Cost of Attendance

2023-2024 Yearly Estimated Cost of Attendance

2023-2024 Estimated Laptop Costs Based on Program of Study

What is the Cost of Attendance (Student Financial Aid Budget)?

Federal regulations allow the Financial Aid Office to consider specific expenses in estimating each student’s Cost of Attendance or student budget. The student’s budget, as determined by the Financial Aid Office, is the maximum amount of financial aid a student may receive from any source. Student budgets are comprised of the average costs of the following expenses: tuition and fees, housing and food, books and supplies, transportation expenses, personal expenses, loan fees, and the estimated cost of the required laptop and software. Because different categories of students have different expenses, each student is assigned a budget reflecting his or her particular costs. For instance, graduate students pay higher tuition rates than undergraduate students.

Please note that FSU will not bill KCAD students for housing and food unless you are living in the dorms on the Big Rapids campus, 5 Lyon Apartments, transportation, personal, nor laptop expenses. These estimates are included in the Cost of Attendance for planning purposes and to allow students the opportunity to obtain enough financial aid to cover these expenses.

Tuition costs are typically not finalized until July of each year. The Financial Aid Office uses historical data to estimate changes to tuition and fees and will estimate the student’s budget accordingly.

The Financial Aid Office initially awards each student as if he or she will be attending full-time, based on the average credits taken from the preceding year. In the interest of reducing student loan debt, after the fourth class day each semester, the Financial Aid Office will re-evaluate each student’s enrollment status and will reduce the Tuition/Fees and Books/Supplies elements of the Cost of Attendance for students who are enrolled less than full-time.

Federal regulations state that you may not receive more financial aid than your Cost of Attendance. If you are less than full-time when the drop and add period is complete, your financial aid, including private alternative loans and Parent or Graduate PLUS loans, is subject to reduction to ensure that your aid does not exceed your Cost of Attendance. This adjustment may result in a change to either your tuition account balance due or your financial aid refund.