Scholarships, grants and loans aren’t the only way TCU students can pay for school.
Michael Scott, director of scholarships and financial aid, said receiving additional aid involves communicating with financial aid advisors and seeking job opportunities.
“It never hurts a student, regardless of their situation, to come in and talk to a financial aid advisor,” Scott said.
Scott says students with jobs are likely to receive good grades because it helps develop time management skills. Students do not have to be on work-study to receive a job on campus.
“We want to see students have a willingness to contribute to their education,” Scott said. “A financial aid advisor will be more inclined to help you when they see that.”
If students are unable to make a payment or experience a family crisis, Scott suggests they immediately schedule an appointment with their advisor.
Additionally, there are scholarship opportunities while students attend TCU. They can receive an academic scholarship at the end of their first year. This is a $10,000 per year award and is automatically given to the top 50 students in terms of GPA. Following their first year, they have to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.25.
“At the end of the freshman year, we will look at the entire freshman class and sort them by GPA,” Scott said. “We will remove people on scholarship, including employee tuition, athletic, ROTC and Community Scholars and select the top 50 students.”
Each college awards scholarships to students. Scott says the requirements to receive scholarships and ways they are awarded vary. He also said these awards typically come from TCU donors.
Students can also apply for outside scholarships. The Office of Financial Aid keeps a binder of those applications in its office, located in Sadler Hall, room 2008.
Ultimately, Scott said if a student is seeking additional aid, they should first visit their financial aid advisor.
“If you come in demanding money, the advisor may not be as willing to help,” Scott said. “So being nice can sometimes pay off quite a bit.”
