If I get financial aid towards the end of semester,can i get my money back?

Question

So I decided to go to college kind of late. I know Im eligible for financial aid but I dont think i'll get it in 2 months when college starts. So if I pay the $2,000 (Tech college) now and get approved for FA later is there any way I can get my money back? Someone said I can write it off on taxes but not sure. I know that I can always wait for next semester when I get approved but I dont want to waste time, I need to get in this semester.

Answer 1

I'm not so sure, but I don't think you'll get your money back. I think they'll just offer to pay for whatever is left to pay for the semester. They don't even pay for your full expenses, they pay for some. You can call the financial aid people and ask them and they'll let you know how it works. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Yes. If you eventually qualify for financial assistance for this semester, any money that you have paid out-of-pocket will be returned to you by the bursar's office of your school.

On the other hand, if your application for financial aid came too late to qualify to borrow for this semester, your eventual award will only be for one semester, and you'll be on your own for this one. It's unlikely that a lender will agree to give you financial aid for some previous semester.

As far as the tax write off - there is something called the Lifetime Learning Credit that allows you to deduct certain eligible tuition expenses, so long as you paid those expenses yourself. (You would be eligible to take the credit if you borrowed to pay the tuition, but not if the funds were given to you).

Check with your tax preparer or accountant for information about that program, or the Hope Credit

I hope that helped - good luck!