FAQs: Admitted Students
The net cost is the amount your family should expect to pay towards your billed and non-billed education expenses for the academic year. It is the combination of the Student Responsibility and the Parent Contribution.
The Parent Contribution is the amount the parents are expected to pay towards educational costs for the academic year. It is based on our review of the information provided to us in the financial aid application. Learn more about the variables that are considered in our analysis.
You can submit a request to have your financial aid award reconsidered for one of the following reasons:
- Your family’s financial circumstances have changed since you originally submitted the financial aid application.
- Your family’s financial circumstances are complex in nature, and you would like us to re-review the file with new information or clarification not previously submitted.
As appeals vary, and can be sensitive in nature, we recommend that you contact our office and speak with a financial aid officer prior to submitting a request. All requests for reconsideration should be submitted via e-mail to ugrad-finaid@columbia.edu.
US Citizens and Eligible Noncitizens – You can apply for financial aid after the recommended deadline, and financial aid eligibility will not be impacted by the time of application. We do recommend that you file by the deadline to assure you receive a timely eligibility letter.
International- You MUST have indicated that you were a financial aid applicant at the time of the admission application and qualified for need-based aid. If you did not, you will not be eligible to apply for financial aid at any time during your enrollment unless your citizenship status changes.
Outside scholarships can be applied to replace, dollar for dollar, the Student Contribution (SC) and Work-Expectation components of the financial aid award. If the total amount of outside scholarship funds exceeds the SC and Work-Expectation, it will then begin reducing the Columbia grant. Outside scholarships will NOT reduce the Parent Contribution.
Additional information can be found on our outside scholarship page.
All financial aid recipients are expected to contribute towards the Student Responsibility, which consists of the Student Contribution and Student Employment.
Most incoming First-Year students have a minimum Student Contribution of $2,400 as part of their financial aid award; a contribution from student assets may be included. The expectation is that the student will earn this amount in the summer preceding their first academic year. Alternatively, students and their families may cover this amount with outside scholarships, savings, parental assistance, and/or other financing options if they choose to.
Student Employment is also part of the financial aid award. Students earn this amount during the Fall and Spring semesters. These earnings are generally used to pay for non-billed expenses, such as books/supplies and other personal expenses. This expectation is also not required, and may be covered by outside scholarships, savings, parental assistance, and/or other financing options.
In future years, students who obtain unpaid summer or semester internships may apply for additional grant to cover these expectations through the Work Exemption Program.
Students and families are asked to submit a financial aid application in each year the student attends. In general, if the family’s income and asset levels remain steady, the Parent Contribution (PC) will as well. Some common causes for change in future financial aid awards include:
- Change in the number of students in the household enrolled in an undergraduate program
- Changes to household income or assets
If your financial aid application was incomplete at the time of admission, you can still complete it and receive a financial aid evaluation. Please submit the missing items at your earliest convenience. If you have any questions regarding any of the missing materials please contact our office.
Your financial aid award is separate from your bill. The financial aid budget includes billed items (such as tuition & fees, housing and meal plan) and unbilled items (such as books, and personal expenses), which will not appear on the bill. Your Expected Family Contribution (Parent Contribution plus Student Contribution) will not match your bill dollar for dollar.
Additional information about the E-Billing process is sent students during the summer. The Fall semester E-Bill will be sent to students and authorized payers in mid-August and is due in early September.
For an estimate of what your bill will look like, please utilize our Bill Estimator Tool (updated each July).
Some students and families choose to finance a portion of their Parent Contribution (PC) or Student Contribution (SC) with education loans. Information on different financing options is available on the Education Loans portion of our website.
Yes. Families may finance all or a portion of the bill through either a 5 month (one semester’s bill) or 10 month payment plan (full academic year). More information on the payment plan is available on Student Financial Services' website.
There are two types of positions students may secure while enrolled: federal work-study or casual employment. Both types of positions are on-campus work; however they are funded by different sources. Eligibility for federal work-study is determined by the FAFSA. The financial aid award will indicate whether a student is eligible for federal work-study. Federal work study jobs are posted online.
Students not eligible for federal work-study can obtain campus jobs, but would search for them in the casual-employment section. Casual employment campus jobs are posted on the LionSHARE portal.
Students are paid directly; their earnings are not applied toward the bill. Information on the requirements for student job paperwork as well as payroll is available online.
The first step is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If you are a New York State resident, the federal processor will automatically send your FAFSA information to New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC). HESC will then send you a personalized TAP application for your signature. You must sign this form and return it to HESC in order to receive your TAP award.
Student’s individual expenses for books, travel, and other personal expenses vary. In our academic year budget we use average figures to reflect the cost students and families can expect to incur. Many students will subsidize these expenses from summer and academic year earnings, savings, parental assistance, and other financing options.
The cost of a computer is not part of the student budget. Student loans are available to cover a computer that is purchased during the academic year. If you are interested in borrowing a loan to cover the cost of a computer please contact us at ugrad-finaid@columbia.edu.
If you have an outside scholarship that exceeds the amount of your Student Contribution (SC) and Work Expectation, up to $1500 of the computer cost may be able to be covered by the scholarship. Note this policy is not applicable to tablet purchases.
Whether borrowing a loan or receiving an outside scholarship to cover the cost, you will be asked to provide a receipt of the purchase.
All full-time students are by default enrolled in The Columbia Plan to meet students’ health-related needs beyond the on-campus services offered by Columbia Health.
To request a waiver from default enrollment, you must submit a request online (July 15-September 30) via the Columbia Health website. February 15 is the deadline for spring enrollment (new students only) or June 30 for full-time summer enrollment (new students only). All requests are considered but approval is not guaranteed.
PLEASE NOTE: A waiver must be submitted for each year of enrollment at Columbia.
Information on the waiver process and other services provided by Columbia Health can be found on the Columbia Health website.
Yes. The Health Service Fee is a mandatory fee to all students residing on campus, and enables students access to the services offered by Columbia’s Health Services (the on-campus infirmary).
Please note that this fee is separate from the Student Health Insurance cost, which can be waived for students who are otherwise covered.
For additional information please visit the Health Services site: http://www.health.columbia.edu/.
The FAFSA generally becomes available on October 1st for the following academic year. It is submitted online and requires both the student and parent to create an FSA ID, if they do not already have one. We strongly encourage all contributors to utilize the FAFSA Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX) when possible.
Early Decision applicants: The FAFSA is due November 15th.
Regular Decision applicants: The FAFSA is due February 15th.
Transfer/Combined Plan applicants: The FAFSA is due March 1st.
Continuing Students: The FAFSA is due May 5th.
For more information related to deadlines and type of documents to submit, please view our How to Apply page.
Federal Verification is a process which requires our office to verify the information provided on the FAFSA. To do this, families must provide documentation to corroborate that the personal and tax information reported on the FAFSA matches the tax returns submitted to the IRS. Additional information on this process is available on our verification page.
PLEASE NOTE: Our office will work with all newly admitted students who enroll to collect required documentation during the summer for the Federal Verification process.
Please do not use the 'First Time User' link even if you are a first-time user. Instead, go directly to the 'Log In' box and enter your Student ID (starts with the letter C followed by 9 numbers) and your Password (date of birth, MMDDCCYY format). If you are still unable to log in, use the 'Forgot Your Password?' link and follow the prompts. If this doesn't work, please contact our office to have your password reset.