<p>Hi! I just had a question (another one, yes)</p>
<p>I received financial aid that included $900 of cost for transportation. I wanted to get my tickets early (the ones for August) and I have accepted my offer of admission last week. How do I buy the tickets using the financial aid?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>that’s a funny joke – there’s actually no such thing ;)</p>
<p>I had the very same “allowance”… as did many others on a full ride here. No go for actually getting the money though; the FA office just laughed when we asked :)</p>
<p>^ really?? I’m being totally serious here.</p>
<p>^ (hopefully that was a joke)</p>
<p>okay, it sounded sarcastic. I’m going to assume it’s a joke…(haha) :)</p>
<p>I believe that they assume that will be paid by the student as part of the “student contribution.”</p>
<p>Call them and ask. Might not help, but certainly won’t hurt.</p>
<p>I think I’ll call them later today during lunchtime. It does say on my financial packet that it’s specifically for travel fees. Are they allowed to just not give the money once they said that they would? Oh, well, I guess I’ll find out today…</p>
<p>no, i’m not joking. I’m a freshman here right now. when you come check us out for prefrosh, you get an “unofficial guide” to harvard… and that’s one of the things listed there.</p>
<p>i was wondering the same thing - how we are supposed to buy plane tickets and texts using that fin aid award. are we really not getting that aid?,…thats kind of serious</p>
<p>you don’t. it’s tricky. it’s actually part of your own contribution. I have no idea why it’s even listed when you get the award – frustrated me as well…</p>
<p>o man…
is that the policy at other colleges too? anyone know?</p>
<p>This is making me love Princeton right now.</p>
<p>They will probably reimburse you. Save your receipts and all that. Or, better yet, call the Financial Aid office.</p>
<p>They just calculate it into you’re expected costs of attendance and give you financial aid accordingly. There’s no getting it early.</p>
<p>This is how financial aid works everywhere. The full anticipated cost of attendance is calculated and you receive an amount of aid on the basis of that. If you’re not paying the full cost of tuition, then the cost of airfare has already been figured into the discount from the full tuition rate that you’ve received. So you pay for your own travel, smiling as you sign the check knowing that your tuition rate has be adjusted accordingly.</p>
<p>Yup, just like at Princeton (except that Princeton didn’t adjust your tuition downward as much to begin with).</p>
<p>The same is true for books … some people think there is a book allowance, but in fact there is no such thing. As Gadad explained, it’s calculated into your tuition rate. And, yes, that is true of all schools.</p>
<p>Do check studentuniverse.com for discounted student rates. They’re generally better for international travel, but it’s certainly worth checking to see what they are offering.</p>
<p>But what if you’re on full financial aid? It says that the aid includes a book and travel allowance… So how does that work? The booklet on financial aid says: “If your financial aid exceeds your billed expenses, then the excess funds can be released to you for travel and other non-billed costs after you have registered for the fall semester.” So that means that you’ll get the money if you’re on full financial aid, right?</p>
<p>I’d suggest that you call the financial aid office for clarification on that. Once again, they will be very helpful.</p>
<p>^^ isabella, that’s the situation I’m in. I have a full scholarship (with the exception of 1,200 in student contribution but which is more than covered by my scholarships)</p>