What was the first item you bought online with your financial aid?

[79wjd]

21 minutes ago, Raskolnikov said:

He's talking about taking notes with the stylus, it's indeed slower than on paper.

I disagree. I was able to take notes just as quickly on my SP3/iPad Pro as I could on paper. But then the SP3/iPad had one game changing advantage -- I could easily erase and re-draw things and more important than that was the ability to have unlimited paper in all directions and the ability to move things around as the page progressed. 

6 minutes ago, wasab said:

Op should know that at least in the USA, federal grants and loans have strings attach. Students do not have access to them. How they are spent is sometimes handle totally by the financial aid office. 

 

The only type of money that has no strings attach is your own money. All free money for ones schooling is strictly for the purpose of ones schooling. 

That's also not quite true. A lot of financial aid can end up in your discretion -- although there's often a nice interest rate on them, so it's probably best not to spend it frivolously. 

[wasab]

4 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

I disagree. I was able to take notes just as quickly on my SP3/iPad Pro as I could on paper. But then the SP3/iPad had one game changing advantage -- I could easily erase and re-draw things and more important than that was the ability to have unlimited paper in all directions and the ability to move things around as the page progressed. 

That's also not quite true. A lot of financial aid can end up in your discretion -- although there's often a nice interest rate on them, so it's probably best not to spend it frivolously. 

If there is an interest than its a loan which can and should be spent however you see fit. You are the one paying for it after all, interest and everything. Grant works differently. It is free money and those giving it out really want to make sure you are spending it right, on books, tuition, ect instead of like say drugs and booze.

[killcomic]

what the hell is a financial aid?

 

[Razor Blade]

45 minutes ago, killcomic said:

what the hell is a financial aid?

 

Financial AIDS

 

When a student borrows more money than they could ever pay back...thereby dooming their financial future. Chances of contracting financial AIDS greatly increases if the student drops out and does not finish their degree.

[killcomic]

9 minutes ago, Razor Blade said:

Financial AIDS

 

When a student borrows more money than they could ever pay back...thereby dooming their financial future. Chances of contracting financial AIDS greatly increases if the student drops out and does not finish their degree.

 

Thanks to valdyrgramr, I now know it' an American thing. Interest and care factor now at 0%..

[VinsinityKT]

I hope it's money leftover that you got for free... Even then there is so much that needs to be spent on. Student financial aid can cripple you in the long run so imagine that keyboard you bought just racking up interest until you pay off all your debt.

[Froody129]

So of these guys above me explained it right... You took grant money for not being able to pay for tuition; then went and threw it at a needlessly expensive keyboard? 

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, Froody129 said:

So of these guys above me explained it right... You took grant money for not being able to pay for tuition; then went and threw it at a needlessly expensive keyboard? 

Not every country is america.

In my school you get 60€ a month for getting good grades, and you dont pay for school, that is taken care of by government.

[dalekphalm]

3 hours ago, Froody129 said:

So of these guys above me explained it right... You took grant money for not being able to pay for tuition; then went and threw it at a needlessly expensive keyboard? 

People are making a ton of assumptions about this. There are a TON of different "variations" of financial aid in the US.

 

Financial aid could be:

1. Student loan (whether government, or private bank - needs to be repaid).

2. Full Scholarship (Tuition and supplies paid for, but no money is given to the student, unless the scholarship also includes a "living stipend", which might include a set chunk of "spending" money each month).

3. Partial scholarship (this could be in several forms - might be a direct payment to the school for tuition, or just a small allotment of cash - this may or may not have requirements to be spent on specific things).

4. Bursary - usually a cash payment, often not linked to grades or performance in school (unlike scholarships, which are generally given out to students who meet minimum grade requirements). Bursaries sometimes (but not always) have low-income requirements.

5. Grant - similar to a bursary, but given out for different reasons.

 

There could be additional forms of financial aid as well besides what I have described above.

 

In basically all cases, it depends on the specific form of financial aid that the OP got, for as to whether he is allowed to spend the money on whatever he wants.

 

While I think @BlankStars♠ buying a $150+ (MSRP from WASD's website) mechanical keyboard using financial aid was perhaps irresponsible, we don't know the requirements of his financial aid. If the aid came with no strings attached (eg: he can choose to spend it however he wishes), then he did nothing unethical or illegal.

 

And if, say, he already paid for the things he needs (eg: books, tuition, classroom materials, etc), and he had some money left over, and decided to treat himself? I can't really blame him for doing so. It ultimately comes down to whether or not he will miss that $150 (hurting for money) or not.

 

When I got financial aid during College, I went out and bought a $1500 laptop - it could game (though wasn't specifically a gaming laptop) and was probably more expensive then I needed, but I did need a laptop. So rather than buy the cheapest piece of shit that would do the job, I bought something good that I would enjoy using. Was that unnecessary? Yes. Was it a bad decision? No.

