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Financial Assistance

Outside Scholarships

Many private companies, foundations and agencies offer scholarships for college. An outside scholarship, in most cases, will not have an impact on your Bentley financial aid award.

What is an outside 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.  The federal government requires that you inform us directly of any grants, scholarships or other education benefits you will receive from sources outside of Bentley such as your high school, civic organization, vocational rehabilitation programs, tuition reimbursement benefits, prepaid tuition programs, etc.

How will your outside scholarship affect your financial aid eligibility?

An outside resource, in most cases, will not affect your financial aid award; however, we must ensure that the combination of your financial aid and outside awards does not exceed your federal need, as determined by the Federal Methodology. In cases where we must adjust your financial aid to prevent an "over award", we will reduce your aid starting with the self help part of your package (Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work Study, Federal Direct Loan).  We will reduce your grant funds only as a last resort, but exceptions to this policy may be made for late financial aid applications.

Where can I find outside scholarship opportunities?

There are several different ways to search for outside scholarships. In general, students must make the effort to identify and apply for any and all scholarships for which they may qualify. Below is a free eBook that you may download and includes tips on searching for scholarships and how to utilize different tools in your search. Also listed are three websites for scholarship searches.

www.finaid.org
www.fastweb.com
www.collegescholarships.org
https://www.scholarsnapp.org/

Additionally, we have maintained a general list of outside scholarships, some of which were awarded to Bentley students. For each, we have included the website for the scholarship, a brief overview of what the scholarship entails, and how to go about applying.