Be proactive. Or, how an email to the scholarship office saved me $2,500 in tuition

Before I tell you about the email that saved me $2,500 in tuition, let me preface it with this very simple take-away: be proactive. 

Okay, now onto the story.

When I got accepted to the University of Minnesota, I received a $5,000-per-year academic scholarship that was split into two yearly payouts of $2,500 per semester. The scholarship was valid for 4 years, but because of all the college credits I had accumulated during high school, I was set to graduate in 2.5 years, or 5 semesters. If you follow the math, this meant that I would be graduating in the middle of the academic year, at the end of fall semester. 

As I approached my last semester, I began to wonder whether I could use this middle-of-the-year graduation to my advantage. My original scholarship award stated that I would receive $5,000 per year, with no mention of the payment schedule. What if I requested the full amount of the scholarship as a single payment during my final semester, rather than the typical split of $2,500 per semester? If approved, I would owe $2,500 less in tuition for my final semester. 

With a significant sum of money on the line, I sent the scholarship coordinator’s office a quick email. Here it is, word for word (name changed):

Hi Jeff,

I received a 4-year $5,000 presidential scholarship that is normally disbursed over 2 semesters at $2,500 each installment. However, I am graduating in December and was wondering if it would be possible to receive the $5,000 just for fall?

A couple weeks later, I got this response:

We have taken a look at your request and we have decided to make an exception and disburse your Presidential Scholarship in the amount of $5,000 in fall semester since you are graduating in December. Please make sure to register for graduation with your college office. Best wishes to you this upcoming semester and in your future endeavors. Let me know if you have any questions.

And that was that. $2,500 saved, all thanks to a two-sentence email that took me all of 5 minutes to write. For a college kid — for anyone, really — those are some serious savings. 

What It Comes Down To: Be Proactive

Granted, this exact scholarship maneuver will only work in specific situations, like if you’re graduating in the middle of the year and you’ve got a scholarship that’s normally split into two payments. That’s why the more important piece of advice here can be summed up by this simple Russian saying: “No one’s going to punch you in the nose for asking.” But you have to ask.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, you have to be proactive. And being proactive doesn’t stop once you’ve received your scholarships and have started college. Would the scholarship office have reached out to me and said, We noticed you’re graduating soon. Would you like to save $2,500 in tuition by getting your scholarship fully applied to your final semester? Of course not. The initiative had to come entirely from me.

Remember, no one is going to go out of their way to help you save money. This isn’t just college advice, but life advice, really. If you see an opportunity to save money, write that email. Reach out to that counselor. Don’t be afraid to ask. The answer could be no, and if that’s the case you’ve lost nothing. Sometimes, though, the answer could be yes, and you might find yourself the recipient of an additional couple thousand dollars of scholarship money.