Cost of Attendance
The Cost of Attendance is an estimate of the average cost to attend Boise State for one academic year.
How Cost of Attendance Affects your Financial Aid Award
Your entire financial aid award (loans, grants, work-study, scholarships, outside assistance, private loans) cannot exceed your estimated Cost of Attendance, even though your actual expenses may be more than what we estimate.
You could receive the full estimated Cost of Attendance, or you may receive less. In cases where you have additional expenses that aren’t included in the Cost of Attendance, you can ask us about Budget Increase options. Examples of extra expenses are the purchase of a computer, daycare, medical, or significant transportation expenses.
How Cost of Attendance is Determined
Your Cost of Attendance is estimated based on your overall expenses for a year. The estimate includes the direct costs that you can expect, like tuition, fees and housing. It also considers indirect costs like books and supplies, transportation and personal expenses.
Your Cost of Attendance takes into consideration:
- Your degree – undergraduate, graduate
- Your residency – Idaho resident, non-resident
- Your housing plans disclosed on FAFSA – on campus, off campus, living with parents
- Your enrollment level – full-time, three-quarter time, half-time, less than half-time
Enrollment Impact on Financial Aid
Your initial aid award will be based on full time enrollment (12+ undergraduate, 9+ graduate credits) and assigned a full-time Cost of Attendance budget. If you attend less than full-time, you may see reductions to your aid based on Cost of Attendance adjustments.
In some situations, when awarded or disbursed financial aid exceeds the Cost of Attendance, you may need to repay some financial aid or have spring loans reduced so that you stay within your allotted budget.
In This Section:
Checking your Cost of Attendance
Many plans require students to provide them a Cost of Attendance to withdraw funds. To check your Cost of Attendance:
- Log into your Student Center, located under “My Resources” in your myBoiseState left menu

- Once you are logged in, click on the Student Homepage tile, then click on the Financial Aid tile

- Select the appropriate Aid Year

- Click Budget, Resources and Need

- Click on the BLUE amount total after Estimated Financial Aid Budget to get a breakdown of your Cost of Attendance calculation

General Cost of Attendance Tables
We do not build Cost of Attendance for students who do not fill out a FAFSA. If you are in this group, please use the tables below to determine which of our Cost of Attendance categories would apply to you.
The following tables are for the 2023-2024 Academic Year.
- All amounts are for a single fall/spring semester.
- Please double the amount to determine the full year amount.
- Please contact our office if you need amounts for the summer semester or self support programs as these are unique situations.
Keep in mind that the amounts below are for a full time student taking 12 or more credits as an undergraduate student and 9 or more credits for graduate students. We would be happy to help you if you would like information on other enrollment levels. The Food and Housing category is the same for all enrollment levels unless someone is taking 5 or less credits.
Full Time Undergraduate Resident (12 + credits)
Cost Category | Off Campus | On Campus | On Campus w/Dependents | Living with Parent(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tuition & Fees | $4,441 | $4,441 | $4,441 | $4,441 |
Books & Supplies | $613 | $613 | $613 | $613 |
Food & Housing | $6,540 | $8,305 | $8,366 | $3,002 |
Transportation | $1,330 | $1,159 | $1,159 | $1,062 |
Personal/Miscellaneous | $1,703 | $1,703 | $1,703 | $1,703 |
Total | $14,627 | $16,221 | $16,282 | $10,821 |
Full Time Undergraduate Non-Resident (12 + credits)
Cost Category | Off Campus | On Campus | On Campus w/Dependents | Living With Parent(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonresident Tuition & Fees | $13,538 | $13,538 | $13,538 | $13,538 |
Books & Supplies | $613 | $613 | $613 | $613 |
Food & Housing | $6,540 | $8,305 | $8,366 | $3,002 |
Transportation | $1,311 | $1,391 | $1,391 | $1,062 |
Personal/Miscellaneous | $1,703 | $1,703 | $1,703 | $1,703 |
Total | $23,705 | $25,550 | $25,611 | $19,918 |
Full Time Graduate Resident (9 + credits)
Cost Category | Off Campus | On Campus | On Campus w/Dependents | Living with Parent(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tuition & Fees | $5,243 | $5,243 | $5,243 | $5,243 |
Books & Supplies | $613 | $613 | $613 | $613 |
Food & Housing | $6,540 | $6,938 | $8,366 | $3,002 |
Transportation | $1,330 | $1,159 | $1,159 | $1,062 |
Personal/Miscellaneous | $1,703 | $1,703 | $1,703 | $1,703 |
Totals | $15,429 | $15,656 | $17,084 | $11,623 |
Full Time Graduate Non-Resident (9 + credits)
Cost Category | Off Campus | On Campus | On Campus w/Dependents | Living With Parent(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonresident Tuition & Fees | $14,303 | $14,303 | $14,303 | $14,303 |
Books & Supplies | $613 | $613 | $613 | $613 |
Food & Housing | $6,540 | $6,938 | $8,366 | $3,002 |
Transportation | $1,311 | $1,391 | $1,391 | $1,062 |
Personal/Miscellaneous | $1,703 | $1,703 | $1,703 | $1,703 |
Total | $24,470 | $24,948 | $26,376 | $20,683 |