<p>I'm reading my purple financial aid sheet and I'm wondering about two "allowances" (books and supplies and personal and miscellaneous) that it mentions. Is this the money of the student and his/her family, or are we given money for stuff?</p>
<p>those are used for the cost of attendance calculation…</p>
<p>cost of attendance is used in financial aid calculations :)</p>
<p>The “allowances” conveniently add up to just about the same amount as your “Summer Contribution”, which is $2370. Also, just a warning (I assume you’re asking this question because you’re on “full” financial aid), just know that you probably owe Cornell a few hundred bucks (I owe $1200 this semester, but that’s about $500 higher than what you probably owe because I requested a single room) as they don’t count any money for work study (that’s supposed to used for those expenses). Now, if you do the work study and make what they expect you to make, you should come out of the semester with all of your room, board, and tuition paid for by the University. But for now you have to pay about $700 in addition to covering your own books, travel, personal stuff, etc.</p>