<p>...or does it? For example, Dartmouth's package claims to cover the purchase of a very nice laptop, but the other universities don't mention specifics like this. What about other misc. expenses like event tickets, club dues, etc.? How does aid work with things like this? Do they give you a chunk of cash to purchase these things?</p>
<p>No, you will need to pay for those things out of your summer earnings and/or work study. If you apply for Gates and become a scholar, they will cover your work study.</p>
<p>Many schools will allow you to use outside scholarships to offset both the term-time and summer earnings expectations. Work hard on scholarship apps.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies! So @GA2012MOM, does all of your work-study/summer $ go to misc/personal (out-of-pocket) spending or do you have to pay some of it for tuition/books/room/board?</p>
<p>@2blue, how would the scholarship money get into your pocket? Does the university just stick the amount into your account? How does that work?</p>