<p>We are considering not getting a school "meal plan", and instead will pay for meals and grocery shop with debit/credit cards. We think this is a cheaper way for us. But, how does this work with Financial Aid? If the award package we have is enough to cover a meal plan and we don't get one, can we still use the money for the students meals? Once again, thanks for any help you can provide!</p>
<p>First of all, most schools require freshman to have a meal plan. Secondly, will your student be living somewhere with cooking and refrigeration, prep space, etc? I don’t believe that FA will be given to cover meals if you are not using “board” in the room and board…I will be interested to hear if you do get FA to cover your groceries!</p>
<p>Thanks teachandmom! My D’s school does not require freshman meal plan. I was wondering about books too. I know people say books can be bought much cheaper then buying at the school bookstore. I am sorry if these seem like stupid questions!</p>
<p>*If the award package we have is enough to cover a meal plan and we don’t get one, can we still use the money for the students meals? Once again, thanks for any help you can provide! *</p>
<p>What school is this? Is this a school that “meets need”? If not, then it may not make a difference if you’re gapped anyway. </p>
<p>If it’s a school that includes student loans in the package, then you have the choice of using student loan money for a meal plan or for the grocery store. Same for the books. Typically, schools will include about 5500 in student loans. So, you’d have that.</p>
<p>Also…what is your EFC? If it’s a few thousand or more…you’d have that money to put towards the meal plan.</p>
<p>If this is a state school, they often don’t meet need, so this may all be for naught if it gaps students.</p>
<p>At my kids colleges the financial aid stayed the same whether or not the kids were on the meal plan, and one way we saved money after the first year (when the meal plan was required) was to go off the meal plan.</p>
<p>You’ll want to check to be sure with your kid’s college, but usually the financial aid is calculated based on the cost of a standard meal plan and its up to you whether to take the plan or not. It works both ways, however – they aren’t giving extra. For example, my daughter wanted a single room after her first year, and that cost more than a double – she could sign up for the room but financial aid didn’t give her more money. (But the meal plan cost 4 times as much as the room differential – so I saved the money on the plan, paid for the room, and let my daughter buy her own food out of her work study earnings).</p>
<p>Another funny thing about meal plans – my son’s college had a plan with a certain number of meals per week. Students who weren’t on the plan could buy each meal for a set price. I did the math and figured out that if he went to the dining hall and bought each meal separately, eating the total number of meals on the plan – that cost less than the plan itself(!) That’s just one school… but meal plans tend to be overpriced for what they offer. </p>
<p>I would advise against having your kids charge their food expenses on your credit or debit card – either have them pay it on their own (from college savings or earnings), or give them an allowance. Very few kids have the experience to budget food expenses well --so they can end up eating out or ordering takeout all the time if they don’t have an incentive to watch expenses. I never paid for food for my kids after they were no longer on meal plans – but I did do shopping on my own and send them care packages from time to time – boxes with staples like cereal, pasta, canned tuna, etc. I do think I saved a lot of money that way and the kids were happy, because they cooked what they liked for themselves. Depending on dorm rules and facilities you can also get them some basic appliances that will make cooking easier – things like a rice cooker or a crock pot.</p>
<p>As to books – yes, they can often be purchased cheaper online, new or used. Sometimes the kids need to have some of their books right away and have to buy from the bookstore --but do make sure your kids understand that if there are several books needed for a class, they won’t need all of them at first. They can buy the book they need for the first assignments, and then order the others. Also, sometimes if they are asked to buy a new edition of a book, the older edition will do as well – usually there are not many changes from one edition to the next. If they do have to buy from the campus bookstore, usually they can sell books back at the end of the term (and of course they should try to buy used books for themselves as well).</p>
<p>Thank you for the replies.
We have twins going to different schools so my question is more of a basic “how does FA work?”.
One is most likely going to a state school, one is still waiting for decisions to come in.
What I am trying to learn is this. If a good amount of FA and scholarship money is sitting in the college account, how do we access that for things like food [if not on meal plan], board [if not on campus], books[if not bought through school] ect, ect. If the COA includes extras like personal exp. and transportation costs, how does the student actually get that money?
Thanks calmom! I appreciate all the advice I can get. I don’t have exactly how we will pay for the food expenses figured out, but I will NOT give them a open ended credit card. lol From what I have found so far, the meal plan will cost more then what D will need. Now, my S will need the meal plan because he will make the most of it!</p>
<p>I would say its pretty rare for students to receive FA up to the COA especially at a state school unless they are a recruited athlete or something along those lines.</p>
<p>Anyway any funds that are left in thier school account after all billable expenses are paid will be “refunded” to the student on a set date usually after school has started. You can check the schools calendar and it will give the refund dates. My sons school its about 2 weeks after school starts.</p>
<p>It depends on the school is the answer. Some years ago, a friend of mine whose daughter got an award from a college decided to commute rather than live on campus. A major adjustment was made on the financial aid award when the office got wind of what had happened which created all kinds of problems. Without addressing the situation directly with the school financial aid office, you cannot tell for certain what the answer is.</p>
<p>I can tell you that the schools that my son attended would not care beyond the fact that freshmen did have to live in the dorms and have to be on a certain level or above meal plan., and upperclassmen living in certain dorms also have to have at least a minimal meal plan since there are no cooking facilities in those dorms other than in the common room. But that is one school. You really don’t want to just guess with this.</p>
<p>I agree with Calmom that an allowance is the best way to go. This is a learning situation for kids. I was surprised to find all these “starving”, begging upperclassmen at my son’s school. They were not on the meal plan or on minimal meal plan and used it up and also spent all of the money allocated for food and were grubbing off others as much as they could. Not a healthy situation. I’m willing to bet that a lot of the parents were not aware of this.</p>
<p>^^My S was one of those “starving” students. He had a food allowance, used it up, and it was up to him to figure out how to eat.</p>
<p>Ha, ha GTalum, my son was one of those who was feeding the starving upper classmen his freshman year at his school. He had a generous meal plan and his roommate who is from an extravagantly well to do family, left campus towards the end of the term for some off site work, and gave my son all of his meal stuff. </p>
<p>It made quite an impression on my son, how hard up some of those kids were towards the end of the term for food.</p>
<p>* If a good amount of FA and scholarship money is sitting in the college account, how do we access that for things like food [if not on meal plan], board [if not on campus], books[if not bought through school] ect, ect. If the COA includes extras like personal exp. and transportation costs, how does the student actually get that money?
