<p>Alright,</p>
<p>on the COA sheet we received from Columbia, it says that the expenses for books/others will be about $4000. This is part of the COA. If we spend about $1000 on books, does that mean we will be able to keep the other $3000 that's remaining? Or are the only things you actually have to pay for are tuition and room & board with the rest up to us? I hope my questions make sense. This will help me gauge how much I should plan to earn this summer. Thanks.</p>
<p>My son's financial aid letter only shows books\other as $2,060. It also shows travel estimated at $400 (haha, maybe ONE trip home, yeah). We're figuring maybe $500 per semester for books? Our policy is he will earn his own spending money. We hope he will earn the book money too but are not sure how much he will work this summer (registered with temp agency, got 16 hours last week, none this week so far). He gets work\study at Columbia and if he can swing working with keeping his grades up then he should be able to cover books.
momoffive</p>
<p>ETA: I think tuition\fees and room\board are the only things which show up on the billing statement from the university. So, if loans\parents\grants\scholarships are covering that bill, then yes, the rest is up to you and your checking account.</p>