Anyone's kid have "MORE" money than needed for college?

[toystory1130]

This is our first year going through scholarships and such and my son's been incredibly lucky with 5 or 6 big ones. How does the college handle things if they go over the whole "needed for college amount"? They gave us a number including tuition, books, food & transportation but it looks like he will top that by 1800. How do they do this? Just cut a check after paying for the core things? Anyboby been in this situation? TIA

 

[Cobern]

They cut a check after a certain date. I have done this before. It provided me with living expenses through the semester. I want to say it is 2-3 weeks after the last day for payment or add/drop classes.

 

[tasha99]

The cost of attendance is more than books/tuition etc since living expenses are in that number. They will cut a check after a certain date, but if the amount goes over their "cost of attendance" number, I think they cut the money off at that point.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Just keep in mind that usually a school will lessen financial aid they offer by the amount of outside scholarships won, so you may not really have surplus funding. Your son (not you) needs to contact his school's financial aid office to see how this will be handled.

 

[Fyrefly]

Also bearing in mind what other people have said, aid is only tax-free if its being applied to tuition, fees, books and other equipment/supplies. Room and board aid and any leftover you are cut a check for needs to be on your son's income tax. I know my boyfriend ended up with extra one year and managed to put it towards a school computer so he wouldn't have to pay tax on it but just be aware its not free money and you should plan accordingly.

 

[akcire]

Not sure if this is still the case but I had to spend my extra at the university.

I had a full athletic scholarship but also won some random private merit awards. Lets just say if you knew me from 94-98 you would have likely received a university sweatshirt for a holiday. Since they were good quality and expensive many are still in service I laugh at my family wearing them almost 20 years later. I too have 3 or 4.

I also bought everything I needed that they stocked at the bookstore.

I was good about keeping track and every year spent every penny and had a final bill of less than $5.

Once I took summer classes by choice and that used up most of the extra.

 

[momxx5]

Congratulations to son on his great achievments and scholarships.


One thing mentioned here is concerning financial aid.
Any scholarships earned are applied to tuition/school costs first, then if there is a balance and "aid" in the form of grants, assistance, etc. was offered then it will be used.

If the total amount of scholarships earned is more than the total costs, then your son will recieve a refund to his "college account". Usually an account is set up through the school for funds to be applied and deducted as needed. If there are extra funds your son will be able to use those for living expenses.

My son recieved a full package of financial aid and then recieved a very nice scholarship for 4 yrs. The school applied the scholarship to his account and then took any aid out "the back door" so that all numbers basically stayed the same but the sources of the funds where different.

When DS won the scholarship I was so happy that he could then purchase a computer, new shoes, living supplies for dorm (sheets, etc) and the cost of marching band. I was kinda sad to learn that this money was applied directly to costs and he would then lose that amount in aid.....basically a wash.
After all his hard work and achievements, in reality the scholarship did not help his situation.

You or your son can call the financial dept of the school to see if they have a specific way of handling this issue. Y'all are not the first to have this happen so I am pretty confident that they have a procedure in place.

 

[sarah4770]

They will refund the money, but aware, there are unanticipated expenses, such as gas, meals at school, ink, paper, laptop, printer, the list is endless and by the time the year is over, it will have been used for expenses.

 

[csharpwv]

It is very smart to put any overage that your son may receive back in a SAVINGS account.... not a checking account.

This way your son can learn to budget by moving a set amount from savings to checking at the beginning of every month so he knows he as a set amount to spend.

It is a mental thing, and by doing this I learned how to budget and budget well while I was in college.

Even today, I have about $500 a month from my regular pay deposited into a savings account. So we live off what is in the checking account and can keep a running savings in the savings account. We use the savings account for 'fun money and unexpected expenses. We have paid for all of our July trip already (put it on Disney Credit Card and paid in full when the bill came!) So all of the extras for our upcoming trip were paid from savings and we won't owe a dime after the trip!

I work in higher education and I know that students feel like they are rich at the beginning of the semester.... and REALLY poor at the end of the semester.

As an incentive you could also pledge to match what your son has left in SAVINGS at the end of the semester or when he graduates --- up to a certain amount of course!

I really can't stress developing good budget habits in college enough. $5-10-15-20 here and there with no mind as to what is left at the end of the month is the way that most college student learn to live. Those bad habits follow them in to their professional life - and the WORST of all, they have NO idea what a first time job offer would need to be to make ends meet because they have no idea what they have spent each month of pizza, new clothes, electronic gadgets, and really.... the list goes on.

I had a savings account from the time I was in elementary school - and I remember being how proud I was to deposit $15 or $20 in change in to that account. By the time I went off to college I had several thousand dollars in the bank.

OK, sorry for the long winded response - but like I said, having worked in higher education for several years now, I have seen many students dig their own financial grave in college!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Congratulations to son on his great achievments and scholarships.


One thing mentioned here is concerning financial aid.
Any scholarships earned are applied to tuition/school costs first, then if there is a balance and "aid" in the form of grants, assistance, etc. was offered then it will be used.

If the total amount of scholarships earned is more than the total costs, then your son will recieve a refund to his "college account". Usually an account is set up through the school for funds to be applied and deducted as needed. If there are extra funds your son will be able to use those for living expenses.

