text: how does a fafsa work? i have completed my fafsa and it has been accepted. i am eligable for money, but how does it work? does the money go to the school, if so how is it disbursed? can that money be used for books, or only for class fees and so forth? when you filled out the fasta form , the school gets the information for example if you are staying in the dorms etc.... what happens is that the school will send you out a letter with all the  grants/ loans/ work study etc on it. you have to send it back to the university on whether you accept  the package or accept the package with these changes  or deny it completely.  along with this is a promissory note saying that if you take out the loans that you will pay them back. ( my daughter calls this signing your life away)  books, living expenses, tuition fees are all part of the package. and the university gets the check first , takes out the tuition and fees and dorm fees if you are staying on campus and it sends you the rest usually right before the start of classes so you can buy books etc. books will give you a minor stroke when you see how expensive they are. and if you get work study try to get in your department in which your major is..  my daughter learned allot of things seeing profs outside of class and it helped her network within the school of engineering. best of luck to you.