If you are awarded an external scholarship from an agency outside of UNLV, you must:

• Inform the UNLV Financial Aid & Scholarships Office of any outside/non-UNLV scholarships that you have received. A copy of your agency’s award letter will suffice as documentation.
• Note that your federal financial aid award package may have to be reduced based upon your scholarship funding. A scholarship must count as a financial aid resource within your financial aid award package. According to federal financial aid rules, a student receiving federal grants and loans cannot exceed the yearly estimated college cost of attendance. The only exception is for students receiving only the Pell Grant in combination with scholarships.
• Contact the scholarship agency regarding when and how you will receive the funds and checks. Make sure Financial Aid & Scholarships receives your private scholarship check by July 1 for the fall semester, Dec. 1 for the spring semester, and April 1 for the summer semester. These dates are to allow enough time to process your money and credit your cashiering tuition and fee account before the semester fees are due.
• Request that the checks be made payable to "UNLV" and mailed to our office.
• Pay all UNLV student account charges by the deadline. Late fees will not be waived for students expecting external scholarships that arrive after UNLV payments are due. If you know your scholarship check will be late, you may wish to enroll in a payment plan to ease your financial burden. More information about a payment plan can be found through the UNLV Cashiering and Student Accounts Office website.

External scholarships are disbursed according to UNLV and the scholarship agency’s guidelines. Unless otherwise stated by the agency, your award will be divided evenly over the fall and spring semesters. If the donor makes the check payable to UNLV (the preferred option), the funds will be applied directly to your UNLV bill prepared by the Cashiering and Student Accounts Office. If the donor makes the check co-payable, you will be responsible for signing the check before the Cashiering and Student Accounts Office can disburse funds to your tuition and fees. Please stay in contact with your scholarship agency for instructions.