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Cost of Attendance Increase Policy

I. Policy Statement

The Cost of Attendance is intended to reflect reasonable, realistic, and moderate educational costs. It is important to realize the distinction between necessary and discretionary educational and living expenses when considering COA increases.

The standard elements of The New School’s COA programs are

  • Tuition
  • Fees
  • Housing
  • Food
  • Books and Supplies
  • Personal Expenses
  • Transportation
  • Student loan fees (standard for undergraduate students only)
  • One-time cost of obtaining first professional license or certificate (2024-25 change)

2024-25 change - Health insurance is not included in COA. Students who purchase TNS insurance policies can email the FAO to add it into the COA. The code to add in RBAPBUD is HINS

Tuition and fees are approved by the Board of Trustees and Provost Leadership. The standard amounts for housing consider double occupancy for both dorms and off-campus housing, the latter using HUD data for rent costs in NYC. Books and supplies are based on College Board survey results and other estimated amounts for personal expenses, food, and transportation are based on a combination of statistics from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Metro data and New School student survey results.

Increases to standard COA elements or the addition of COA elements to a student’s expense budget are permitted on a case-by-case basis when students demonstrate expenses that exceed those permitted in the standard COA. Increases to a student’s cost of attendance does not increase their merit or need based scholarship. We strongly urge students to limit their borrowing to the amount of the standard COA or ideally even less, but in some cases, a student may incur allowable education expenses that are either greater than the amounts included in the standard budget or else not included at all.

Students must complete a Petition for Special Circumstances to begin the process for a Cost of Attendance increase and supporting documentation must accompany the petition.

Cash and Third Party transactions will not be considered. The Financial Aid office will only accept documented purchases with a credit card, debit card, check or other transaction type which shows the identity of the purchaser, the identity of the seller, and the date and amount of the purchase. Purchases made by another person and then reimbursed by the student will not be accepted.

II. Considerations

When considering increases to the standard Cost of Attendance budgets, OFA Counselors should keep in mind that an income protection allowance (IPA) is included in the EFC calculation to account for modest living expenses. Therefore, adjustments to the data elements that are factored into the EFC should only be considered if the expenses exceed the IPA for that category. The IPA for student and parent can be viewed on the Banner form RNINAIQ (hit Page Down twice). It is reasonable to assume that the IPA is broken down into categories as follows:

  • 30% food
  • 16% clothing and personal care
  • 22% housing
  • 11% medical care
  • 9% transportation
  • 12% other

Students may incur expenses that relate to their educational pursuits and can be documented, but that should not necessarily be included in their COA. For example, a student might opt to purchase a $5,000 computer when a $2,000 computer could suit their educational needs. In such cases, it is reasonable to allow a FAO-established maximum amount for a COA component and to expect students to find their own funding to supplement higher costs.

It is also important to recognize when an expense should be included in the need analysis formula and when it should be included in the Cost of Attendance. Many living expenses are already accounted for in the Income Allowances part of the SAI formula, so it is important to not duplicate those allowances by permitting them in the COA as well. See Insufficient Income below.

III. Cost of Attendance (COA) Components

  • Can include ONLY costs for the student (not for the student’s family members)
  • Only expenses incurred by and for the student (or dependents of students) during the current academic year (between August 1 and August 10th of following calendar year) will be considered
  • Must be directly related to the student’s educational costs
  • Must be directly related to completing the student’s course of study (not for preparation to enter graduate programs or the workforce, like travel costs to interviews, etc.)
  • Must be incurred during the time the student is enrolled and meeting the requirements to receive federal student aid

IV. Unallowable Costs

  • Auto purchase or payments
  • Private Loan Fees
  • Credit card or other consumer debt payments
  • Moving expenses and security deposits
  • Costs incurred outside of the current academic year, including costs incurred before matriculation that do not directly relate to the current academic year or after the final day of exams for the student's final term
  • Costs incurred by a family member or other person, including a spouse or roommate's portion of rent, mortgage, or day care
  • Child support and other child care expenses (other than day care)
  • Legal fees, bail, traffic tickets, parking tickets, or fines
  • Veterinary costs, unless for a service animal
  • Luxury items, such as premium cable channels, high-speed internet, food costs in excess of the standard allowance or other similar costs unless required for a specific education-related reason

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