<p>I received my fin.aid. letter and the school was very generous leaving me a few thousand dollars gap. In the letter it had itemized the estimated costs of next year including travel, misc., books, etc.... I know some of those costs are set in stone but some seem to be very flexible.</p>
<p>My question, if I buy used books then the cost will be less than estimated. Also, I'm not sure what misc. costs are but if travel and misc. are less than expected, does this mean my 'gap' amount will be less? </p>
<p>I guess an easier way of putting it, should I just plan on paying them the exact difference between what they say the cost of 07-08 will be, or could it be less if I keep some costs down?</p>
<p>It could be less if you keep some of the costs down. travel and miscellaneous are personal costs that you pay - not to the school. They are within your control to a certain extent.</p>
<p>You don't actually "pay" those amounts to the school. You pay for your books as you purchase them directly to the seller, be it the bookstore, a fellow student or eBay. You pay your transportation costs to your carrier. </p>
<p>The school is giving you these "estimates" to make it easier for you to plan, and they include them in their calculations of the total Cost of Attendance. Any money you save by buying used books, not going out, eating only off the meal plan, etc., is yours to keep. The school will never know.</p>
<p>When looking at financial aid awards, it's best to think of it this way: add up the tuition, room, board, mandatory fees (student activity fees, health insurance, etc.). This is the amount you will have to actually pay the school. Add up the scholarships (institutional, state, and outside) and grants (institutional, Pell, SEOG, etc.). This is your "free" financial aid. Subtract that from the first number. You will get the real cost of the school. From that, you will be able to decide if you want/need to take out a loan. If you want to take out loans, you can subtract the loan amount & what is left is what you will have to pay the school.</p>