Harvard: https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/how-aid-works/fact-sheet
Yale: http://admissions.yale.edu/faq/financial-aid#t189n2251
Princeton: https://admission.princeton.edu/financialaid/financial-aid-faq#qualifying-for-aid
Brown: http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/financial-aid/general-questions#faqfa
Columbia: https://cc-seas.financialaid.columbia.edu/how/aid/works
UPenn: http://www.admissions.upenn.edu/costs-financial-aid/financial-aid-at-penn
Dartmouth: http://admissions.dartmouth.edu/financial-aid/apply-aid/prospective-transfer-students/types-financial-aid/grants-scholarships
Cornell: http://finaid.cornell.edu/types-aid/grants-and-scholarships

Others mentioned: http://www.forbes.com/sites/troyonink/2013/02/22/good-grades-and-college-aid-the-wake-up-story/

That said, Development should be trying to prevent new money from being endowed in such funds. Great letter.

Thanks for your comment. But with all due respect to whoever wrote and approved that regulation, I don’t think it really does anything to address the concerns I raise.

First, scholarship recipients are already free to do whatever they wish with their scholarship money. That could include making a donation to UBC or anyone else. This regulation simply invites recipients to direct the money back towards the same scholarship they received. The money will then go to some other top-grade-earner. Perhaps that will be someone in greater need (though probably not the person in greatest need), or perhaps it will be someone who doesn’t need the money and keeps it anyway, like me. On balance, probably nothing will be accomplished.

Relying on individual generosity is never going to address the effectiveness and equity concerns that I raised, as my case hopefully illustrates. The only way I can see to achieve those goals is for awards to be distributed on need (at least in part) in the first place.

So I would discourage UBCDO/Senate/anyone else from publicizing this particular option to recipients. Instead I would like to see a more systematic assessment of the true impacts of merit-based scholarships, and encouragement for donors, scholarship committees, and anyone else who makes these kinds of decisions to emphasize need rather than achievement in their award criteria.

Andrew

Thanks for posting this. Interestingly, one of the University’s award regulations does state
“A recipient of a student award may retain the honour of an award but resign the monetary value. Any funds thus made available will be made available to another eligible student.”

But this has only been invoked a few times to the best of my knowledge, and I feel like it’s not widely known/publicized. We’re presently revising the award regulations generally (yet again), so I’ll certainly give what you’ve written some serious though.

Cheers,

Chris Eaton
UBC Senate Office

He expresses a great deal of empathy and sincere, genuine & selfless concern for others.

Not knowing Mr. Gray, I am very proud of his sincere
mindful approach to the scholarship aspect of fund
development

Thank you

Robert Sung