FAFSA covers textbooks and supplies? Need to find right campus office!

YES! This is 100% true. The financial aid you get from FAFSA can definitely be used for books, supplies, transportation, and even personal expenses. When your school calculates your "Cost of Attendance" (COA), they include all these categories, not just tuition and housing. But here's the thing - they don't usually break it down that way when disbursing funds. Instead, they apply aid to tuition/housing first, and then any leftover gets refunded to you for those other expenses. You should talk to your financial aid office ASAP to see if you qualify for additional funds or if you're already getting the max and just didn't realize some was meant for books!

Your financial aid package is based on your school's Cost of Attendance (COA), which absolutely includes an estimate for books and supplies. But the actual money doesn't come labeled "for books" - it all goes toward your student account first. If there's money left over after paying tuition and housing, you get that as a refund which you can use for books. If you're not getting a refund, it means your aid isn't covering all your expenses. You need to talk to your Financial Aid Office specifically - not the Bursar or advisor. They can tell you if you're eligible for any additional aid or loans to cover those extra costs. Some schools also have emergency grants specifically for textbooks.

dont listen to these ppl!! there IS a special book stipen but u have to fill out extra forms. my roomate got $750 for books n supplies last semester but our FA office never tells anyone about it unless u ask specific questions. they hide all the good money lol. talk to somone in FA but use the words "book stipend" or "book voucher" when u ask.

Hi there! Financial aid counselor here. Let me clarify how this works: 1. Your school's Cost of Attendance (COA) includes estimates for books, supplies, transportation, and personal expenses - not just tuition and housing. 2. Your financial aid (grants, loans, work-study) is applied to your student account to cover direct costs (tuition, fees, on-campus housing) first. 3. Any remaining aid is refunded to you as what we call a "financial aid refund" or "excess aid" which you can use for those other educational expenses. 4. If you don't receive a refund, it means your aid isn't enough to cover all your costs. Options to explore: - Check if your school has a book voucher program (lets you charge books to your account) - Ask about emergency grants specifically for books - See if you qualify for additional loans - Look into work-study if you haven't already Definitely talk to your Financial Aid Office - they're the right people to help with this!

Tbh the whole financial aid system is messed UP. My COA supposedly includes $1200 for books and supplies but my actual book costs are over $2000 for my engineering program and I've never seen a dime of that supposed "book money." It all goes straight to tuition and then they expect us to magically afford everything else. And don't even get me started on how they expect us to live on what they calculate for living expenses. It's like they think it's still 1995 with these budgets!!

have u tried checking with the student success center? my campus has one and they have this emergency fund thing where u can get help with books if ur struggling. they gave me a $300 voucher for the bookstore last term when i was broke. it wasn't related to FAFSA at all just a separate program

Been trying to call Federal Student Aid to ask about book stipends for DAYS and kept getting disconnected or waiting forever. Finally tried Claimyr.com to get through to a live agent and it worked! They got me connected to an FSA agent in about 20 minutes who explained exactly how the book allowance works with my aid package. Saved me hours of frustration. There's a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ if anyone else is struggling to get answers directly from FSA.

To give you a complete answer: The portion of aid intended for books is calculated into your total Cost of Attendance (COA), but it's not specifically earmarked as "book money." Your financial aid package is designed to help cover your entire COA, which includes estimates for books, supplies, transportation, food, housing, and personal expenses. These are your main campus resources for book assistance: 1. Financial Aid Office - Can explain your full aid package and if you're eligible for additional aid 2. Student Success Center - May have emergency grants or book voucher programs 3. Department Office - Some academic departments have book lending libraries or scholarships 4. Campus Library - May have course reserves where you can use textbooks for free (limited hours) Also look into Open Educational Resources (OER) - some professors use free digital textbooks that could save you hundreds.