<p>Do colleges ask for the money (with figures in the 60,000s) all at once? do they ask per semester? How does this work? Thanks</p>
<p>You are billed each semester. Most schools have payment plans so that you can spread out payments over the semester.</p>
<p>You pay per term. So if you are on semesters, you pay one semester at a time. If you are on quarters, you pay one quarter at a time. Payment can be arranged as monthly payment plans also, usually 10 months of payments.</p>
<p>Payments commence prior to the start of your term.</p>
<p>What usually happens is your financial aid (grants, scholarships, loans) are applied to the tuition and fees first leaving you with a balance. Colleges charge by the semester. </p>
<p>Here is an example:</p>
<p>Yearly Tuition - $60,000</p>
<p>Grants - $25,000</p>
<p>Loans - $5,500 </p>
<p>Yearly Cost - $29,500
Per Semester - $ 14,750 </p>
<p>You would need to pay the $14,750 each semester. Most colleges offer a payment plan but some do charge a small fee for this. </p>
<p>Some colleges send paper bills while with others everything is done online.</p>
<p>My D’s college lets you spread the payments out over 10 months. Helps a bit - but, of course it still stings.</p>