invent an award name so that it appears that the award is for
some other criteria.
Very simply, that’s the method used by NCAA Division
III institutions that decide to circumvent Rule 15.4 and
thereby make scholarship money available to students with
athletic ability.
If a college offers institutional grants, they are often
described in the scholarship description section of the col-
lege catalog. The description of the grants may be similar to
the following statement: “The Presidential Grant—is given to
students to meet their gift eligibility as determined by their
financial need and the [name of the college/university’s]
Assistance Packaging Formula.” That formula is usually known
only by the financial aid director. Or “Institutionally funded
financial aid offered to students to help defer their cost of an
education.” (Both use Institutional Methodology.) Or as the
U.S.News & World Report article cited previously states, “Aid
officials look at their own school’s ‘need’ (that is to say, how
badly they want you to attend based on your academic accom-
plishments or other talents) [good grief, could they possibly
mean athletic ability?] before deciding how much...financial
aid...they’ll actually award.” It goes on to further illuminate
the issue, “the first lesson in college economics: financial need
is in the eye of the beholder.” Fortunately, the foregoing dis-
sembling and hyperbole can be simply distilled into this truth:
the financial aid package you receive at most Division III col-
leges will be based on how badly the school needs you!
Often financial aid is awarded based on need. Where finan-
cial aid money is concerned, need can mean almost anything.
Technically though, this type of award is meant to be based
on the financial need of the student. But it has become quite
134 The Sports Scholarships Insider’s Guide