How the Last-Dollar Scholarship Strategy Does Not Address Scholarship Award Displacement

Hi, my name is Zaniya; I am excited to introduce my newsletter on scholarship award displacement. After becoming a victim of scholarship award displacement in 2019, I have made it my mission to spread awareness about it through my nonprofit organization, the YesSheCanCampaign™’s program, DISSCHOLARED®️. Since 2019, my organization and I have used digital content, research, fashion, advocacy, and the climb to spread awareness of the brutal practice of scholarship award displacement. Our stories have inspired people across the nation and the world to dismantle scholarship award displacement. 

To date, five states have outlawed scholarship award displacement. Three states have introduced legislation to ban the practice. The laws in the five states are very different, and I will touch on that throughout my newsletter in the coming weeks. I have also learned throughout the process that even though we have laws that now dismantle scholarship award displacement, the work still needs to be done. There must be equitable implementation and oversight of these laws across the board. Scholarship award displacement must be dismantled on a national level.

Well, enough about me; I look forward to sharing what I have learned these past couple of years and hope my newsletter will inspire you to bring about change in your community. I believe everyone should have the funding, resources, access, and opportunities to achieve post-secondary education. 

Overview: 

My first blog will discuss how the last-dollar scholarship strategy does not address scholarship award displacement. For the past couple of years, my organization and I have researched scholarship websites to see if the websites mention anything about scholarship award displacement. We have also researched and studied over 100+ four-year accredited higher institutions' private scholarship policies to see which institutions practice scholarship award displacement. Throughout the process, we learned that most scholarship websites do not mention scholarship award displacement. Most higher institutions practice scholarship award displacement. Many scholarship providers and scholarship disbursement companies have thought the last-dollar scholarship strategy would address the scholarship award displacement problem. A last-dollar scholarship covers any remaining tuition after federal, state, or institutional aid has been applied. Last-dollar scholarship recipients can still become victims of scholarship award displacement. I will touch more on this in this article.

I will first start by explaining what scholarship award displacement is. 

What is scholarship award displacement? 

Scholarship award displacement is when one form of student financial aid (i.e., a private scholarship, external scholarship, or outside scholarship) replaces another form of student financial aid (for example, an institutional scholarship or institutional grant). Depending on the higher institution's private scholarship policy, the private scholarship can also impact a student's federal loan or federal work-study package. Each higher institution has its own private scholarship policy. Scholarship award displacement impacts need-based recipients. Scholarship award displacement is one of the root causes contributing to the student loan debt crisis. Need-based recipients cannot use their private scholarship funds to fund their gap after federal, state, and institutional aid, as intended by private scholarship donors, causing many students to borrow more or drop out of college. 

Why the last dollar scholarship strategy does not work

As I explained, many scholarship providers and scholarship disbursement companies have thought that the last-dollar scholarship disbursement strategy will address the scholarship award displacement problem. A last-dollar scholarship covers any remaining tuition after federal, state, or institutional aid has been applied. Last-dollar scholarship recipients can still become victims of scholarship award displacement.

Through our research of higher institutions' scholarship award displacement and private scholarship policies, we learned that if a student receives a private scholarship after their financial aid package has been created, the private scholarship will impact the student’s financial aid package opening the door for the higher institution to practice scholarship award displacement. Therefore, if a student receives the “last dollar scholarship,” the student can become a victim of scholarship award displacement. In the coming weeks, I will discuss how scholarship award displacement impacts private renewal scholarships. 

Scholarship providers and scholarship disbursement companies must educate their entire organization about scholarship award displacement with accurate information. DISSCHOLARED™ is an ed-tech program and platform powered by YesSheCanCampaign™ that helps students and families understand higher institutions'” private scholarship policies and the practice of scholarship award displacement. DISSCHOLARED™ facilitates scholarship award displacement training and has a database that outlines higher institutions' scholarship award displacement policies. DISSCHOLARED™ also has a consulting service and membership program. Lastly, The DISSCHOLARED™ website has a podcast and other free resources to help scholarship providers and scholarship disbursement companies understand the issue and ensure their students do not become victims of the practice. 

Conclusion

Scholarship award displacement is a complex issue and requires everyone to do their part to dismantle the practice nationwide. I'm excited to share more knowledge on this issue. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions! 

To learn more on how you can join the fight to dismantle scholarship award displacement, visit: www.disscholared.org.