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Won a scholarship from outside your school? Here is the federal rule, what to do, and what each Arizona school says in its own words.
All your aid together can’t be more than your school’s cost of attendance, and need-based aid can’t be more than your need. When an outside scholarship pushes you over, the school has to adjust your aid package.
A scholarship rarely costs you money overall. It can replace a loan you would have to pay back.
“The general rule in packaging is that the student’s need-based aid must not exceed the student’s financial need, and total financial aid and other financial assistance (OFA) must not exceed the student’s cost of attendance (COA). If you discover that a student’s aid package exceeds the student’s financial need or COA, you must attempt to adjust the aid package to eliminate the overaward.”
“A scholarship will affect your other student aid because all your student aid added together can’t be more than your cost of attendance at your college or career school.”
“you’ll need to let your school know if you’ve been awarded a scholarship so that the financial aid office can subtract that amount from your cost of attendance (and from certain other aid, such as loans, that you might have been offered).”
“For instance, the student may receive a scholarship or grant from an outside organization. When an overaward situation arises, you may be required to adjust the Title IV aid in the student’s package in order to eliminate the overaward.”
“Overawards only become overpayments if a school cannot correct the overaward before funds are disbursed to a student.”
“The school should first reduce the student’s level of borrowing, beginning with any unsubsidized loans.”
“Campus-Based aid need not be reduced if the overaward doesn’t exceed $300, which is the overaward threshold for all Campus-Based programs.”
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Checked November 2026. Policies change, so open the school’s link before you rely on them.
How it affects your other awards
“To resolve an overaward, ASU must adjust your scholarships according to federal regulations. This might mean reducing or canceling some of your aid, which could lead to a bill on your account if your aid has already been disbursed.”
When the money posts
“Private scholarships will not disburse unless the student is enrolled full time (undergraduate 12 credits, graduate 9 credits).”
If a sponsor pays the school
“ASU will bill approved governmental and third-party sponsors for your tuition and fees. Qualifying sponsors include approved corporations, vocational rehabilitation offices and government agencies including Military Tuition Assistance, Veterans Affairs (VA) and embassies located in the U.S.”
Which aid is reduced
This school doesn’t publish which aid is reduced first. Ask the aid office, and ask whether loans can go first.
If the change hurts, you can ask for a review: how to appeal your aid
This school’s pages say different things
Whether ASU accepts mailed paper scholarship checks
4 of 7 topics are not on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office about those.
Financial aid office: Financial Aid and Scholarship Services 1-855-278-5080
Loans are reduced first.
Do you have to report it?
“Students are responsible for notifying OSFA as soon as they are aware of additional aid they will receive. This allows OSFA to coordinate the additional aid with the financial aid already offered to the student.”
Which aid is reduced
“Undisbursed loans will be reduced before any reduction is made to other awards.”
Sending the check
“Make checks payable to the University of Arizona. ... Please send both the check AND Scholarship Designation form together to: Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid PO Box 210066, Room 208 Tucson, AZ 85721-0066”
When the money posts
“Scholarship donor funds are typically processed in 1-2 weeks once received. Processing times increase at the start of each semester (August and January) due to increased scholarship check volume.”
3 of 7 topics are not on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office about those.
Financial aid office: Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid (520) 621-1858
Do you have to report it?
“Inform OSFA of any outside scholarships, assistantships, or additional resources you receive as soon as you become aware of them.”
How it affects your other awards
“These awards can be combined with other outside tuition scholarships as long as it does not exceed the cost of tuition. They cannot be combined with other tuition scholarships offered at NAU.”
Sending the check
“Donors sending a scholarship check for a specific student (or several students) must send the check, made out to: Northern Arizona University Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid PO Box 4108 Flagstaff, AZ 86011”
When the money posts
“All third-party, private donor scholarship checks should be received in our office no later than July 1 for the fall term and Dec. 1 for the spring term to ensure they are posted to the student’s account prior to fall disbursement.”
Which aid is reduced
This school doesn’t publish which aid is reduced first. Ask the aid office, and ask whether loans can go first.
If the change hurts, you can ask for a review: how to appeal your aid
3 of 7 topics are not on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office about those.
Financial aid office: scholarships@nau.edu
Sending the check
“Send external scholarship checks directly to the ERAU Financial Aid Office at 3700 Willow Creek Road, Prescott, AZ 86301, to have the funds applied to your university account. Make checks payable to Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University, and be sure to include the student’s full name and ID number on the check or in a letter attached to the check.”
