• General Information
• Bill Due Dates
• Mailing Instructions
• Co-payable Checks
• Scholarship Checks Sent Directly to You
• Releasing Grades or Financial Aid Information to Donors
• Confirming Your Enrollment
• Satisfactory Academic Progress
• Donor Refund Policy
• Show Your Appreciation to Your Donor

General Information

Private scholarships are provided by organizations outside of the University. The organization sponsoring the scholarship selects the recipient and sends the funds to the University on the recipient's behalf. Because federal regulations do not permit students to receive financial aid over their cost of attendance, all scholarships must be reported to and processed through Scholarship Services in the Office of Financial Aid. Students should contact our office in writing or by phone with the name and amount of any private scholarships they anticipate receiving.Students can also report private scholarship information using the Scholarship Information Report Form. When a donor does not specify how to disburse scholarship funds, the financial aid office will divide awards of $1,000 or more equally between the fall and spring semester. Private scholarships of less than $1,000 are credited in full to the current semester bill, unless otherwise instructed by the donor. The Office of Financial Aid will not release scholarship funds until a student enrolls full time (12 or more credit hours). If a student enrolls in less than 12 credit hours, we require written authorization from the donor before we release any funds. When a student does not enroll in any courses, we return scholarship funds to the donor.

Bill Due Dates

To avoid late and service charges, students should ask their donors to mail scholarship checks at least one month prior to the bill due date.

Mailing Instructions

All correspondence should include the student’s name, CU Student ID, and the donor’s disbursement instructions. It is helpful to have the student’s name and CU-Boulder student i.d. number on the check as well. Donors should mail checks, payable to the University of Colorado at Boulder, with a cover letter and/or Scholarship Service's Scholarship Donor Form to:

University of Colorado
Office of Financial Aid
Scholarship Services
77 UCB
Boulder, Colorado, 80309-0077

Co-payable Checks

All co-payable Scholarship Checks will be credited to the semester(s) indicated to expedite processing. We will do so without the student's signature. If the student's signature is required to demonstrate agreement with the donor's eligibility requirements, please indicate so with your payment and we will obtain the student's endorsement prior to processing the payment.

Scholarship Checks Sent Directly to the Student

Scholarship checks made out to the University but mailed directly to the student must be forwarded with a cover letter to Scholarship Services in the Office of Financial Aid. Do not include scholarship checks with tuition payments to the Bursar’s Office. Doing so may result in an additional two weeks for processing.

Releasing Grades or Financial Aid Information to Private Donors

The 1974 Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act requires that the University obtain a written release from enrolled students before disclosing information in their records. Thus, Scholarship Services must have the student’s signed consent before we will release grades and/or financial information to private scholarship donors. Contact Scholarship Services so that we can obtain signed approval to release information as needed.

Enrollment Verification

If necessary, with a signed release from the student, the Office of the Registrar in the Regent Administrative Center can provide official enrollment verification for scholarship donors.

The Office of Financial Aid will not release scholarship funds until a student enrolls full time (12 or more credit hours). If a student enrolls in less than 12 credit hours, we require authorization from the donor before we release any funds. When a student does not enroll in any courses, we return scholarship funds to the donor.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

When a student fails to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards, as established by the University, we notify the donor and discuss how the scholarship should be handled. We return scholarship funds to the donor, if the donor requests that we do so. Otherwise, we must have written authorization from the donor before we will release scholarship funds.

Donor Refund Policy

Scholarship Services will automatically issue a refund to a scholarship donor in the event that, the recipient fails to enroll full-time and the donor has indicated that they are not eligible to receive the scholarship for less than full-time enrollment; or the student withdraws from the University before the 3rd Friday of the current term; or is otherwise ineligible to receive the scholarship payment based on specific Scholarship requirements. If a student withdraws after the 3rd Friday of the current term, Scholarships Services will contact the donor for instructions on whether to refund the scholarship.

Show Appreciation to Scholarship Donors

Students are encouraged to write thank you notes to their scholarship donors. Expressing appreciation to donors for their interest in and support of higher education is an important part of receiving a scholarship.