Financial Aid
Cost of Attendance
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Estimated Cost of Attendance
Cost of Attendance (COA): It is not the bill that you may get from your college; it is the total estimated amount it may cost you to go to college each year. COA will include direct costs and indirect costs. The COA is used by the college to help determine your annual awards and federal need. You may think of it as a budget. COA is used, along with Student Aid Index/Expected Family Contribution, to calculate a student's need.
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Direct Costs: Expenses that will be paid directly to the college, such as tuition, course fees,
housing and meals (if you are living on campus). Not all students will have the same
direct costs, as it would vary based on academic program, courses taken, residence
hall assigned, and meal plan selected.
Indirect Costs: Expenses incurred because of attendance that the student/family may pay to a third party other than the college, such as rent to a landlord, books and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses. These items do not typically show on a student’s bill; they are included in the COA to help you plan for all potential expenses.
For a listing of potential student expenses visit Business Services.
Requests to Adjust a Student's COA
Students may request that their COA be reevaluated in certain situations when they
believe the amount estimated is not sufficient for what costs were incurred. Adjustments
to COA requests are processed online through OAR. You will need to navigate to the
following in SOAR: 
Reasons for adjustments include but are not limited to:
- Purchasing a Computer
- Dependent Care
- Excessive Course Fees
- Costly Educational Supplies
- Increased Transportation Costs (not including the purchase of a vehicle)
- Change in Housing Plans