When the money posts
“Donors should specify which semester(s) the funds should be applied to in addition to any minimum enrollment requirement for disbursement.”
Which aid is reduced
This school doesn’t publish which aid is reduced first. Ask the aid office, and ask whether loans can go first.
If the change hurts, you can ask for a review: how to appeal your aid
5 of 7 topics are not on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office about those.
Financial aid office: Prescott Financial Aid Office prfinaid@erau.edu, 833-783-0397
Do you have to report it?
“If you receive additional outside assistance, you must report these amounts to GCU via the Additional Funding Sources document available for you to complete electronically through your Student Portal.”
How to report it
“Students who receive additional outside assistance must report this fact to the Office of Financial Aid through their assigned Student Services Counselor.”
How it affects your other awards
“GCU also posts outside scholarship opportunities to help you supplement your education. These scholarships may be combined with GCU scholarships to cover tuition and other expenses.”
Sending the check
“All outside scholarships, Native American services and student payments should be made out to : Grand Canyon University Attn: Student Accounting P.O. Box 11590 Phoenix, AZ 85061”
If a sponsor pays the school
“All employer payments or 529 payments should be made out to : Grand Canyon University Attn: Accounting Services 3300 W. Camelback Road, Building 71 Phoenix, AZ 85017”
Which aid is reduced
This school doesn’t publish which aid is reduced first. Ask the aid office, and ask whether loans can go first.
If the change hurts, you can ask for a review: how to appeal your aid
2 of 7 topics are not on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office about those.
Financial aid office: Outside Scholarships: StudentAccounting@gcu.edu (W-9 requests)
Loans are adjusted first, not the Pell Grant.
Do you have to report it?
“Additional assistance received by a student from ANY source since filing their financial aid application must be reported to the Financial Aid Office. Additional assistance could include, but is not limited to, outside donor scholarships, tribal monies paid directly to students or on their behalf, and awards.”
How to report it
From Mesa Community College’s page
“Please notify the Financial Aid Office that you will be receiving a scholarship to ensure your scholarship is processed in a timely manner and avoid any class cancellations. Please provide a copy of your scholarship award letter to our office.”
Which aid is reduced
From Mesa Community College’s page
“In the case of an overaward, federal regulations require MCC to adjust non-need based aid (loans) to correct the overaward. In some cases the adjustment may result in a reduction of a loan or other aid excluding the Pell grant in order to award the scholarship which is the free money in place of the loan.”
How it affects your other awards
“Here are some examples of why you might have to repay all or part of a grant: ... Receiving outside scholarships or grants that reduce your need”
Sending the check
From Mesa Community College’s page
“If you have a scholarship check that needs to be submitted to MCC, our address is below. If the check is made out to you and MCC, please sign the back of the check before mailing it. You might also want to take a picture of the check for your records. Mesa Community College Attn: Financial Aid 1833 W Southern Ave Mesa, AZ 85202”
When the money posts
From Mesa Community College’s page
“Once a scholarship award letter is submitted to our office, we will extend your tuition due date up to seven weeks after the semester has begun as a courtesy to allow enough time for your scholarship to be processed.”
If a sponsor pays the school
“A Third-Party Tuition Authorization is a written document notifying your college that an outside organization or agency (third party) will pay part or all of your college tuition and fees. If the organization or agency does not pay the authorized amount, you will be responsible for the balance.”
Financial aid office: Maricopa Financial Aid answer center 480-731-8900; scholarships@domail.maricopa.edu
Do you have to report it?
“For awards sent to you directly, you may deposit the check in your account, and you must report the aid to the Financial Aid Office”
How to report it
“If the check is sent directly to you, you may deposit the check in your account, but you must report the aid to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships via email at scholarships@pima.edu.”
Sending the check
“Scholarship checks should be made payable to Pima Community College and should include the recipient's name(s) and student ID number(s) on the memo line. Please attach the applicable award letter and/or the completed Scholarship Designation Form . ... Note : making checks co-payable between the student and the college are not accepted and will be returned to the sender. Please mail all scholarship checks and the completed Scholarship Designation Form to: ... Pima Community College Attn: Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (OFAS), AH-140 1255 N. Stone Ave. Tucson, AZ 85709-3013”
When the money posts
“Please allow 7-10 business days for the funds to be processed and applied to student account balances. Scholarship disbursements may occur one day prior to the start of the term.”
