Understand Your Cost of Attendance
Understanding Your Expenses
If you’re attending CU Boulder at least half time, the cost of attendance is an estimate of the following:
Typical Expenses
What you pay each semester or session for Main Campus academic instruction. The amount varies based on your residency classification, program, enrollment level and courses. Visit the Bursar’s Office for more information on tuition and fees.
The costs required for your courses, including a reasonable allowance to purchase a computer. Learn about the book store’s equitable access course materials program. Visit the Office of Financial Aid for the estimated cost of books and supplies.
Living expenses that may include on- or off-campus housing, meal plans, rent, groceries, utilities and internet. Explore housing options and meal plans through the Division of Student Affairs.
Personal expenses such as laundry and cleaning supplies, personal hygiene and cell phone plans. View the estimated allowance for personal expenses.
An allowance for transit between campus, your place of residence in the United States, and your place of work. View estimated transportation expenses.
What's Not Included
The cost of attendance does not and cannot include things like:
Origination fees charged to you, or your parent or guardian for loans offered through private lenders.
Cost of preparation required to be considered for an undergraduate or graduate program, such as SAT or ACT fees, LSAT fees and more.
Expenses such as ski passes, purchase of a car or bike or spring break trips.
Fines for parking violations on- or off-campus.
Outstanding balances on a credit card that are carried over from month to month.
Paying for College
Federal Cost of Attendance Guidelines
Every year, the federal government and the Colorado Department of Higher Education set student budget parameters to help universities determine financial aid and ensure that the overall cost of attendance is reasonable. These parameters might not reflect what you will actually pay for different expenses. You can request an increase to your cost of attendance for case-by-case expenses, or academic expenses that exceed the budgeted amount. You can find these requests on the Financial Aid website below Special Circumstances & Appeals Forms.
If you receive any kind of financial aid, including private loans or scholarships, you cannot receive more aid than the total cost of attendance in any given year. You can see an estimate of the maximum cost of attendance for new students on the Office of Financial Aid’s website.
