<p>On my account on my college website it says financial aid budget summary.
I clicked it and it has: Books and Supplies
1,125.00
Personal Allowances
1,180.00
Room and Board
925.00
Transportation Expenses
850.00
Tuition and Fees Expenses
1,422
But first of all I put I'm living with my parents on the fafsa application and its charging me for room and board and my tuition and fees came up to $814 is this just an estimate or something?</p>
<p>It looks like the Cost of Attendance summary. Was this for a semester or the whole school year? Your aid can’t exceed the COA and schools do have some allowance for R&B for commuter students. If you were dorming the R&B figure would be much higher. Explain where the $814 number is from. Are you attending a community college?</p>
<p>The $814 is what all my classes I’m taking came up to on my account which includes the lab fees etc…yes this is coa. Do you mean this coa is just like an estimation just basically what u can expect to pay for certain things if for example I’d like to live on campus. That was for a semester</p>
<p>Does the school charge by credit hour? How many credits are you taking? The COA tuition/fees is probably for 15 or 16 credits. That might be why what you are actually paying is less. Are you getting any financial aid? As I said financial aid can’t exceed the school’s published COA. This isn’t an estimation for what you would pay should you live on campus. The COA for resident students would have a higher figure for room and board. For commuter students the room and board COA figure is likely because they expect you will be eating some meals on campus. The published COAs will be different for resident(dorming), off-campus(apartment) and commuter(living with parents) students. If you already have an account statement saying how much you have to pay in tuition/fees that’s what you have to pay to the school directly. You will also have to buy books and the COA amount for that is just a typical amount. And you have to pay for meals and transportation throughout the semester.</p>
<p>Ohhhhhh I’m taking 12 credits. I think I get it now. But I have no idea what transportation fees are for since I’ll be driving</p>
<p>It’s not a fee, it’s an allowance in the COA. You don’t see it on your account, right? Gas, insurance and wear and tear on the car cost money as does bus fare if you would be taking the bus. So an amount is added to the COA for that. The main point of the COA is that it’s a limit on the financial aid you can receive.</p>
<p>All of the schools come up with an official Cost of Attendance for all the things that comprise what it CAN cost for a student to go the college. FOr some costs, it’s an absolute, such as the fees and the tuition. For others, the numbers can be averages or whatever the school chooses to use. Often you can “beat” the numbers, sometimes you are stuck paying more, because your individual costs are based on your particular situation and the school is using a composite or other figure that may not closely match your situation. You rent, borrow, find your books cheaper, you make out. You live close enough that the transportation costs are less, great. You live out of state and a plane ticket is expensive to go home, your costs are more. The COAs serve as a maximum as to what you can borrow in student loans and get in aid. </p>
<p>As others have said, these are estimates of reasonable expenses that the college expects you to spend on things during the school year - your total cost of attending college. Room and board might include paying for internet, or buying an occasional meal on campus. Transportation might include gas, or bus fare. Personal allowances might include personal care items, clothes, etc. The college uses these total estimates to decide on your financial aid, including your personal contribution (amount that you are supposed to contribute). </p>
<p>This is just the CoA, not a bill. It is not charging you anything but just estimating the cost (based on average student). It is used to assess your need in financial aid and help you to budget for school. The fees, books, and additional expenses part are not accurate as that would depend on your classes. Actual room/boarding cost may also vary as there are usually more than one option. Don’t worry if you are going to commute. They would not charge you or R&B.</p>
<p>I would suggest double-checking with your bursar or financial aid office. My daughter is a commuter and had to file a non-residence form with the housing department during her first two years at her university. Otherwise, the housing fee was on her account as something for us to pay (similar to the health insurance fee where we had to file a waiver since she is on our family’s health plan).</p>