This was a while back, but you could buy anything at our college "bookstore" and it would show up on your bursar bill and be payable by student loans. Worse, it would show up as a charge "Cornell Bookstore" so your parents didn't even know the charges weren't books.
In actuality, the bookstore had not only books but a good 700sqft of CDs (yes, this is a while ago...), clothing, memorabilia, food, junkfood, etc.
You could also have the Bursar disburse cash straight to your account for off-campus rent or food. How you spent it was up to you. Several students I know put it right into the then-roaring late-90s stock market.
Not saying this is the right thing to do, but thats how it was
In actuality, the bookstore had not only books but a good 700sqft of CDs (yes, this is a while ago...), clothing, memorabilia, food, junkfood, etc.
You could also have the Bursar disburse cash straight to your account for off-campus rent or food. How you spent it was up to you. Several students I know put it right into the then-roaring late-90s stock market.
Not saying this is the right thing to do, but thats how it was