An external scholarship is a scholarship granted to a student from an external Donor. For example, a high school, church, club, etc. A scholarship is a form of gift aid that does not have to be repaid. It is often merit based or restricted to a select population.

FREE! Scholarship Searches

It is highly recommended you do not pay for scholarship information! Several companies claim they will find exclusive scholarships tailored for you if you pay them a nominal fee, when in fact you can find the same information on your own for free! Visit the following free online scholarship searches. WSU cannot guaranty the accuracy of information provided on these sites.

• College Scholarships
• FastWeb
• FinAid
• GrantsNet
• School Soup
• Scholarship Wizard
• ScholarshipExperts
• ScholarshipHelp

WSU has also compiled a list of external scholarships gathered by correspondence received from Donors. Click on the appropriate link below to find a listing of external scholarships for which you may qualify!

• External Scholarships for Undergraduate Students
• External Scholarships for Graduate/Professional Students

Reporting External Scholarships

External scholarships are considered part of the student's financial aid package, and the external scholarship award(s) may effect other types of aid already awarded to the student. Please report your external scholarship award(s) to:

External Scholarship Coordinator
Wright State University
Office of Financial Aid
E136 Student Union
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy.
Dayton, OH 45435
FAX: (937) 775-5795

Please make checks payable to Wright State University. If the check is made payable to the student, then the student must endorse the check. Unendorsed checks will delay payment of the award to the student's account.

Payment to Student's Account

Upon receipt of an external scholarship check, the Office of Financial Aid will:

1. Record the external scholarship as an additional resource and check for over-awards;
2. Review the check for any required signature(s) for endorsement and request such signature(s);
3. Verify the student's academic history to ensure he or she is a registered student; and
4. Forward the external scholarship check to the Office of the Bursar for payment to the student's account.

If steps 2 or 3 above cannot be met in a timely manner, the scholarship check will be returned to the Donor. NOTE: External scholarships cannot be designated to pay for specific fees (for example, books, tuition, housing, etc.). External scholarships are applied to all charges on the student's account. If the student is owed a refund, then the refund can be used to purchase books.

Student/Donor Relationship

WSU believes any award granted to a student by an external scholarship Donor is an agreement between the student and the Donor. WSU encourages all communication and inquiry requests take place between the Donor and the student (for example, grades, proof of registration, billing statements, eligibility, payment dates and amounts, etc.). On a case by case basis, WSU will attempt to provide assistance when communications fail between student and Donor.