University fine print often rewarded the students who actually read it.

So when one engineering student noticed a reopened scholarship with no rule against applying twice, she confirmed the terms with the committee and applied again…

Only for the school admins to realize their careless wording had just cost them another $5K!

Keep reading for the full story.

How I double-dibbed on the same scholarship

In my university, there are usually two regular award periods, each at the start of a new term.

During them, a ton of scholarships and awards are up for grabs.

Additionally, throughout the year, there are special scholarship applications because the donors want the money to go out right away.

In my second year, one such scholarship opened in December.

This scholarship was going to require a good amount of work.

Its requirements, however, were way more than its worth. But any free money is good money.

The donors offered four awards, each valued at $5K, for the best students in Engineering.

The eligibility criteria included a two-page essay on your leadership qualities and community contribution, and two letters of reference from professors on top of a minimum 85% degree average.

This student already had a ton of other things on her plate.

Keeping in mind that this is December, which is the month of finals, students are incredibly busy studying and taking exams while profs are preoccupied with grading, dealing with leniency requests, and such.

Needless to say, there are few students who would, or could, apply.

Luckily, this student had a bit of a head start.

Fortunately for me, I already had two reference letters ready for a competition I was in earlier in the year. I only had to ask the profs to readdress the letter, which they happily did.

I got the award, and the money was applied directly to my tuition account.

Fast forward to January’s regular scholarship period.

Then the student noticed something strange.

When I was applying, I noticed the same special award was reopened for application. My guess is that they didn’t have enough qualified students the first time.

My initial thought was, “Oh, I got the award, probably can’t reapply.” But upon reading the fine print, there was nothing that prevents me from reapplying.

So the student tried their luck and was pleasantly surprised.

Just to make sure, I sent an email to the award committee, asking about it.

Came a short reply email that said, “Just comply with the award terms and conditions. If they didn’t say you can’t, then go ahead.”

I saved the entire application instructions and this email, then submitted the same package as last time. I didn’t think I would get it again, but I was throwing a squid at the wall to see if it sticks.

The student could hardly believe it!

It did! I got the award, and the money was applied to my tuition account. On top of all other scholarships, I got a cheque back, totaling almost $5K.

About two weeks later, I got two of the same emails asking for a bio and a picture to be included on the donor’s website.

But before long, the college caught on.

Half an hour after the emails, I got another one that basically said something along the lines of, “Hey, you weren’t supposed to apply for and get the same award twice in the same academic year. We will now have to deduct the money from your account,” but in a more professional way.

The student wasn’t going to part with the money that easily, though.

I forwarded them the go-ahead email along with the award terms and conditions. In my email, I also politely pleaded with something along the lines of, “Hey, you said I could. I don’t have money to pay that $5K, already spent it on textbooks. It isn’t fair to punish a hardworking student for faults not their own.”

I also responded to the two bio request emails separately with two different “about me” paragraphs (that basically humble brag about how hard I worked and how much I deserve the money).

Finally, the college backed down.

A couple of days later, I got an email allowing me to keep both awards. They said the admins have advocated to make up the golden scholarship category to put me in.

In the email, they also have a lengthy paragraph justifying why I deserved it, probably to avoid admitting that they messed up.

They did get a lot more specific about their qualifications, though.

As a result of this, the general scholarship guidelines at the university were updated to stipulate that no student will be allowed to get the same scholarship more than once during an academic year.

At least this student got to benefit before they changed the rules!

What did Reddit think?

This student practically achieved the impossible!

Sometimes you’re awarded a great deal of money simply because no one else even knew about it.

If nothing else, this student read the fine print better than anyone else.

A truly exemplary student indeed!

This student earned the money fair and square!

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