<p>Congratulations on your acceptance and your package. You seem to have a good handle on this. If the outside scholarship has to go towards college aid before it reduces your parent contribution, then yes, a portion of it went to reduce what Harvard is paying you in financial aid, since you don’t have as great of a need due to the scholarship. Many schools do that and more, by not addressing the student expected contribution and going directly to the school aid usually after reducing loans and workstudy, so this is not unusual and is actually generous. The days when one could double dip, getting financial aid and merit money are pretty much gone. But at the time most kids apply for these scholarships, they may not know what school they are choosing and what they are getting in aid and how the scholarship is going to treated by the school they choose. In your case, your scholarship replaces your Work Study award and expected student contribution. The rest goes to the school.</p>
<p>The Work Study is replaced and so is a moot point for this year, but it could have gone towards what Harvard estimates as your personal expenses as they occur. Those are not direct billed. THe tution and the selected actual room and board are. Travel, books, personal expenses differ from person to person and can vary widely.</p>