Cost of Attendance (COA)

What Is Cost of Attendance (COA)?

Cost of attendance (COA) is a college's total estimated expenses for one year including tuition, room and board, books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, and miscellaneous expenses. A school's cost of attendance is utilized to determine every student's qualification for financial aid, like grants and loans.

Grasping Cost of Attendance

Federal law characterizes the expenses that colleges must remember for ascertaining cost of attendance. Most colleges distribute those costs on their sites and somewhere else. That makes it moderately simple for students and parents to compare schools next to each other.

Bear as a top priority that cost of attendance addresses the "retail cost" of the college, and numerous students at last pay less.

Many schools work out and distribute more than one cost of attendance, in view of the conditions of their students. For undergraduate students, there might be different COAs for the individuals who live nearby or off grounds, or drive from home. State colleges and universities list different COAs for in-state and out-of-state students. Graduate and professional students might have different COAs.

A few colleges likewise break their COAs down into billable, or direct, charges (like tuition and room and board) and indirect expenses that a student would pay for separately (like transportation or dinners off grounds).

Cost of attendance is a critical number for students and parents who utilize the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

In choosing how much financial aid, if any, to offer a student, colleges deduct that student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the school's cost of attendance. The EFC is determined by the information the student and their parents give when they filled out the FAFSA. It is the public authority's estimate of what the family could sensibly be expected to pay for a year of college, in view of its income, assets, and different factors. The number is utilized to recognize the amount of financial aid that a student is qualified to receive.

The confusingly-named Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will be renamed the Student Aid Index (SAI) to explain its importance in July 2023. It doesn't demonstrate how much the student must pay the college. It is utilized to compute how much student aid the candidate is eligible to receive.

That financial aid could incorporate federal Pell Grants, sponsored and unsubsidized loans, and temporary maintain study sources of income. Grants and sponsored loans are expected for students with "excellent financial need," while unsubsidized loans might be available to students and parents paying little heed to require. It's worth recalling that while loans will reduce a student's net college costs in the short term, they will ultimately must be repaid much of the time. Grants and scholarships, notwithstanding, are gifts.

Colleges can likewise assist with overcoming any issues between their COA and the student's EFC with non-federal resources, like legitimacy scholarships. What's more, of course, students might have the option to get scholarships from different sources, for example, their state or private grant programs.

Might I at any point Borrow More Than the Cost of Attendance?

Federal loans and other financial aid can't surpass the college's cost of attendance minus the family's EFC. The office of Federal Student Aid gives the case of a student whose college has a COA of $16,000 and whose EFC is $12,000. The student would be eligible for a maximum of $4,000 in need-based federal aid, like financed loans or Pell Grants. Likewise, a student whose college has a COA of $16,000 and has received $4,000 in need-based aid and private scholarships would be eligible for a maximum of $12,000 in non-need-based aid, for example, unsubsidized student loans and PLUS loans for parents.

The amount that the student can borrow is subject to both annual and total limits. For instance, first-year undergraduate students defined as wards are generally limited to $5,500 in loans, something like $3,500 of which can be as financed loans. Altogether, such students might borrow something like $31,000, just $23,000 of which can be financed. On the off chance that their parents are ineligible for PLUS loans, nonetheless, students might have the option to borrow more money as unsubsidized loans.

Private lenders, like banks and other financial institutions, can be one more source of college funding. While their loans are generally limited to the college's cost of attendance, just like federal loans, they might have higher annual or total limits.

Private loans have a few downsides. The student is probably going to require a co-underwriter with great credit. The interest rate might be higher, and the repayment options less flexible, than on a federal loan. Consequently, it's a good idea to consider private loans solely after you've exhausted all the federal aid you're eligible for.

Cost of Attendance and 529 Plans

Student loans reduce the cost of attendance on a short-term basis, however recollect that they should be paid back ultimately — with interest.

A school's cost of attendance is likewise utilized in determining which expenses are eligible for tax-free withdrawals from 529 college savings plans. In the event that, for instance, the student chooses to live off grounds rather than in a college quarters, withdrawals from the 529 plan can cover an amount equivalent to the college's listed room and board charges, however that's what something like.

The Bottom Line

A college's official cost of attendance can be valuable in contrasting schools and formulating a budget. However, don't let the big numbers scare you. Most students pay not exactly the full cost of attendance, when financial aid is considered along with the equation. Truth be told, the 2020 NACUBO Tuition Discounting Study, led by the National Association of College and University Business Officers, reported that most students received grant aid in 2020-2021 and were granted bigger grants than in previous years — covering an average of 60.3% of listed tuition and fees for first-time undergraduates and 54.3% for all undergraduates. Almost 90% of first-year students and around 83% of all undergraduates received some form of institutional grant aid.

Features

• Cost of attendance (COA) is the average annual cost to go to a specific college or university.
• Not many students pay the full cost of attendance on the grounds that most receive a financial aid of some sort.
• Cost of attendance is utilized to work out how much financial aid a student is eligible for, in view of the Expected Family Contribution from their FAFSA.
• It incorporates tuition and fees, room and board, books, supplies, and different expenses.

FAQ

What's the Difference Between Cost of Attendance and Tuition?

While tuition is what one pays for classroom guidelines, COA additionally incorporates room and board, books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, and miscellaneous expenses. A school's cost of attendance is utilized to determine every student's qualification for financial aid like grants and loans.

Why Is COA Important to Know?

A school's cost of attendance is utilized to determine every student's qualification for financial aid like grants and loans. It addresses the "retail cost" of the college, and numerous students eventually pay less. Cost of attendance is a critical number for students and parents who utilize the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Is COA a Confusing Number to Determine?

It tends to be, on the grounds that many schools distribute more than one cost of attendance. For undergraduate students, there might be different COAs for the people who live nearby or off grounds, or drive from home. State colleges and universities list different COAs for in-state and out-of-state students. Graduate and professional students might have different COAs. A few colleges likewise break their COAs down into billable, or direct, charges (like tuition and room and board) and indirect expenses that a student would pay for separately (like transportation or feasts off grounds).