*</p>
<p>For the one at the state school, I doubt this is going to happen since state schools usually gap (don’t provide scholarships or grants to cover all costs). It’s more likely that your EFC and/or student loan is going to pay for these things. If it’s a student loan, then if there is a positive balance, then you’ll get a refund a few weeks after school starts.</p>
<p>For the one at the private school, much will depend on whether she is at a school that meets need as well. If the school meets need, and doesn’t require a meal plan (check to see what the rules are at the private), then she’ll get a refund…but it may not happen until after school has been in session for a couple of weeks. </p>
<p>What was your EFC for each twin? Which schools are these?</p>
<p>I can’t tell you yet what schools, just looking for other parents experiences. Twin 1, D, most likely a Florida state school like UF, USF, UCF. Twin 2, S, waiting on decisions. He was a QB finalist, so we are keeping fingers crossed. His stats are no where near what I see from others on this forum, but I will try hard to ignore those. lol EFC for each near 3000.</p>
<p>
Well actually my preference was that the money come from the kid’s earnings - just that allowance to be budgeted by the kid was the next best option. </p>
<p>In my case, both kids had to be on a meal plan during year #1, so I paid that directly with the other bills – and in year #2 the burden shifted entirely to the kids for picking up that cost. </p>
<p>As to the “starving” students – the kids aren’t really going hungry, they are just on a tight budget and have figured out that they can stretch their money by looking for free food. It’s actually a great motivator for campus social life – I think my kids pretty much attended every public picnic or barbecue put on by various campus associations, frats, etc. And probably even crashed a few that weren’t technically open to them. My d. had a bartending/catering job on the side, and I’m sure that she carted home as many leftovers as she could carry after every job. </p>
<p>As for me as a parent – it came back to that care package. My kids actually never complained to me about needing more money for food – they were smart enough to wait until they were visiting home and then casually mention that they needed a winter coat after we arrived at the local shopping mall – but if they had started griping, I would have dutifully packed one of those pasta, peanut butter & canned tuna boxes and shipped it off to them. I’d figure that if they were hungry, I’d feed them … not pay them.</p>
<p>Since your EFC is $3k for your D, that’s the minimum that you’ll have to pay (likely you’ll have to pay more). So, you’re free to put your EFC towards your D’s food and books.</p>
<p>Your D’s aid (Bright Futures, etc) will go towards tuition and housing, so your EFC can pay for food and books, right?</p>
<p>It sure can. I was not questioning how to afford things, although I have lots of concerns about that. I was questioning the process of paying for things with financial aid. Thanks again!</p>
<p>Most schools do not micromanage the cost of attendance down to the meal plan. Instead, most use an average cost for various scenarios (living on campus, living off campus, living with parents). Aid is based on the COA for a particular student. So in most cases, the financial aid will stay the same with or without a meal plan (the kid has to eat whether it’s by meal plan or by me-plan).</p>
<p>Calmom, thanks for the advice on meals and books. I love what you said about if they are hungry, you would feed them, not pay them. I feel better knowing they have food, and not using the money for something else entirely. And the social aspect of getting out and finding freebies is great too. Thanks!</p>
<p>*It sure can. I was not questioning how to afford things, although I have lots of concerns about that. I was questioning the process of paying for things with financial aid. Thanks again! *</p>
<p>I don’t think I’m explaining things correctly…</p>
<p>The school has direct charges…tuition, fees, housing, etc. Since your D won’t be doing a meal plan, there won’t be a direct charge for that.</p>
<p>Any FA gets applied to direct charges FIRST. </p>
<p>Your D’s Bright Futures and student loan will get put towards her tuition, fees, and her dorm. If there’s anything left over, then she’ll receive a check. However, there may not be much of anything left over if Bright Futures and the student loan total an amount that is close to the total cost of tuition, fees, dorm.</p>
<p>That’s the point I was trying to make. There may not be enough leftover from BF and student loan for your D to get any or much of refund, therefore, your EFC will pay for her food/groceries. </p>
<p>BTW…If your D is going to be living in the dorm, is there a very small meal plan that she can get? That way she can occasionally eat on campus with her friends?</p>
<p>Do you know what BF level your D qualifies for?</p>
<p>Just before they take off for college, if they will have cooking facilities, make sure they know the basics of how to cook. My son is a great fan of rice cooker, so my gift to him his sophomore year was a $20 rice cooker. (Definitely an appliance that pays for itself very quickly) A crock pot or rice cooker with an automatic shut off is also a good option for a student, who may get distracted and forget to check on something on regular stovetop. But you have to check the rules of the dorm – at some colleges, student are not allowed to have electric cooking appliances in their room.</p>