Many enterprising students seek funding from scholarships that are offered outside Denison, while other students may benefit from a parent’s employer-sponsored tuition benefit plan. These types of outside funding could impact a student’s financial aid package.

Outside funding policies

Denison meets 100% of each student’s demonstrated financial need. When developing or revising financial aid packages, Denison must consider all outside funding sources to comply with federal and state regulations:

  • A student’s scholarships and other need-based financial aid cannot exceed the student’s demonstrated financial need.
  • A student’s total financial assistance, including institutional, federal, and state aid, cannot exceed the student’s cost of attendance. 

As a result, outside funding may reduce Denison grant aid, potentially dollar for dollar.

Denison generally divides outside funding equally between the fall and spring semesters unless the scholarship terms or written instructions from the student specify otherwise.

For more information, please read Denison’s policy on outside funding. 

Outside funding: next steps

If you have received or expect to receive outside funding, please complete the following steps to ensure timely and accurate processing:

  • Report all outside scholarships and other funding sources to the Office of Financial Aid. This includes tuition benefits provided through a parent’s employer. Students must report these resources regardless of whether Denison has received the funds. Supporting documentation may be emailed to finaid@denison.edu.
  • Scholarship checks should be mailed to:
    Denison University 
    Student Accounts 
    100 West College Street 
    Granville, OH 43023
  • After receiving notification of an outside award, Denison will review the student’s eligibility for need-based financial aid and add the award to the student’s financial aid package. If the package is revised, the student will be notified by email. Outside funding will be credited to the student’s account after Denison receives the funds.

Obtaining outside scholarships

We strongly encourage all students to pursue privately funded scholarships. The time frame to apply is normally from October to April of the previous year to be considered for the current year scholarships. Each year Denison students add hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside scholarships to their funding, and in doing so, reduce their out-of-pocket costs and potential debt. Local businesses, civic organizations, libraries, banks, and other groups are excellent resources to investigate for scholarship opportunities. Students also should speak with their high school guidance counselors for opportunities. Denison does not post individual external scholarship opportunities but suggests these free scholarship search engines. The inclusion or exclusion of a particular website should not be interpreted as an endorsement or lack thereof by Denison. You are responsible for doing your own research and making your own evaluations of any available scholarship opportunities.