What’s the Difference?: Cost of Attendance vs. The Bill

Many people see the words “Cost of Attendance” and believe that they are synonymous with “the bill” or how much they will end up paying the university to attend.

The cost of attendance is in fact not the same as the bill. It is actually split into two categories, direct costs and indirect costs.

Direct costs are amounts that a student will pay the university directly, like Tuition & Fees and Housing & Meal Plan charges. Indirect costs are not paid to the university. They are other types of expenses that the student could encounter while attending school. Examples of indirect costs include, books and supplies, gas to get to campus, and other miscellaneous expenses that a student could encounter.

The reason direct and indirect costs make up the cost of attendance is to inform students about all potential costs associated with attending college, not just those they will pay directly to the school.

Stockton University includes cost of attendance information in our financial aid offer notifications to allow students to properly financially plan for the cost of school.

For more information on the cost of attendance, visit stockton.edu/finaid. To view an estimate of the bill, visit stockton.edu/bursars.

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