A general question about financial aid. Is there a way to get this fixed?

I am attending graduate school and everything is in place. My assistantship and aid has been awarded, and I have money left over. I wanted to order some of my books online and use some of the money to pay bills (the move was murder to my pockets). Problem is, they told me I will not be awarded a refund check until after drop/add. This is TWO WEEKS after school starts. My biggest issue is the books. The books may not get to me until about 5 days, and with a Graduate Course I KNOW they are going to want me to start the grind of studying immediately.

Is there something I'm missing? I didn't go through all this in undergrad. And you know what its like contacting the university. Its a never ending circle of talk to (blank) and whoever they send you to sends you to someone else. Is there a generic way to access this money early through a request? My whole school bill is payed for, so I don't see why it would be a problem except for the red tape.