<p>First off, the expenses are just estimated (i.e travel, personal expenses, books) to determine COA (Cost of Attendance). The fixed items that make up the rest are tuition and room and board (all freshman have to have the 21/week meal plan). Yale sub atracts the student and parent contribution from the COA total and that is how they determine aid needed. They bill twice a year (August and December) for each term for the tuition and room and board. They will calculate the grants and scholarship amounts to be subtracted from the totals and you are responsible to pay any difference.</p>
<p>You are responsible for your personal expenses, books, and any travel you choose. Only if the scholarships and grants exceeded the fixed cost would you be refunded any monies. This is highly unlikely as the student contribution is around $4,500 and any outside scholarships you might receive would be used toward this obligation first. I would be very surprised if the grants and scholarships would exceed the fixed costs.</p>