Scholarships and Financial Aid exceeds tuition cost.

Paying for College
1

I go the University of South Carolina. I will be getting $9500 in academic scholarship and $6500 in federal financial aid (federal direct loan subsidized and unsubsidized). So I will be getting a total of $16000 in scholarship and financial aid. My tuition plus any other academic fees will total to around $13000. Will I be able to withdraw the excess funds for personal use such as: off campus housing, food, etc.? If I can, how do I withdraw the excess funds?

2

Yes, you will be able to use them for things other than tuition. You also don’t have to take the full loans if you don’t want to.

If you do take the full amount offered, the school will apply the academic scholarships first, then use any of the loan money needed to pay the balance, and you will receive the rest, usually in a check or by a direct deposit or debit card. This usually happens a few weeks after the bills are due at your school so you won’t have the money at the beginning of the semester. Also, they will do half at the beginning of the school year (aug) and the other half in Jan.

3

Yes you may use the ‘excess funds’ over the tuition and fees for the other Cost of Attendance. You Aid is not exceeding the Cost of attendance.You should get a letter each year from your college describing the COA and the aid and what is left for you to pay.

This is the Cost of Attendance for students living on campus:

Estimated Expenses 2015-16 S.C. Resident
Tuition & Technology Fee $11,482
Housing $6,832

Meals $3,566
Books & Supplies $1,016
Total $22,896

Notes:

  1. Did you inform your college that you are living off campus? The COA is different sometimes for students living off campus. Also it is much less if you are living at home. You can still get some allocation but not as much.
  2. Each college has its own procedure for getting the excess funds. This infor should be available on the website or in the student handbook, also often on the website. It is the Bursar's office that deals with that. Some put it in a student account. You often have to choose direct deposit to your bank account or getting a check. Contact your school for their procedure. Setting up direct deposit is often faster. But schools also differ on when they release the excess funds so you need to ask about timing as well. For some you won't get it except some weeks into the school year.
4

Since your aid is higher than tuition but not cost of attendance, you should use it for rent, food, transportation, and books.

5

Technically your only aid is the scholarship of $9500. Since tuition and fees is over $11,000, your aid is not exceeding tuition and fees, which is important because your scholarship is therefore not taxable income to you.

You are taking out the federal student loans to help pay the difference between your scholarship and the billed costs from the school, tuition and fees. And the excess you can receive as a refund to use towards books and off campus housing and food.

But as these are loans they are not free aid like scholarships or grants, they will have to be paid back after graduation.

The $3000 you will have leftover might not be enough for rent, books and food and like others said, you will not have that money available when you move into your apartment.

So make sure you work this summer so you have startup money for rent, security deposit, food and books and enough to pay for your expenses for the year.