Need-based aid being displaced by outside scholarships?

Hello,

I will be going to college for the first time in a couple weeks, and I was wondering if need-based aid being replaced by outside scholarships (from the college, either financial need or merit) is a common thing? The grants I was given by my college almost fully covered my COA for that year, but with the help of some scholarships, my COA bill was exceeded by quite a bit. Is it normal that colleges don't do refunds, but rather take away whatever excess scholarship amounts were left (which is what my college will most likely do according to their policy). I was hoping to be refunded some money to cover my indirect costs, but damn..

Anyone have similar experiences they can share, or have any advice on what I should do?