Grants your college pays from its own budget
The grant line that carries your college's name is paid from the college's own money, and the college sets every rule attached to it. This piece shows where that money comes from, how the aid office awards it and what keeps it in place after the first year.
Where the college finds the money
An institutional grant is paid from money the college controls. Some of it comes from the operating budget, which means the college sets aside part of its tuition income to lower the price for certain students. Some comes from the endowment, where gifts are invested and only the yearly earnings are spent, and some comes from donors who give each year to a named fund.
Because the college owns the money, it also owns the rules. One college may give grants mostly by need, another mostly to students it hopes to recruit, and many do both. The sum available can change from year to year with the budget, gifts and enrollment.
How the aid office decides
Most colleges award their own grants from the same file they use for federal aid, so the FAFSA is usually the starting point. Some colleges also ask for the CSS Profile or a form of their own because they want details the FAFSA leaves out, such as home equity or a parent who lives in another household. The college then applies its own formula, which can produce a different picture of need from the Student Aid Index.
Named scholarships funded by donors are often assigned by the aid office without a separate application. A student may learn only from the offer, or from a later letter, that part of a grant comes from a particular fund. Some of those funds ask for a short thank-you note to the donor, and the aid office says when one is expected.
Timing matters because institutional money is finite. Colleges usually publish a priority date for aid forms, and a file completed after it may be reviewed only if money remains.
Because the college owns the money, it also owns the rules.
Keeping the grant after the first year
A need-based college grant is usually reviewed each year from a new FAFSA and, where required, a new CSS Profile. If family income rises or a sibling finishes college, the grant can go down, and if income falls it can go up. Ask the aid office whether the college has a written policy on how much a grant can change between years.
Some college grants also depend on full-time enrollment, steady progress or living on campus. Outside scholarships can affect the college's grant too, since the college may lower its own award when total aid would pass the cost of attendance or your need. The award letter or the aid office's policy page sets out these terms, and a short email to your counselor can clear up anything the letter leaves vague.
Steps to take this week
- Find the college's priority date for aid forms
- Check which forms the college asks for
- Read the renewal terms in your award letter
- Ask how outside scholarships affect the college grant
Who decides
Your college's financial aid office
A college grant follows the college's own rules, so the aid office's written policy is the place to learn how it is awarded and renewed.
