scholarships

Claiming a TFEC Scholarship Award

Congratulations! What are the next steps?

When a scholarship through TFEC is received, please read the award letter carefully for instructions. All TFEC scholarship recipients are required to complete the Scholarship Acceptance Form located in the student portal.

Students are required to submit a tuition bill for each semester before the corresponding payment will be sent. For multi-year scholarships, they are also required to submit additional information, including an official transcript each semester.

When a tuition bill is submitted, we are looking to see that there is a balance due on the account that is greater or equal to the value of the scholarship award. For most students, there is a large enough balance due and the scholarship payment can be sent directly to the school. If the balance due is less than the value of your award, a payment for the balance due will be sent to the school. We will work with students to help them claim their full award through textbook reimbursement or other means.

There are two ways to be sure that there is a balance due on your account:

• Submit the tuition bill to TFEC as soon as it is received – before the bill or account reflects any loans or payments made to the school.
• Do not accept or take out more loans than are needed to cover the bill. Consider the school’s financial aid package and any additional scholarships that may be received while determining if a loan is needed each semester.

List the TFEC Scholarship as Pending Aid
Included in the student portal is a letter that must be given to the college Financial Aid Office detailing the value of the award and how the payment will be made. Request that the scholarship be added to the bill as a part of the estimated financial aid to be received. Some schools call this “Pending Aid” or “Anticipated Aid”. In either case, adding the scholarship to the bill as anticipated financial aid will act as a place holder and allow the payment to be sent to the school without a balance due.

Reimbursement for Textbook Purchases
Should the bill not reflect the award as pending aid and there is no balance due, the scholarship award can be paid by textbook reimbursement. Submit the receipts for textbooks purchased for the semester and the scholarship will reimburse for the cost. Physical receipts and online store receipts are accepted. If this is not an option, a syllabus may be requested to evaluate other eligible expenses. Scholarship funds used for reimbursement of textbook purchases are not eligible for a PATH Program match.