Cost of Attendance is WHAT!?

First, the most important point for you to remember is that you will not write a check to Boise State for the total "Cost of Attendance."

Cost of Attendance is a financial aid term that is also often referred to as the budget. It reflects average living and education expenses for one student to attend college during the period of time a student will be enrolled in classes for the academic year.

For financial aid purposes, several budgets exist for various categories of students. At Boise State, those categories include, but are not limited to:

• Idaho undergraduate living with parents
  
• Idaho undergraduate not living with parents
  
• Non-resident undergraduates living with parents
• Non-resident undergraduates not living with parents

Of course, similar categories exist for graduate students. In addition, there are special budgets for summer and for students enrolled for shorter periods of time than a semester.

The benefit of the Cost of Attendance to the student and family is that it provides information that will help families compare colleges BUT that information is incomplete until you also take into account the financial aid that will be available for those costs. The same terms and budget categories are used by all colleges providing federal financial aid.

The Cost of Attendance categories include:

• Tuition and Student Fees
• Textbooks
• Room and Board
• Transportation
• Miscellaneous Personal Expenses

Financial aid, scholarships, and other educational financial assistance may be awarded up to, but not over the total Cost of Attendance. For some students, it is necessary for that Cost of Attendance to be increased to take into account day care expenses, the purchase of a computer, and other educational expenses.

For other students, they may be frightened by the total costs and thus take action to keep their expenses below the average costs by purchasing used textbooks, living at home, or using public transportation. Here are some ideas for reducing your expenses. You can see the amounts used for your Cost of Attendance on BroncoWeb by using the "Budget, Resources and Need" hyperlinks on the "View Financial Aid" screen.

Here is a worksheet you may find helpful.

Posted: 5.1.2012