What Is "Cost of Attendance"?

When it comes to budgeting and paying for college, things can get confusing quickly. Students and parents are faced with unfamiliar terms, tons of acronyms and dozens of forms. A straightforward question—how much do I need to pay to go to this college—turns out to have answers that are anything but simple.

At Scholarship America, we have more than 65 years of experience connecting students with the funding they need for higher education. We’re here to help you sort through the language, answer your pressing questions and figure out how to afford the school of your dreams.

Today, we’re looking at one of the most common terms you’ll come across: “cost of attendance.” Like many financial aid terms, cost of attendance is more complex than it may initially seem, so here’s what you need to know.

Is the cost of attendance the same as tuition?

The short answer is no, but tuition is a big part of it.

As you start looking into schools, one of the first things you’ll likely find is the tuition cost, which is the baseline amount you’ll owe the school for your classes. This cost ranges widely—at Harvard, it’s nearly $60,000 per year; at the University of South Dakota, it’s around $10,000 for in-state residents and $13,000 for out-of-state residents. (Public schools typically offer lower tuition for in-state residents; private schools are less likely to do so.)

However, tuition is only one piece of the puzzle. All students are required to pay some basic enrollment fees and to purchase textbooks and class supplies. And, whether you’re moving into a dorm, living off campus or staying at home, you’ll also have costs for room, board and transportation.

Together, all those bills make up what’s known as the “cost of attendance”—the full dollar amount required to make your college experience happen.

What if my cost of attendance is more than I can afford?

Don’t worry! While the number you see in the cost of attendance calculation may seem overwhelming, it’s only a starting point. It’s very unlikely that you and your family will have to pay the full amount; instead, the cost of attendance is a useful reference as you start exploring the financial aid options that can help you cover some (or all!) of that cost.

Your first step in finding financial assistance is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)—almost all other financial aid calculations are based on this form.

Typically, the FAFSA opens on October 1, and you and your family answer some basic questions based on your IRS tax return data. The form crunches those numbers and calculates a number called the Student Aid Index (SAI), ranging from –1500 to 999999.

Don’t be confused by that number—it’s not a dollar amount! Instead, it’s a code used by financial aid offices to calculate how much assistance you qualify for if you choose to attend their school. The lower the number, the more aid you can expect. (An SAI of –1500 means you’re eligible for the highest possible Pell Grant from the federal government, which is currently $7,395 per year.)

As part of the FAFSA process, you can have your SAI number sent to the colleges you’re considering. Once they receive it, they will compare your cost of attendance with what you can afford. From there, they will calculate how much financial aid you can expect from the college, creating a financial aid offer (also known as an aid package or an award letter), which combines a variety of state, federal and institutional sources in order to meet the need amount.

The steps in this process are carefully regulated by the U.S. Department of Education, and aid sources will include grants, loans and work-study funds. The final total after subtracting that aid is usually referred to as the “net price,” or how much you’ll have to pay out of pocket after accounting for your financial aid.

How can I estimate my cost of attendance and net price?

You can go into the process with plenty of specific information from colleges, thanks to the requirement that schools have a “Net Price Calculator” available. For any school you’re interested in, you can search its website for “Net Price Calculator,” or use the official U.S. Government Price Calculator website to find the link.

Once you do, you’ll be prompted for information about where you live, what your plans are and what you think your family can pay. If you’ve already filled out your FAFSA, you can enter that information for a more detailed estimate, but it’s not a requirement. Enter whatever you can, estimate where you have to, and the Net Price Calculator will give you a ballpark figure of just how much you can really expect to pay to attend the school.

While that figure is still just an estimate, it can be a very helpful tool for building your budget, and for figuring out how much you need to save, how many hours you might expect to work —and how busy you should be applying for scholarships!

Private scholarships, like those administered by Scholarship America, can help you bring down your total out-of-pocket cost; every $1,000 scholarship you receive means $1,000 less that you have to earn at work or take out of savings.

Paying for college is expensive, and the process can be confusing. But by researching the cost of attendance (tuition + fees + supplies + room and board + transportation), estimating your net price and filling out your FAFSA, you’ll be in a great position to understand your budget, and to start finding scholarships to help bring your cost down even further.