 

Granted, my financial aid was primarily student loans, that I had to pay back. So perhaps it would be different if I were given "free" (as in, I don't need to pay it back) money.

[Mr.Meerkat]

55 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

When I got financial aid during College, I went out and bought a $1500 laptop - it could game (though wasn't specifically a gaming laptop) and was probably more expensive then I needed, but I did need a laptop. So rather than buy the cheapest piece of shit that would do the job, I bought something good that I would enjoy using. Was that unnecessary? Yes. Was it a bad decision? No

Hehe, considering I was planning on splashing out all of my £5750/year student loan towards my fATPL/CPL training had I got accepted by Edinburgh Uni (books n equipment would be paid by my partial scholarship*), your one off $1500 laptop isn't bad at all. To be fair, this is a loan (with a 1% interest rate) meaning its not like this is free money and I'll have to pay it back eventually**.

 

* Its actually a grant, incentive for studying EEE instead of CS but has requirements on grades you have to meet.

**Unless I permanently injure myself, get myself killed or 35 years has passed since taking out this loan (which it gets cancelled). Also, if I am unable to make the minimum income threshold, payments get put on hold until I do (and if I never do over the 35 years period, it gets cancelled). Thankfully our loans are given by the government meaning there is an ass load of safety nets around them. 

[dizmo]

Books and school supplies. Then I bought a printer/scanner combo.

 

On 7/5/2018 at 6:29 PM, dalekphalm said:

Seriously dude? It's 2018. Literally everyone will be taking notes with laptops, tablets, etc.

Also, tablet keyboard cases have existed since the original iPad. These days, they work very well.

 

iPad + bluetooth keyboard case = totally sufficient for note taking.

Some classes require pencils and paper

I actually prefer it to a tablet. My pen and paper isn't going to die, corrupt, etc.

5 hours ago, Froody129 said:

So of these guys above me explained it right... You took grant money for not being able to pay for tuition; then went and threw it at a needlessly expensive keyboard? 

Maybe he got money from a family member? Financial aid can mean loads of things.

[Crunchy Dragon]

11 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Maybe he got money from a family member? Financial aid can mean loads of things.

Either way, I'm more likely to spend financial aid on more useful and higher priority things than a keyboard, personally.

[dizmo]

20 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Either way, I'm more likely to spend financial aid on more useful and higher priority things than a keyboard, personally.

All depends on how much he got. I got $40,000 and my classes were no where near that expensive. Had I gone to college or university right after high school, I would have gotten $100,000.

[Swndlr]

On 7/5/2018 at 6:06 PM, wasab said:

I just have to ask.... Why not pen, pencil, eraser, and paper?

This is assuming we're talking about college/university but to be fair, there are many colleges now that require you have a laptop or similar device prior to arriving on campus. Yes, there are classes where handwritten notes are much more favored, like math or whatever else. But for literature courses, writing courses, English courses in general then a laptop is a very beneficial tool. Also, most schools very prominently use a form of online assignment website/portal that is highly important and usually has to be accessed throughout the day and in class. Pen and paper solely won't cut it for most if not all work.

[Techicolors]

1 hour ago, Swndlr said:

This is assuming we're talking about college/university but to be fair, there are many colleges now that require you have a laptop or similar device prior to arriving on campus. Yes, there are classes where handwritten notes are much more favored, like math or whatever else. But for literature courses, writing courses, English courses in general then a laptop is a very beneficial tool. Also, most schools very prominently use a form of online assignment website/portal that is highly important and usually has to be accessed throughout the day and in class. Pen and paper solely won't cut it for most if not all work.

i took a math class not long ago and apparently was part of a grant of some sort, because it was supplied with iPads and the pencil. we didn't use the pencil that often tho, the ipads worked more like accessing the webapp and this classroom collab software 

[Swndlr]

11 hours ago, Techicolors said:

i took a math class not long ago and apparently was part of a grant of some sort, because it was supplied with iPads and the pencil. we didn't use the pencil that often tho, the ipads worked more like accessing the webapp and this classroom collab software 

Yeah, I personally prefer handwriting math on paper but there are plenty of practical applications that an iPad or laptop can be used for in a math-related course, especially in engineering/architecture/CS classes (obviously). And yes. even if a majority of the actual notetaking and work is being done in formats other than electronically, just having the device for the sake of accessibility in a classroom is extremely important. Like I mentioned, a lot of colleges require you to have a laptop before arriving on campus, mine included. I suppose they figured they would be unable to push their curriculums forward if their students don't have the equipment required for a modern classroom and if newer, more effective teaching methods come at the cost of more expensive technology in the classroom, then I suppose it is worth it.