<p>i got a full tuition scholarship and i got a few more scholarships on top of that. if my tuition is already covered, where does the money from the other scholarships go? does it go towards housing, should i phone and ask? thanks</p>
<p>Any aid scheduled to be paid to your account will first pay for any charges on your account like room and board — if there is anything left over, it will be refunded to you (school refund policies vary, so check with your aid office).</p>
<p>The extra scholarships will go to the school. The money will likely go towards any fees the school charges (university fees, course fees, etc), and if you have on campus Room and Board, the money could go towards that.</p>
<p>However, look to see how your extra scholarships are worded. Some might say, “for tuition only”. If so, then it will be up to your school as to how they’ll handle that money. Also, some schools have a policy that merit scholarships can only go towards tuition, so check for that.</p>
<p>Call your school and ask.</p>
<p>It really depends upon the rules at your school, and what the scholarship stipulated. I attend a 4-year public, and they have pretty favorable rules. I was awarded $16,500 in outside scholarship money: Some was for tuition only, some could be used for books/housing/food/childcare/transportation, and some did not specify. In addition, I have Pell and some state grant funds. My university simply added the totals together, made sure it didn’t surpass my need (COA-EFC), and then split it into 3 equal installments for the quarter system. So basically, they just look at it as 1 big pot of money, then tuition and fees are paid, and the rest is refunded to me in quarterly installments. I did luck out and can technically apply the right amounts to certain expenses in order to meet the scholarship donors’ requests, but it was close. Your school may or may not handle it the same way.</p>
<p>It would be a good idea for you to call or visit your financial aid department to ask them. Then you won’t have any surprises right before school starts. The last thing you need is to be surprised by a new financial aid package (not in your favor) right before school starts.</p>
<p>And don’t forget that scholarships and grants aren’t taxable when used for tuition, fees, or books, but they ARE taxable income if used for anything else (housing, food, transportation, etc). So it’s a great idea to keep a spreadsheet of how you spent any grant/scholarship awards, both for tax time, and so you can show you spent the money where the donor wanted you to spend it, in case they ever ask.</p>