<p>I have been awarded $1000 for personal expenses from my school. How to I get the money so I can use it on things such as entertainment and everyday expenses?</p>
<p>Depends on the school.</p>
<p>Most likely, the school estimated your “miscellaneous expenses” at $1K when they calculated the estimated total Cost of Attendance.</p>
<p>Then your aid package includes loans and grants (and perhaps work study) that makes up most of the difference between the Cost of Attendance and your Estimated Family Contribution. That aid package won’t cover all of your expenses.</p>
<p>So it’s unlikely that there’s really $1K sitting there for you to blow on stuff. </p>
<p>The loans and grants generally are distributed to an account in your name at the beginning of each quarter (or semester), and then the college takes out the cost of tuition, and room and board. Anything left over you can use for books, and miscellaneous expenses.</p>
<p>Yeah… it’s not like someone will hand you $1000.</p>
<p>They include that amount in your budget, but then it comes out of work-study, or the student or parent contribution amount.</p>
<p>For instance we have an expected contribution as parents of $5400. In my son’s budgeted Cost of Attendance there is an allowance for $1000 for books. What happens is we’re --as parents-- expected to buy his books directly, so instead of the college giving him $1000 for books, we would send them our parent contribution amount minus the $1000 they expect us to pay for books.</p>
<p>He was also budgeted $1700 for personal expenses for the year and was awarded $1700 in work-study. That means when he gets to college he’ll find a work study job and earn is personal expenses money that way.</p>
<p>Except in some exceptional cases, I doubt you’ll find colleges cutting checks to students for their expenses. I think that may perhaps be the case in situations of real family poverty, for example, to help with travel costs or something… but no, it won’t usually work that way.</p>
<p>Kinglin, if you are still confused after the explanations, you can pm me with your info & I’ll try to explain your situation (unless you just want to post here, but don’t feel you need to be public about it). You need to give the school’s budget (tuition, room, board, personal expenses, and whatever else they have spelled out), the aid that was awarded to you (grants, scholarships, loans, work study), and your family’s expected contribution (EFC from the SAR, which was generated by the FAFSA). If you also filed a Profile (not all schools ask for this), mention that.</p>
<p>If you understand, though, don’t worry about giving any info! :)</p>
<p>After all of your Bursar bill has been paid, as well as any charges you have at the bookstore, and all of your aid/loans have come in (more likely mid-October) then any leftover money will be refunded to you in a check or direct deposit to your bank account (this is what my D’s school does). Schools are different but in the case of the most needy students or a student who has gotten a full ride with expense money there IS usually money leftover. I am guessing that your school awarded you the full Cost of Attendance in your FA package and that COA includes $1000 personal expenses. As long as you have no remaining EFC to meet that money should be there for you each semester to use.</p>
<p>that’s what I was going to say, Momof3. There are indeed cases where money is actually “handed over” for expenses, contrary to some posts. But also, as you point out, first, all bills for fixed expenses have to be reconciled; the leftover is then refunded to the student for other expenses.</p>
<p>umm…all the extra money that u have left over from your aid is given to you in a refund check…it doesnt matter if it’s from loans or grants..anything extra will be given to you in a refund check for living expenses or whatever u may need it for.. what you do with it is up to you…the smart thing would be to open a student account and add on to that money.</p>