<p>I know that some schools have different COAs for on campus, off campus, with parents, but can a school have different COAs depending on which on campus housing a student chooses?</p>
<p>Some schools have different prices for different housing styles that they offer (let's not go down the path of whether you like that or not). So, obviously, a student choosing the cheapest dorm has a different COA than the student who has the private room. </p>
<p>Can a school have a COA range for situations like that, or must its on-campus COA reflect the most expensive (or one of the most expensive) choice?</p>
<p>It seems to be a bittersweet situation. For the student who wants the pricey dorms, he'll want the COA to be high so he might be able to borrow enough to include that choice.</p>
<p>However, for the economical student who chooses housing that's $4k less doesn't need his COA to be that high...and the school is actually "hurt" by appearing not to "meet need".</p>
<p>I'm not sure if I'm explaining this correctly. Schools are measured by how well they "meet need." so a school that doesn't meet need that has a high COA to accommodate a pricey dorm choice may be shooting itself in the foot because it "looks worse" because it appears to give bigger gaps.....when a student doesn't HAVE to choose a pricey dorm. </p>
<p>The school my daughter is going to took the most expensive of the freshman dorms, I think because that is where the majority of freshmen live. There is one cheaper option, and several more expensive options. Most of the sophomore+ housing is even more expensive because much of it is apartment style. They also have a high estimate for books because half the school are engineers. I think their travel estimate is very low as 30% of the school is instate, but almost 30% is international and there really is no way to estimate those costs.</p>
<p>My other daughter’s also took the freshman dorm (double) price, but used the full meal plan so it is a little on the high side.</p>
<p>Neither promises to meet need. Do the schools that claim to meet need charge different prices for the dorms or meals? The one school we looked at that claimed to meet need charged the same price for R&B for everyone.</p>
<p>I have not seen any college’s cost of attendance page list different costs of attendance for different dorms or different types of off-campus housing, though some do have different costs for the “dorm”, “off campus”, and “with parents” categories. Within each category, a student who chooses cheaply would pocket the savings, and a student who chooses expensively would bear the extra cost.</p>
<p>Some of the colleges list the “dorm”-based cost of attendance using a weighted average of the costs of the various kinds of dorm rooms offered and meal plans chosen. That actually makes the most sense in reporting the “dorm”-based cost of attendance.</p>
<p>I worked for a school that used a mid-range price. It was the official COA they made public and used to calculate aid. Then if the student chose the upper price housing, or set things up too late and didn’t find space in less expensive options, that difference was left to the family to cover. They do publish the different housing costs. and for meals, they did use the full plan, for freshmen, who were required to take that.</p>
<p>My bff’s sons both moved off campus 2nd year- and their aid did didn’t change. Combo of need and merit at schools that do not meet full need. I’d have to ask if the schools had some allowance for off campus costs.</p>
<p>“I worked for a school that used a mid-range price. It”</p>
<p>That seems more sensible. </p>
<p>I can see where using both the priciest dorms and the priciest meal plan in the COA really makes the gaps larger for schools that don’t meet need…when in reality the gaps aren’t really that big if the student chooses Standard Doubles housing and an adequate meal plan. </p>
<p>I think such schools are trying to be the most accommodating for those who have parents who’ll take out Plus Loans to get their kids into pricey dorms. They can’t do that if the COA maxes out at the cost of modest R&B. </p>
<p>That’s why I was wondering if there can be two COAs for on campus students. </p>
<p>You’d have to check the dept of Education regs on the COAs. I’ve never seen a range, so I’ll bet that it is not allowed and the schools can decide if they want to ‘go big’ which lets parents borrow more or scholarships cover more, or ‘go small’ (maybe average) so that they can claim to meet need. Since so few schools do meet need, and many of those are the traditional LAC which may not have various housing options or meal plans, it may be an easier choice. For example, at Princeton what good does it do to ‘go big’? No loans are being approved through the school so does it really matter if the COA is $60k or $62?</p>
<p>A school can fudge the “meet need” in relation to its cost of attendance by fudging the definition of “need” based on its own institutional methodology. There is an additional fudge factor that they can manipulate, which is the size of the student contribution or self help amount (direct loan + expected student work earnings). So it is not necessary to fudge the cost of attendance to claim to “meet need”, although it can be done (but probably more easily with assumptions of personal, misc, and travel spending which likely varies more than the prices of dorms at most schools).</p>
<p>“The cost of attendance is determined by law (Higher Education Act, Sec. 472) and is not subject to regulation by the Department.
The law specifies the types of costs that are included in the cost of attendance, but you must determine the appropriate amount to include for each category for students at your school.”</p>
<p>As for room and board costs it indicates:</p>
<p>“For students living on campus, the allowance is the standard amount normally assessed most residents.”</p>
<p>See the section on labeled allowable costs, as it discuss how to deal with differences, but none of the examples cited apply to differences in on campus housing costs. </p>