My son recieved a full package of financial aid and then recieved a very nice scholarship for 4 yrs. The school applied the scholarship to his account and then took any aid out "the back door" so that all numbers basically stayed the same but the sources of the funds where different.

When DS won the scholarship I was so happy that he could then purchase a computer, new shoes, living supplies for dorm (sheets, etc) and the cost of marching band. I was kinda sad to learn that this money was applied directly to costs and he would then lose that amount in aid.....basically a wash.
After all his hard work and achievements, in reality the scholarship did not help his situation.

You or your son can call the financial dept of the school to see if they have a specific way of handling this issue. Y'all are not the first to have this happen so I am pretty confident that they have a procedure in place.

Exactly! It can be discouraging to put a lot of work into applying for scholarships and then have the school deduct this amount from the aid offer,

 

[Granny square]

The aid is for those who need it. If a student has scholarships they don't need aid. There are plenty who are in need, and as far as federal aid, I'd rather not supplement the frivolity of students with tax money.

One isn't entitled to "aid."

 

[Sadie22]

Some scholarship awards are designated for tuition only. Some can be used for any college expenses. Some awards are sent directly to the college financial aid office and any overage is left in the student's account. Some awards are by check to the student. One of my children had a renewable award that was sent directly to him as a check one year and the next was paid to his college account after his bill had been paid. Those funds ended up being disbursed from his student account using the debit-type card furnished for things like textbooks, laundry, making copies at the library, and buying food at the student union food court.

Another child won a scholarship competition as an upperclassman which, along with other awards that were four-year awards, gave him a total that was greater than the cost of attendance. He did not receive an overage; the overage went back to the foundation offering the scholarship so that some other deserving student could receive some funds.

As someone else stated, any amounts used for anything other than tuition and certain fees will be taxable income to the student. Under most circumstances this wound include scholarship money spent on room, board, and textbooks, so be sure to read the instructions carefully at tax time.

 

[BBandDisney]

Give it back to be used by needier students. This Budget Board mentality shouldn't apply if others can use this "extra" money.

 

[Granny square]

Give it back to be used by needier students. This Budget Board mentality shouldn't apply if others can use this "extra" money.

I agree. Institutions are short enough on funds. They need to make their own decisions with a budget board mentality.

 

[toystory1130]

Give it back to be used by needier students. This Budget Board mentality shouldn't apply if others can use this "extra" money.

OP here...He applied for these scholarships not knowing if he would get them or not. He has been extremely blessed to have recieved what he has and has celebrated each one. He has also worked his butt off and deserves these scholarships. If they help pay for his gas and his food then I'm happy for him.

 

[Marionnette]

Give it back to be used by needier students. This Budget Board mentality shouldn't apply if others can use this "extra" money.

I don't totally agree with this thinking. If a kid worked hard to get scholarships, then he should be able to keep the money for his school-related expenses. OTOH, if the kid is getting grant money and other needs-based aid in addition to scholarships, then the grants/aid should be reduced accordingly by the school so that another student's needs can be met because that's the nature of those forms of financial aid.

This has nothing to do with a "Budget Board mentality", whatever that is. I believe that hard work should be rewarded. A kid that worked to get a number of scholarships should not be compelled to "give them back" because there's someone out there with a greater financial need. Believe me, I have 3 kids in college. There is always a need for more money...books, living expenses, lab fees, travel for internships...the list seems to be unending.

 

[tajz90]

Extra money over school costs should be given back for more scholarship opportunities. No one child should get more than they need. Period. A lot of students work hard and deserve, but once the money runs out, it runs out.

That being said, the rules allow scholarship recipients to keep the extra $$$. Make sure he realizes that there are a lot of expenses that go along with college that aren't normally thought of. Have him save it for those expenses. If he needs extra money to spend, no reason he can't get a little job on campus to supplement.

 

[Granny square]

OP here...He applied for these scholarships not knowing if he would get them or not. He has been extremely blessed to have recieved what he has and has celebrated each one. He has also worked his butt off and deserves these scholarships. If they help pay for his gas and his food then I'm happy for him.

Good. But he didn't do anything to earn need based aid. He doesn't "deserve" that. Frankly his parents can pay for food and gas...

 

[beavismom]

Nowhere in her post did the OP say her son received need based aid. She said he had received a surplus of scholarship money. He earned it and unless the scholarship specifies that money over the cost of schooling should be returned to them, it should be his to keep.

If my husband works hard and gets a bonus and we don't "need" it, should he have to return it to his work? I see this the exact same way.

 

[Marionnette]

Good. But he didn't do anything to earn need based aid. He doesn't "deserve" that. Frankly his parents can pay for food and gas...

The OP said that the boy earned scholarships, not grants. If the scholarships from the school itself are needs-based (some scholarships are), then the amount of those scholarships will be reduced to allow for another needy student. But merit-based scholarships from outside sources are for the student to spend on education-related expenses. That includes travel and room & board. The kid earned it and he deserves to keep it. It's no different than if he had worked at McDonald's and put the money aside for his college costs.