to maintain a minimum of 3.0 GPA as a graduate and a 2.0 GPA as an undergraduate student to maintain the scholarship.

For athletic scholarships, the students are required to maintain minimum academic standards and the student should be considered an amateur athlete. the scholarship can be reimbursed if the student doesn’t go by the coach’s instruction and underperformance factors.

5. When the recipient is found guilty for any illegal activities

The scholarship is offered on the merit and achievement basis, but it is also tied to the disciplinary action of the recipient, the student won’t be offered the scholarship in the first place if he is found guilty of possession of drugs or for any illegal activities like malpractice on your resume, substance abuse, and etc. If the student is found guilty after receiving the scholarship, then it will be revoked immediately under IRC section 117.

You might be interested in

• How is a student loan different from a scholarship?

• Difference between scholarship and grants

• Common ways to lose your scholarship