Each year the University establishes a total "cost of attendance" budget based on a student’s housing status (commuter, dormitory, or off-campus), enrollment status (full-time or part-time), and residency status (in-state or out-of-state).

The cost of attendance budget represents the total educational expenses a student may incur while attending our University, and is a critical element in determining a student’s eligibility for financial aid assistance.

The elements of this budget are both "direct" institutional expenses (tuition, fees and/or University room/board), as well as "indirect/living costs" (off-campus housing, books, supplies, computer purchase and/or personal expenses) not billed by the University.

In some cases, we can build an individual budget for a student or add additional educational expenses with appropriate documentation. Some of the more common expenses for which we can adjust a budget include the following:

• art supplies
• costs associated with studying abroad
• dependent child care
• purchase or lease of a personal computer (not to exceed $1,200)

In order to discuss having your budget adjusted, you would need to obtain appropriate documentation detailing the additional expenses and contact the FAO to schedule an appointment with a counselor.

Please Note: The indirect/living expenses a student actually incurs will vary significantly from student to student. A student’s program of study, year-in-school, housing/board arrangements, budgeting skills and many other variables will impact a student’s total expenses within this budget element. The University determines the indirect/living costs for each student type based on data collected from students, local bookstores and local landlords. This data is analyzed to arrive at "average" expenses incurred by most students.