<p>I found all the payment times from the website once I knew where S was going.</p>
<p>If you are already ready to commit to a school and they will accept a housing deposit now...send it NOW. Do not wait until May 1.</p>
<p>Check the school website. If your school uses a tuition payment plan, the payments usually begin on August 1. If you will be paying yourself for each semester, it really depends on the school. In both of my kids' cases, either you had to be enrolled in a tuition pay plan or pay the tuition for the term BEFORE the term began.</p>
<p>It really depends on the school. At my daughter's school we had to send in a refundable deposit for housing when she sent in the application for housing - which, if she had a particular dorm she wanted, she was encouraged to do even before her application to the school was complete. After that we were not billed anything until the first Bursars bill which was about 2 weeks after school started.</p>
<p>My friend's daughter went to a school where her first tuition payment was due the June before school started. So it varies from school to school.</p>
<p>My son's school had a set-up with SallieMae. I set up an account at SallieMae and his school had a calculator that figures out the total tuition plus dorm, food, etc. I then set up an automatic sweep from my checking account and 10 equal monthly payments go to Sallie May beginning in June and ending in March. I never did anything with the school. I got kind of worried that I never had any contact with the school. I called the finance department and they told me everything was in order and that my son has access to all of the tuition payments through his student access. So five payments down 35 to go.</p>
<p>We sent in a $100 "acceptance of admission fee" as soon as S2 was admitted last Fall. </p>
<p>Sent in the Housing App. in Feb. (no deposit required). As others have said, I would send in the housing app. as soon as possible. Even though it was not due until May 1 and we got it in by early Feb., S2 did not get his dorm of choice. Some friends who waited until the deadline didn't get a room at all. </p>
<p>Tution/Fees/Meal plan/Housing payment was due late July.</p>
<p>Then it never stops...Every month I check my daughter's bursar bill, and there is always some misc stuff she's charged to the acct - hockey tickets, concert tickets, more food...</p>
<p>Please clarify for me. If a student has financial aid and applies early meeting all required deadlines won't that money be available in time for the fall tuition payment deadlines? DS is totally dependent on this financial aid or scholarships and we don't have the money to cover tuition without it. </p>
<p>I'm getting nervous about all of this after reading the above replies.</p>
<p>Don't worry about the financial aid coming in time for the tuition payment. That should all work out OK. In the meantime, make sure you have $100-500 liquid so you can send that housing deposit in ASAP. You don't want your freshman to be denied housing or put in temporary housing in some hotel off campus. Most times, colleges base the housing decision on the date they received the housing deposit.</p>
<p>I think oldfort hit it on the head - the follow up question should be "When do I get to stop paying for things?" :) or perhaps :(</p>
<p>My experience with paying for college has been that if you set a "hard" budget and let your student know that anything above it his his or her responsibility you know how much to pay and when to apy it.</p>
<p>The school will bill you for your portion of the semester. It will have deducted the amount of financial aid it has been notified you are receiving. And I agree with 07Dad...our experience is that your child will learn to live on how ever much they are given. Our D knows what we will cover and what we wont. She has learned to budget. One friend of mine did not set limits with her D and she spent $3000 on "incidentals" in ONE SEMESTER!!! (it was her money, but still....)</p>
<p>It really depends a lot. Paid nothing until mid August, not even an I am accepting the offer fee, then paid half of year of total tution, housing, meal plan, and assorted charges, next half Jan.</p>
<p>At D's first school, tuition was due in August for an early September start. She transferred this year, and tuition was due by August 1 ... but if we wanted to do the 10-month plan, the first payment was due May 15th. We had until July 15th to start in the program, but that meant that we had to pay for May/June/July on the July 15th due date. </p>
<p>Financial aid will be applied against your bill, but PLEASE be sure to get all required info in early. I work in a financial aid office, and we have kids who were asked for additional info because they were selected for verification. They ignored the requests for info ... over & over ... and were surprised when they found out they couldn't have their financial aid applied against their bill. Because they hadn't completed what they needed to complete, we couldn't apply their aid. Another mistake is to get a loan & not accept it - or accept it but not apply for it. And last but not least, work study awards are not deducted from the bill - it is an earn-as-you-go award.</p>
<p>The 529 plan- the IRS only needs for you to prove that the money was used for school (such as tuition, room and board, book receipts), you can withdraw the funds and then write the check- it does not need to go directly to the school. You want to be sure to use up that money before your own- but you may want to wait until fall next year when you know your child has enrolled and incurred the bills you are withdrawing the money for. You can only withdraw money during the calendar year you spend it- you can't all of a sudden senior year use it for freshman year expenses. I'm not sure if it is when you pay or when the bill is due that matters- December for January, for example...</p>
<p>When to pay- check the due dates. Some schools require a deposit upon admission, if not then at least by May 1st. An initial dorm deposit may be required with the dorm acceptance/application very soon after being admitted (rolling admissions common to public schools), with more in the spring. These may only total around $500 or more. The big hits come in late summer. Some schools will bill dorm fees on a quarterly basis with payment due before move in dates. Tuition at public schools may not be due until after the first week of classes. Schools will most likely have a later date for students receiving financial aid, such as dorm payment due after the student arrives on campus and can get the funds. Plan on August and December bills for upcoming semesters, but check on due dates so you can keep your money as long as you can.</p>