<p>I live 5 minutes away from FIU, and with my parents, so room and board is out of the equation.</p>
<p>I'm thinking about atending FIU, which gives me $6,112 per semester in merit-based scholarships and Bright Futures scholarship. So in one year, they would award me with $12,224.</p>
<p>It costs $6,470 per year* for 30 credits. So would I keep the extra ~6,000 scholarship money after I've bought my books, supplies, and covered tuition?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>What is COA of FIU? I don’t think the scholarships would exceed the COA.</p>
<p>$6,470. Their merit-based scholarship gives me about $4,600, and a state scholarship (which I can use on any university in FL) gives me $1,500</p>
<p>martin, COA includes tuition, room, board, books etc. My read is COA is about $19,000/year. Your scholarship is far from exceeding it.</p>
<p>
Total is $6100. Where you get
</p>
<p>I am thinking the merit scholarship they gave you is for the year. They wouldn’t give you 2 semesters of $4600 if the tuition in only $6470 a year. Unless they are giving you money for room and board too - but if you live at home and don’t do the room and board - they won’t give you that.</p>
<p>Look on their web site or ask them. Some or most colleges won’t give you more than your actual cost.</p>
<p>jvtDad, that is the cost for out of state. I am in state.</p>
<p>4kidsdad, i get the 6k per semester. There are two semesters in a year, so I doubled it. </p>
<p>For those of you who want to see the COA
[Florida</a> International University](<a href=“Cost & Aid | Admissions | Florida International University”>Cost & Aid | Admissions | Florida International University)</p>
<p>The way it usually works is that if one receives merit awards, one can pocket any money that is in excess of what is needed. That is “usually”. However, there is a thing called “COA” which is an official number that is the estimated Cost of Attendance that each college submits to the government. Federal laws do not permit getting federal aid over COA except for PELL under certain circumstances. For example, you cannot borrow more than that COA number through PLUS–the ceiling/max is set by that COA figure. Also colleges make their own rules regarding COA, to integrate need and merit awards. The COAs for colleges are different for commuting students and boarding students. </p>
<p>I do not know the rules regarding Bright Futures and how it would work if a student should get merit award from a school, outside awards and the COA is exceded by all of these awards, whether there is a provision reducing BF. That is something you need to ask the fin aid office at FIU. The other thing you need to know is what kind of award the school has offered to you whether it is merit or need based, and what rules FIU has in terms of integration of their awards if any. If the award is need based I am pretty sure that it will be reduced by BF, but being a Florida school, it should have been integrated even before it was given. The colleges seem to know who is BF eligible, and put that inot their award assumptions from what I have seen. But how FIU specifically works, I don’t know, and to find out for sure you need to hear it from the horse’s mouth. The other thing in question is whether FIU knows you are going to be commuting.</p>
<p>I bring up the commuting issue, because a friend of mine had a really ugly experience when her DD decided not to live in the dorms at a college, and the school cut the awards accordingly, by a lot. None of this was clear, until the last minute and there was no mention anywhere in the college information literature of the situation. </p>
<p>So you do have to ask.</p>