Outside scholarships are added to the financial aid award already offered by St. Olaf. However, when a student has a need-based award, college policy and federal regulations may require us to make adjustments to the aid award. If aid award adjustments are required, adjustments will be made first to the Federal Student Loan component of your aid award. If further reductions are required, student employment would then be reduced.
In cases where outside scholarships exceed the amount of your loan and student employment, and the student’s costs are fully funded, your St. Olaf Grant may be reduced. This is very rare and please feel free to contact our office if you think this will be applicable to your situation.
In all cases, outside scholarships improve the financial aid package by increasing the total grant and scholarship dollars in your award and may reduce student loan debt.
Please click the following link for more info on Outside Scholarship Databases.
There are many privately funded scholarships available for students attending a higher education institution. Students are more likely to win smaller local scholarships. We recommend having a conversation with your high school guidance counselor about available local scholarships.
Larger companies and organizations also offer outside scholarships. We encourage you to be cautious when considering outside scholarships and confirm the legitimacy of the organization and the scholarships.
The databases below will help guide you through the process of finding applicable scholarships that apply to you specifically. Although it is a time consuming process, you may be an application away from receiving additional gift aid towards your tuition costs. Many of these scholarships are geared toward prospective students.