<p>I have been trying to figure this out but if I stated on my fafsa that I am living on campus and I DO NOT apply for on campus housing like, I dont fill out the forms or pay housing deposit. Would that money be credited to me so that I could just use it and live off campus? I seriously need help figuring this out and my schools office is being of no help right now.</p>
<p>Your school may have a different cost of attendance for living off campus than for living on campus. If the COA for living off campus is lower then you have to inform the financial aid office you will be living off campus and your financial aid would be reduced to reflect this. </p>
<p>Once all direct costs to the school have been covered then if there is any excess aid money it should be paid to you. Both my kids live off campus and use the excess financial aid money to help with their rent and bills. However schools vary enormously as to when they issue this ‘refund’ to you. My daughter’s school is pretty swift and she gets it right after the add/drop period (about 2 weeks into school). My son’s school it takes 5-6 weeks after school starts. Some posters have said their schools do not pay it until the end of the semester. Obviously you would need to know this so you know if you need additional money from elsewhere to get you started. On the website for my daughters school this information can be found by finding the page for the ‘bursars office’ and looking for info on ‘refunds’. (it is the bursars office that usually handles refunds - any financial aid is credited to your bursar account, then any expenses at the school are debited to the bursar account - the difference is either owed by you or to you).</p>
<p>Some schools require students to live on campus their freshman year. I am not sure what happens aid wise if you try to not live on campus at a school that has this requirement. Also, of course, if you have any aid that is specifically for on campus housing (for instance my son had a small housing waiver his first year) then you would lose that if you were not on campus.</p>
<p>Well my schools COA for off campus is a little to small, and the place I chose for housing over all would cost me the same as living on campus, inlcuding utilties, food, misc, expenses. So I was wondering, what would happen if I said I was living on campus but did not end up doing so. Like would I be able to use the money that is supposed to be for on campus living, for my off campus living?</p>
<p>No you can’t. Federal aid rules are that your financial aid is based on the COA for your living situation. If you are living off campus your aid must be based on the COA for living off campus. If you don’t correct the information and the financial aid department finds out (which seems fairly likely) then your aid will be adjusted and you will have to repay any excess aid that was given to you. </p>
<p>Deliberately giving false information on FAFSA can lead to having to repay **all **federal aid awarded and also to big fines. Not to mention ticking off the financial aid office.</p>
<p>The FAFSA you filled out and signed contains the following</p>
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</p>
<p>Ok I actually figured it out, it turns out my school is awarding me as a commuter. I check the COA for off campus and its only a few hundred dollars less than the on campus. </p>
<p>On Campus 18762
Off Campus 18196
Commuter 13676</p>
<p>They awarded me 13676</p>
<p>So now the question becomes what do I do? I went to my fafsa and made sure it was set to off campus and now should i wait for it to be proccessed or should I call them tomorrow and try to figure out what happened?</p>
<p>[Cost</a> of Attendance: Office of Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.emich.edu/finaid/budgets/budget0910.htm]Cost”>http://www.emich.edu/finaid/budgets/budget0910.htm)</p>
<p>Was it already set to off campus? Or did you just now change it to off campus? If it was already set to offf campus then you need to call them and asked why your aid is based on being a commuter. </p>
<p>If they have the rule that many schools have - that freshmen (if you are a freshman) must live on campus unless living with a local family member - then they may be treating you as a commuter because of that. Really only they know - you need to check with them.</p>
<p>It was initially set to off campus about 2 weeks ago, then I got the aid package that was basically commuter pacakge. So I changed it back to on campus because I wasnt sure what was going on. Now I just changed it back to off campus.</p>
<p>Just contact them to make sure it is accurate in the system and your COA ought to be determined based on the off campus COA.</p>