I was recently turned down for any private scholarship offered through my community college because "I had no unmet financial need." Even though these scholarships are not need based, the girl at the financial aid office I spoke to said that they still go by your FAFSA score and that made me not eligible. That's about all the info I could get from her, she couldn't tell me how this was all calculated, or why they wouldn't have been more upfront about that. Even in the school catalog it states that these loans are not need based, yet I'm being turned down because I don't have a need. Can anyone explain to me what's going on?

Most scholarships through a school are either Merit-based, meaning they require a high GPA or other academic qualifications, or need-based which go to the most needy students. It sounds like your school uses a student's FAFSA information to determine eligibility for their private scholarships. It does seem fishy that they promote the scholarship as not need-based and still base the decision on finances, however, the means through which a school determines scholarship recipients is completely up to them.

If you are still in need of aid, you can try looking for other applicable scholarships through StudentScholarshipSearch.com.

Good luck!