Cost of Attendance
Cost of Attendance
Cost of Attendance
Knowing a college's "cost of attendance" (COA) is critical when comparing aid awards. A college with a high COA may offer a generous aid package but still be more expensive than one with a much lower COA.
What's Included in the COA?
As dictated by Congress, the cost of attendance is the average cost to attend for one academic year (fall through spring). Your COA is not your bill. It includes a budget for tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, transportation, and personal expenses. Colleges adjust the COA yearly to reflect changes to these costs. Colleges create several official COAs that reflect differences in living costs (on-campus, off-campus, or at home) and in-state and out-of-state tuition. Your actual cost to attend may be different than the official COA depending on your personal expenses, participation in extracurricular activities, and travel expenses.
How the COA impacts the amount and types of aid you receive.
The COA dictates how much aid you can receive. Generally speaking, you cannot get financial aid in excess of your COA. This includes all forms of aid such as loans, grants, scholarships, work-study, tuition waivers, etc.
Financial aid is a fluid process and at times students may receive additional awards later in the term after they already have been awarded financial aid up to their cost of attendance. In these instances, less favorable forms of financial aid may be reduced to make "space" for these new awards.
For example, if a student receives an additional scholarship after the cost of attendance has been covered, we will reduce the less favorable forms of aid such as private loans, PLUS loans, and federal student loans to make space for the more beneficial forms of assistance. While this won't always result in an overall increase in funding, it ensures students receive the forms of aid that benefit them most (free money first!).
Financial Need
Federal regulations require that your total student financial aid, including loans, not exceed your cost of attendance. For most students financial aid only meets part of their financial need.
Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first step in determining the types of aid for which you are eligible.
Once you have completed your FAFSA, your Student Aid Index (SAI) is calculated according to a formula established by law. The SAI is not a dollar amount that you are expected to pay toward school but a measure of your family’s financial strength. The SAI formula takes into account many variables including your (and your parents' if you are a dependent student):
- Income and assets
- Number of people living in your household
- State of residence
Your SAI does not vary from school to school regardless of the actual cost of the institution you are attending. However, your financial need will vary according to each school's cost of attendance.
Determining Financial Need
Cost of Attendance - SAI= Financial Need
Example: You are an undergraduate In-State Rowan University student living on-campus. Your Cost of Attendance is $32,539 and your SAI is 5,591. Your financial need is $26,948 (32,539-5,591). Therefore, you are eligible for need-based aid that does not exceed $26,948. Need-based aid includes grants, subsidized loans and work-study.
Example: You are an undergraduate In-State Rowan University student living on-campus. Your Cost of Attendance is $32,539 and your SAI is 31,788. Your financial need is $751 (32,539-31,788). Therefore, you are eligible for need-based aid that does not exceed $751. A student with this profile will likely not be eligible for grants or work-study, but instead would be offered a subsidized loan not to exceed $751.