What did your actual NMF first year bill look like?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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Can parents with their NMF kids at UA (now or in the past) shed more light on the actual bill? I read a lot of threads here on CC, and I used NPC, but the answer still alludes me. Here is what my calculations show – please confirm or correct me where I am wrong. Please disregard expenses for books, travel and incidentals as those don’t really change between different schools. I just want to focus on tuition and fees, and room and board. I have it split between year 1, and years 2-4.

Year 1 Costs

Tuition and fees $27,800
Room and board $12,500
Total $40,300

Year 1 NMF package
Tuition waiver $27,000
Room and board $12,500
NMF stipend $3,500
Tech allowance $1,000
Engineering schol. $2,500
Total $46,500

Refund $6,200

Is this correct? Do you actually get $6,200 refund you could then use towards books, travel, etc. and still end up with money left over to finance your education following years? I have seen people posting they got a refund of about $1,200-$1,500 but not $6,200. Am I making a mistake somewhere?

Additionally, since we qualify for Pell grant, will that be added on top of it, so the refund could potentially be around $10K? Or is there a limit on total refund?

Finally, for years 2-4, the room and board, and tech allowance disappear, so obviously there will be no refund in those years. However, what’s the reasonable estimate for room and board, assuming off-campus arrangements? I used $9,500 just to fill in the blank. What has been your experience?

Years 2-4 Costs

Tuition and fees $27,800
Room and board $9,500
Total $37,300

Years 2-4 NMF package
Tuition waiver $27,000
NMF stipend $3,500
Engineering schol. $2,500
Total $33,000

Due $4,300

Thank you very much for your help. Any other suggestions/considerations are welcome.

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Course fees, College fees, books, parking if applicable, football package, Dining dollars. Refund was around $2,500 per semester year 1. Some may purchase items from Supe Store, computers or other items which would decrease that refund as well.

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My D wasn’t NMF, but I paid the expenses so I have a pretty good idea what they are. It looks like you’ve already accounted for course fees. You’ll have to pay for Dining Dollars, but if your student doesn’t use them they can be refunded at the end of the year. Parking permit and football tickets (if you’re getting them) are the only other direct expenses I can think of that we paid. We paid a course fee for Outdoor Action, but that was paid before we received the bill. You’ll also have to pay for Bama Bound, but again, this is paid in advance. Those expenses will show on the bill, along with credits for the payments that have already been made. There will, of course, be indirect expenses, like books, codes, maybe a clicker, and then personal expenses. You will get the Pell on top of everything else.

Room and board expenses can vary drastically once students move off campus. My daughter got a one bedroom apartment and lived alone, so we spent more for room than we did in the dorms, but less for board, since she didn’t have a mealplan and mostly cooked for herself at home. I’ve heard of students paying as little as $400 a month in rent (remember most leases are for 12 months) but most students I know pay a couple hundred dollars more than that (or more). Food expenses will depend on whether the student has a mealplan, how often he eats out, whether he’s eating steak or ramen at home, etc.

Don’t forget that your student will need to pay taxes on the scholarship he receives that is in excess of qualified expenses, so you should budget for that.

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Copied from the website:

So it seems in the first year tuition is covered, housing at regular room rate is covered. But fees and meal plan will have to be paid.
If more expensive housing is selected, do you have to pay the difference?

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Footnote:

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So for example if student lived in Riverside and 4 bedroom suite is the largest option, the cost would be $4,450 per semester, so presumably $8,900 would be credited by the NMF scholarship for the room.

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Thank you all. I see now where I made a mistake in the first year NMF package: I assumed both housing and meal plan are covered, whereas only housing is covered. My bad. So that brings the $6,200 refund down to about $2,600. Obviously, it will be lower as the books and some other expenses would be paid out of it. I am just trying to get my numbers straight so I can do apples to apples comparison with other schools.

2 quick questions:

  1. We will qualify for Pell, and I assume it will be applied on top of NMF package, I was just wondering if the school will reduce it (or eliminate it altogether) because there is already “refund” on the account. Can people that got both NMF and Pell confirm how the school handled it in year 1?
  2. I understand scholarships over qualified expenses are treated as taxable income on student’s return. Does Alabama put $3.5K stipend and $1K tech allowance on 1098-T together with all other scholarships so you have to pay taxes on it? Or are these 2 items non-taxable “gifts” from the school? I assume it’s the former but appreciate the feedback.
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tallgrass, is your student starting school this Fall or are you just looking at costs as he/she might be a possible NMF the following year? The reason I ask is that the NMF may change from one year to the next (I know it has in the past.) Just want to bring this to your attention if you are still comparing schools.

I know nothing about the Pell, but I do know that scholarships for unqualified expenses are taxed. Qualified expenses are tuition, fees, books and sometimes items that are required for the major. You will be taxed on the remainder given.

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I think you’re on the right track. You do pay for meal plans. So, that comes out of the 6000/yr in “extra” cash scholarships.

In your cash flow, I’d include about $700-1000 per semester in “fees” of various sorts seem to come out of my dd’s account. She gets the same package you are looking at, and we end up with a refund each semester of about $2100-2300 (now that she’s not on meal plan) instead of the “full” $3000 per semester of excess $$ that (3500 NMF + 2500 ENGR per year). So, for your planning, I’d expect about 800/semester in various fees. I could look it up on her account if the exact breakdown is relevant to you. It looks like you’ve accounted for this above (the $800 difference between the tuition waiver and the tuition & fees total), so that’s good!

