student loans, grants etc......?

Question

When a school gets money through ones financial loans, grants, is there anyway that I can ask for some of the money to purchase a laptop for an online course?

Answer 1

It is sometimes (but not always) possible to obtain financial aid funds to purchase a laptop. Basically, any school you go to will establish a "Cost of Attendance" (COA, which is basically a budget) for each of its students. That COA can include tuition, fees, books, supplies, housing, transportation, and...

"a reasonable amount... for the documented rental or purchase of a personal computer that the student will use for study for the enrollment period."

However, your school gets to decide whether to add this cost to your COA. Then, if the amount of financial aid that you receive is in excess of what you owe to the school (for tuition, fees, and other billable charges), you can use the remainder as you see fit.

The problem you may encounter is this: because your school is online, they may not have much IN their cost of attendance besides tuition (probably not housing and transportation) and maybe "books"... You will probably need to specifically request that they add this cost to your COA (also called a "budget"). And if they don't want to, well, that's their prerogative.

This COA rule applies to student loans as well. Basically, you can't receive ANY type of financial aid (including most private student loans) in excess of your COA unless your school "okays" it. The only exception to this might be a private loan that the school doesn't have to "sign off" on (these are rate; most private lenders will require school certification for their loans).

Answer 2

Only if the money exceeds what you are being billed for tuition, room and board, fees, etc.

You may always borrow additional funds thru private education loans to help with other expenses such as transportation or in this case a laptop...as long as you have a credit worth co-signer.