If a sponsor pays the school
“As a courtesy to our students, Pima will bill approved governmental and third-party sponsors for student tuition and fees. Qualifying sponsors include approved corporations, vocational rehabilitation offices, and government agencies including Military Tuition Assistance.”
Which aid is reduced
This school doesn’t publish which aid is reduced first. Ask the aid office, and ask whether loans can go first.
If the change hurts, you can ask for a review: how to appeal your aid
2 of 7 topics are not on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office about those.
Financial aid office: Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships: scholarships@pima.edu, 520.206.4950
Your loan is adjusted.
Do you have to report it?
“Notify the Financial Aid office of any additional assistance received not shown on the award letter”
Which aid is reduced
“Loan Adjustments: If you have received a loan and other funding is awarded, which brings you to a negative unmet need, your loan award will be adjusted accordingly. In other words, if you have received $500 in loan and you get a $200 scholarship after the loan has been paid, which brings your unmet need to a negative $200, we need to return $200 from the loan payment. You are not allowed to receive more than the cost of attendance (unmet need).”
5 of 7 topics are not on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office about those.
Financial aid office: financialaid@azwestern.edu; (928) 344-7634
There is no set order: the school reviews your record to pick which award to cut, and it can be Pell.
Which aid is reduced
“Students are allowed to be awarded up to their COA. When a student’s award package totals, or exceeds their COA, we will review the students’ record to determine which award will be reduced. Depending on the timing of when all awards are posted or disbursed, this review may result in the reduction of a student's eligible Pell grant.”
If a sponsor pays the school
“Third-party billing may be used when an employer, vocational rehabilitation program, workers’ compensation provider, or another approved organization pays tuition. How to begin Email the Bursar at bursar@yc.edu . The sponsor completes the required Third-Party Agreement. The sponsor submits authorization through the secure form provided by the Bursar. Authorizations are generally processed within two business days after receipt.”
5 of 7 topics are not on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office about those.
Financial aid office: financial.aid@yc.edu; 928-776-2152 (Financial Aid); bursar@yc.edu; 928-776-2124 (Student Accounts and Bursar)
If a sponsor pays the school
“The agency is responsible for submitting an authorization letter to Student Accounts prior to the semester starting. Letters received after courses start may be delay invoice processing. Once an invoice is created and sent to the agency, they will be responsible for the total amount due.”
Which aid is reduced
This school doesn’t publish which aid is reduced first. Ask the aid office, and ask whether loans can go first.
If the change hurts, you can ask for a review: how to appeal your aid
6 of 7 topics are not on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office about those.
Financial aid office: finaid@centralaz.edu; Student.Accounts@Centralaz.edu; 520-494-5240 (Student Accounts)
Sending the check
“Make checks payable to Cochise College. Please send both the form and check together to: Cochise College Attn: Business Office 901 North Colombo Ave. Sierra Vista, AZ 85635-2317”
When the money posts
“For those scholarships that are not offered through the Foundation (external scholarships), if the donor does not specify how funds are to be paid, it is the policy of the Financial Aid Office that the funds be equally split between the fall and spring terms.”
Which aid is reduced
This school doesn’t publish which aid is reduced first. Ask the aid office, and ask whether loans can go first.
If the change hurts, you can ask for a review: how to appeal your aid
5 of 7 topics are not on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office about those.
Financial aid office: Financial Aid: finaid@cochise.edu, (520) 515-5417; Business Office: svbo@cochise.edu, (520) 515-5416
Do you have to report it?
“Reporting any additional assistance from non-institutional sources such as scholarships, loans, educational benefits, and V.A. benefits to the Financial Aid Office.”
Which aid is reduced
This school doesn’t publish which aid is reduced first. Ask the aid office, and ask whether loans can go first.
If the change hurts, you can ask for a review: how to appeal your aid
6 of 7 topics are not on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office about those.
Financial aid office: Financial Aid and Veteran Services: finaid@eac.edu, (928) 428-8472
Which aid is reduced
This school doesn’t publish which aid is reduced first. Ask the aid office, and ask whether loans can go first.
If the change hurts, you can ask for a review: how to appeal your aid
We found none of these rules on this school’s public pages. Ask the aid office how it handles outside scholarships.
Financial aid office: Financial Aid: finaid@coconino.edu, 928-226-4219