Receiving Scholarships FAQ
Q1:
When does the Office of Student Financial Services make scholarship decisions/offers?
Q2:
When do departments makes scholarship decisions and notifications?
Q3:
How will I know if I was selected as a scholarship recipient or not?
Q4:
What is the average amount of a scholarship offer?
Q5:
Can I receive more than one scholarship?
Q6:
If I report that I am a minority, do I have a better chance at receiving scholarships?
Q7:
How are scholarship recipients chosen? Are there specific criteria?
Q8:
Are my chances of receiving a scholarship enhanced if I complete a financial aid application (FAFSA)? If so, when should I complete it?
Q9:
How do I accept my scholarship? How soon must I accept it?
Q10:
I am receiving a non-UT Austin scholarship. How will this affect my chances at receiving UT Austin scholarships? And how does the University receive my non-UT Austin scholarships?
Q11:
Do I need to be enrolled full-time in order to receive the money from my scholarship?
Q12:
Is my scholarship taxable?
Q13:
How do I renew my scholarship at UT Austin?
Q14:
What happens if I lose my scholarship eligibility? Is there any way to regain the scholarship?
Q15:
I have been offered a larger scholarship package from another institution. Can UT Austin match the package offered by another university?
A:
Scholarship decisions and offers are made after admission offers are sent to students,
beginning February 1 and continuing through the beginning of the Fall semester. Scholarship
funds are extremely limited and highly competitive. Every scholarship committee reviews
many applications each year. Unfortunately, many qualified students do not receive awards.
Only scholarship award recipients will receive official notification from the committees.
The scholarship committees in the Office of Student Financial Services generally make
their final decisions and will begin notifying award recipients in early April. Though
OSFS awards scholarships throughout the calendar year, the office awards the bulk of its
scholarships for the upcoming year by the beginning of June.
A:
Scholarship decisions and offers are made after admission offers are sent to students.
Contact your academic department
to learn about its specific scholarships awarding procedures.
A:
Most offices at UT Austin notify scholarship recipients by letter and/or email.
The Office of Student Financial Services often uses an Electronic Financial Aid
Notification (E-FAN) to notify recipients of scholarship awards. Except in specific
circumstances, only scholarship recipients receive official notification from the
University.
A:
Scholarship amounts vary from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand dollars
per semester or year. The dollar amounts of scholarships awarded through the Office
of Student Financial Services are determined by weighing the student’s documented
financial need (as determined by the FAFSA), their scholastic achievements, and any
extra-curricular activities. Preference is given to students with the greatest
financial need and who are academically worthy. Most college and departmental
scholarships are merit-based and vary in amount.
A:
Yes, but typically UT Austin attempts to distribute its scholarship monies to
as many eligible students as possible. Being awarded one scholarship will not
necessarily preclude a student from receiving another, however, preference will
be given to eligible students who have not been awarded any other scholarship
support.
A:
In awarding scholarships, UT Austin does not discriminate on the basis of ethnicity
or gender. The following criteria are used (though not always exclusively and not
always by every office at the University) in awarding scholarships: financial need,
socioeconomic status, academic and extra-curricular achievements, and hardships.
A:
The following criteria are used (though not always exclusively and not always by
every office at the University) in selecting scholarship recipients: financial need,
socioeconomic status, academic and extra-curricular achievements, and hardships.
A:
Most college and departmental scholarships are merit-based, but some University
offices also consider socioeconomic disadvantage or financial need as derived
from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). All students who wish
to be considered for scholarships through the Office of Student Financial Services
are strongly encouraged to complete the FAFSA along with their scholarship
application to assist in the consideration process. Scholarship funds are limited
and highly competitive. UT Austin’s priority deadline for the FAFSA is March 31st
(for students applying for Fall/Spring semesters) and February 15th (for students
applying for Summer sessions).
A:
Some offices at UT Austin, such as the Office of Student Financial Services, will
send an Accept/Decline form along with your award notification letter. In such cases,
simply complete and mail the Accept/Decline form back to the appropriate office as
soon as possible. In other instances, an office will release the scholarship money
to you automatically, unless you make a specific request to decline the scholarship.
A:
Being awarded a non-UT Austin scholarship will not necessarily preclude a student from
receiving one from UT Austin, however, preference will be given to eligible students
who have not been awarded any other scholarship support. For information about how
non-UT Austin scholarships are processed, see Non-UT Scholarship Funds.
A:
In most cases, you must be enrolled full-time to receive your scholarship money.
If you are unsure about the stipulations for a particular scholarship, contact the
office that awarded you the scholarship.
A:
The majority of scholarships given through UT Austin are non-taxable awards. For
more information about your scholarship and any tax issues, contact the office that
awarded you the scholarship.
A:
If you received a renewable scholarship at UT Austin, the awarding office most likely
will renew the award automatically, provided you have remained eligible for renewal.
For more information about renewal procedures, contact the office that awarded you
the scholarship.
A:
A few scholarship programs allow a student to go through a probationary period in order
to regain eligibility for an award. The majority of scholarship programs at UT Austin,
however, do not allow a student to regain lost eligibility for scholarships. For more
information about renewal and eligibility procedures, contact the office that awarded
you the scholarship.
A:
UT Austin does not match awards offered by other universities. Upon your request,
however, UT Austin will review any offers made to you by another university to
determine whether appropriate adjustments can be made to your UT Austin scholarship
package. Contact OSFS for more information about financial aid
adjustments.
Related Links
Related Information
Do you have a question that is not asked and answered here?
Contact TexasScholarships.org
to submit possible questions and/or other pertinent information.