Grump about Cost of Attendance use by FA

Paying for College
1

<p>Last year D's school used a COA that ended up not including some mandatory fees for students in her college of the university, had a R&B fee that was lower than the minimum R&B fee available for any residence hall within her college (under by more than $1,200), and which didn't seem to include the mandatory res life fee required for students living in any residence hall on the campus. All told, it looks like the COA was nearly 2K short. (I'm not including books, personal expenses or travel in any of these shortages.)</p>

<p>Is this something other folks have seen? Is COA some global number that doesn't take into account costs at specific colleges within a university that might be different? Any suggestions? (We haven't gotten this year's FA offer, but the U is considering raising some of the very fees that weren't included last year, so I'm concerned that this is a problem that is going to grow.)</p>

2

<p>Well we have friends who had a son at a school with only an ala carte menu. He could not have survived on what the food budget was. Mom and dad added about $500 per semester (1000 for the year) to that budget.</p>

3

<p>Have you considered calling the fa office and asking about these shortages. Coa is not global. It is unique to the u.</p>

4

<p>Sorry, by global I meant, “Is is a single number for all undergraduates at the same university, or is it something that the U can vary because students in the school of engineering, the nursing school, or the honors college might have significantly different charges than a student in the general school of arts and sciences at that university?”</p>