Cost of Attendance

The Cost of Attendance (COA, student budget) includes direct costs – tuition and fees – as well as an estimate of indirect costs – housing, food, and personal expenses. If you are borrowing student loans (federal or private), the COA (minus other aid) determines that maximum amount you can borrow.

The Cost of Attendance is useful both to students who are on financial aid and those who are not, but are new to Boston or adjusting to a student lifestyle. Living in Boston is expensive, so it is important to understand what to expect.

Cost of Degree Programs

This tool is designed to give you information on the total Cost of Degree (total tuition requirement) and Cost of Attendance (estimated living expenses + tuition and fees). At the end of the survey, you can save your results.

 

The financial requirements for visa processing are not always the same amounts as the Cost of Attendance. For example, in multi-year programs, the amount a student needs to certify for visa purposes may be higher than what the COA will allow a student to borrow. International students will need to demonstrate personal resources to cover the difference.

To determine required levels of support, please use the Visa Financial Certification Tool . The tool will allow you to understand whether your visa certification amount is the same or higher than your COA. More information on the Visa process is found on the Admitted Student website.

International students should be aware that the Office of Financial Aid cannot make adjustments to the budget to allow for additional borrowing to bring a spouse or children to the United States.  The only exceptions to this are if the spouse is considered a legal dependent of the student, or in certain cases in the student has expenses related to their child/children such as daycare costs necessary to attending school.

This section does not apply to DrPH students whose program has built-in summer enrollment requirements, which can be seen in the Cost of Attendance for that population. This population is billed in thirds, not halves. 

Summer living expenses are not calculated as part of the standard COA and students should budget this term separately. Students will be billed in two equal halves in July and November for the academic year, regardless of summer enrollment (there is no additional charge for summer enrollment).

Budget adjustments for summer living expenses (July & August) are considered only when a student is enrolled in 7.5 credits or more in the summer (in conjunction with a minimum enrollment of at least 10 credits in both the fall and spring semesters). Please use this form if you are an MPH or SM student to determine if you are eligible.

PLEASE NOTEInternational students looking to enroll in the summer will need to show additional resources for living expenses.

The Office of Financial Aid is required to have a standard COA for federal aid compliance as well as an institutional policy for determining funding eligibility.