  1. We aren't eligible for Pell, but I would guess it'll "stack" with the NMF scholarships. Call UA to confirm. They are super nice about answering questions, etc.
  2. Technically, yes, some of the excess scholarships are taxable. BUT, the kid's got a personal deduction/exemption/whatever of several thousand dollars (even while a dependent), so, my dd paid almost zero taxes ($15 to the IRS and maybe $10 to our state, IIRC) in 2016 (full year of UA attendance/scholarships). However, she'd only earned a few hundred dollars in earned income that year, so if she'd had a paying summer job instead of mostly volunteering, she'd have owed income taxes on that earned income. Still, her tax rate for earned income would be very low, assuming she's not working a zillion hours at a high wage. You do get a 1098-T at the end of the year. I can't explain details, since our CPA handles all this stuff. So, anyway, the taxes don't seem like a big deal, since there's not a whole lot of the scholarships that are taxable.

Also, be aware that you can reduce costs a LOT once the child moves off campus.

Also, be aware that the 325/semester in mandatory “Dining Dollars” (for fast food around campus) is 100% refundable at the end of the year, etc. My dd never spends much of it, and it goes right into her checking account at the end of the year. So, that money isn’t really needed to be “spent” each semester . . . You can just put the same money back into DD and take it out and put it back, etc, for eternity. Of course, SOME of it might get spent, but don’t let your kid think it’s use-it-or-lose-it money or “free” . . . I incentivize my kids into being reasonable/frugal with their DD by simply rolling that $$ amount into their overall budget, and whatever is leftover at the end of the year is theirs to keep.

FTR, housing/meals should be a lot cheaper once the kid moves out of the dorm.

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if you qualify for Pell, then you get that PLUS the NMF…there isn’t any reduction.

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@kjcphmom My D18 will apply in the fall, but her PSAT score is really high for our state so she will be NMF. I fully understand packages do change from year to year. At this point, I am just trying to understand the numbers and how the billing works at Alabama, since each school handles it differently.

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@mom2collegekids Thanks, that’s exactly what I wanted to know. Some schools do have a cap on a refund and change scholarships/financial aid accordingly.

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@mmom99 Thank you for very detailed explanation, much appreciated!

So what’s the appropriate figure for room and board in the following years? I understand it will vary as that’s always the case, but assuming medium priced housing and cheapest meal plan on campus, what would the figure be? 8K? 10K? Absolutely not familiar with costs at AL, and can call the school, but figured many posters on CC will have good idea based on personal experience.

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@tallgrass , you are very welcome.

Living off campus, you wouldn’t want to purchase a meal plan if you’re at all trying to be frugal. Kids can just “swipe” (and use Dining Dollars) to pay for an occasional meal on campus – for not much more than you’d pay per meal with a meal plan. Plus, any friends who DO have meal plans always have extra “guest swipes” and get their friends free meals periodically.

A nice room in a shared house can be gotten for $450/mo or even less, plus utilities (maybe 150/mo), so $600/mo for housing is reasonable. Kids can cook at home and eat out for much less than on campus dining. I spoil my kid, and she has much more to spend than most of her friends, but still, I think we budget around 100/wk for food, and she has plenty. Obviously, if she dined at home, frugally, you could get by on MUCH less. Spending/incidentals is totally up to you/your family . . . Many kids earn over the summer and use that for spending money during school.

Houses generally rent for around 400-500 per bedroom. My dd’s very nice house about a mile from campus rents for 450/bedroom, and 425 for the smallest bedroom. Apartments in complexes range from even less (for a pretty old building, not fancy, but tidy and fine) to up to 900/bed room for what looks to me like luxury living – big pools, fitness facilities, granite counters, furnished, etc . . . I think that’s nuts, lol, but apparently plenty of families are willing to pay that. Those fancy complexes can be had for more like 700/bedroom for ones that aren’t THE newest ones, etc. The most I’ve seen is around 900/mo (and that includes most utilities, etc).

Cost of living is pretty modest in AL, so far as I can tell.

Caveat on off campus housing: if your kid won’t have a car, be sure to consider that when choosing a house/apartment complex. The larger complexes all have shuttle buses, etc. But, houses (which are generally cheaper), wouldn’t have a shuttle bus, so you’d want to consider the UA bus routes when choosing off campus housing. My dd has a great house about a mile from campus, but the roads are busy and not comfortable for biking (unless your kid is very comfortable with biking on busy roads, which mine is not.) Plenty of kids live off campus, frugally, with no car, though. You just have to consider that when choosing a place. Also, don’t feel rushed to commit to housing in the fall!! There are LOTS of options all spring, so don’t get caught up in the hype and commit to housing far in advance.

So, I’d think 600/mo (TWELVE MONTH LEASES – and you can rarely sublet for summer as there is a glut then, so count on covering expenses all year) is reasonable for housing & utilities. That’d be 7200/yr.

I hope that’s helpful!

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@mmom99 Thank you so much for taking your time to respond! I really appreciate it, very helpful.