<p>So with pre-paid tuition, grants, and scholarships I should have the essentials covered for college. What I was wondering is how much the college (UCF) will allocate towards food costs in my COA? I would be buying my own food instead of opting for a meal plan, so would they just offer me however much the meal plan is for me to spend on my own groceries? And then there are 3 different plans so which would they choose?</p>
<p>I emailed them but have yet to get a reply. Anyone else have any experience with this?</p>
<p>They usually put the cost of the full meal plan in the COA, so 19 or 21 meals per week.</p>
<p>Why does it matter which figure they use in the COA? The COA is just an estimate of costs. It may matter if you are trying to borrow money ‘up to’ the COA. It also might matter if you are using 529 money to pay for food, and in that case the rule says you can use either the cost of a university meal plan or the actual costs.</p>
<p>But really, it probably doesn’t matter if you are just paying for the meals on your own. You can estimate that amount as well (better) than the school.</p>
<p>Alright thanks. I guess it really doesn’t matter because I’d still be getting the money anyways.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Not necessarily. That school doesn’t promise to meet need. What about your dorm costs?</p>
<p>Room and board will be about $10,000. You might only get a $5500 loan, which won’t cover all your costs.</p>
<p>You will also have books and fees.</p>
<p>You need to run the Net Price Calculator on the school’s website to see what you’d get.</p>