We encourage all students to apply for outside scholarships to help meet educational costs as well as keep work and loan awards to a minimum.
Reporting Outside Scholarships
Federal regulations require that all outside scholarships, grants, and tuition benefits be considered as a financial resource. As a result, you must report all outside resources to the Office of Financial Aid, in writing, as soon as you are aware of them. If you do not report these other resources, you may have to repay funds received from the College.
Please have outside scholarship funds sent to the Office of Financial Aid. If you require enrollment verification, please contact the Registrar's Office. If you require financial aid or award verification, please contact the Office of Financial Aid. Outside scholarship checks should be made payable to Occidental College. Be sure to include your name on all correspondence.
Changes to Financial Aid
Outside scholarships will first reduce need-based loans, followed by your work award, as required by federal and state law. However, if grants and scholarships exceed total financial need and you have no work award or need-based loan eligibility (as determined by the Office of Financial Aid), an adjustment to a grant or scholarship must be made.
Outside scholarships are not allowed to reduce or replace your calculated family contribution. Non-need-based loans are not affected by this policy as long as the total compensation of any need-based and non-need-based aid does not exceed the total cost of attendance.
Outside Scholarship Opportunities
There are many resources available online to search for outside scholarships: