College scholarship money used for the wrong thing?

Question

someone i know recieved 1,000. dollars towards college as a scholarship because they are a low income family. the family used that money for entertainment instead and now she cant start college.(how irresponsible is that?) will they get into any trouble?

Answer 1

If these were private scholarship funds, awarded to her by some private organization, your friend's responsibilities are dictated by whatever agreement she signed when she accepted the money.

IF the scholarship organization became aware that she used the money for purposes other than to cover educational expenses, they COULD elect to sue her for fraud. If we're only talking about $1000, it's likely that the organization would find that the time and expense of that action would be prohibitive.

This is a concern for any scholarship awarding organization - obviously they want to make sure that their limited funds are devoted only to students who will use the money as it was intended. There is probably language in the agreement that explains what might happen if your friend fails to use the money appropriately.

Some scholarship awards have documentation requirements - here's an example:

"Recipient must document with receipts or

enrollment records how the scholarship money was spent. Inappropriate use of scholarship funds will

be subject to full or partial reimbursement up to the full amount of the award."

If you are really bothered by your friend's conduct, you have the right to contact the scholarship organization and alert them to your concerns. I'm not recommending that you do (or don't do that), but the option is there for you to consider.

I hope that helps!