Outside Scholarships

Important Private Scholarship Information
The office of Financial Aid no longer accepts outside or private scholarship award letters to add pending financial aid credits to your student account. In order for private scholarships to apply towards your semester balance, we will require the check to be received by the Student Accounts Office. Work with your private scholarship organization to ensure that your scholarship check is mailed out and received prior to the semester tuition due date. Private scholarship checks can be made out to "University of San Francisco" and mailed to: University of San Francisco, Attn: Student Accounts, 2130 Fulton Street, LMM- 203, San Francisco, CA 94117.

Winning scholarship contests takes both luck and strategy. The USF Financial Aid Office regularly researches private scholarship opportunities for new and continuing students. Private scholarships can help you reduce the net cost of your education and limit student loan debt.

If you are a lucky recipient of an outside scholarship, please mail the check to:

Attn: Student Accounts
University of San Francisco
2130 Fulton Street, LMM- 203
San Francisco, CA 94117

Assembly Bill 288- California Ban on Scholarship Displacement Act of 2021

Will the new California Ban on Private Scholarships Displacement (AB 288)  change how financial aid is processed at the University of San Francisco?

Answer: No.

Private Scholarship Displacement is a practice where colleges and universities displace previously awarded financial aid when a student is awarded a private scholarship, effectively reducing the amount of financial aid awarded and resulting in a zero net gain for the student. At the University of San Francisco, we believe that private scholarships should supplement, not replace grants and scholarships, provided by the University of San Francisco to students who demonstrate financial need.

There are times, however, when a reduction of a grant, scholarship, or other aid may be required in order to remain compliant with federal or other state financial aid regulations. Our long-standing approach at the University of San Francisco is consistent with the newly signed Assembly Bill 288 (AB 288), which enacts the California Ban on Scholarship Displacement Act of 2021.

Outside Scholarship Webinar

Tips & Strategies

1. A higher High School or College GPA will make you eligible for more scholarships and increase your chances of winning an award.
2. Begin your search at least one year prior to the time when you will need scholarship funds to be paid.
3. Consistently dedicate at least one-to-three hours per week to searching and applying for private scholarships.
4. Search the internet with Google, using the keyword "scholarship" and different combinations of other keywords related to your heritage/ethnicity, background, extracurricular activities, intended major/career, etc.
5. Review all eligibility and application requirements carefully and make sure to submit all required documents.
6. Do not apply for scholarships that require application fees or payments of any kind. Learn more about scholarship scams.

USF Interactive Scholarship Tool

The Office of Financial Aid regularly finds and adds scholarships to this interactive scholarship tool. We hope that you find this tool helpful in your outside scholarship search. If there is a scholarship that you are interested in, and the deadline past, be sure to check the following year as some of the scholarships will open again. Come back here often as new scholarships are added to this list on a weekly basis. For the best viewing experience, this tool should be viewed in slideshow mode.

Additional Resources

Use the following resources and scholarship search engines to find awards that more closely match your background, major, and career aspirations. You may also find scholarship opportunities through your family's professional associations, local government, or religious institutions to which you belong.

Returned Scholarship Checks

If a private scholarship check issued by the organization is returned or fails to clear, the corresponding scholarship amount will be deducted from the student's account. Students are encouraged to collaborate with their sponsoring organization to facilitate reissuance of funds or to address any outstanding balance on their account. Important: Please have the sponsoring organization indicate that the scholarship check is a reissue.