Cost of Attendance (COA)

What's included

Cost of Attendance is the school's official annual estimate of every dollar a student needs to spend to attend that school for one year. It typically breaks down into:

1. Tuition and fees: the headline number — what the school charges for instruction. At top US private universities in 2025–26, this is usually $60,000–$70,000.
2. Room and board: housing (dormitory or apartment) plus a meal plan. Usually $15,000–$22,000.
3. Books and supplies: textbooks, lab materials, software. ~$1,000.
4. Personal expenses: laundry, toiletries, entertainment, occasional dining out. ~$2,000–$3,000.
5. Travel: domestic flights to and from campus during breaks. The school's estimate is typically modest (~$1,000–$2,000) because it's calculated for a US-domestic student.

The total is the COA. At Harvard for the 2025–26 academic year, COA is approximately $87,000. At a state university like Berkeley for an out-of-state or international student, COA is around $75,000–$80,000. The exact number changes each year as tuition and housing costs rise.

What it's used for

COA is the baseline number from which financial aid is calculated. The basic formula:

COA − Expected Family Contribution (SAI) = Demonstrated Need

Schools then offer financial aid intended to bridge that need. If your family's SAI is $15,000 and the COA is $85,000, your demonstrated need is $70,000/year and a school that meets 100% of need will offer aid totaling that amount (in some mix of grants, loans, and work-study).

The international student adjustment

The published COA at most US universities assumes a domestic student: someone who can drive home for Thanksgiving, lives within a few hundred miles, and doesn't need international travel. For Korean international students, the real cost is usually $3,000–$6,000 higher per year because:

• Round-trip flights to Seoul cost $1,500–$2,500 per trip
• Most international students travel home twice a year (winter break + summer)
• That's $3,000–$5,000 in travel that the COA doesn't fully account for

Some schools (Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale) explicitly add an "international travel allowance" to the COA for international students — typically $2,000–$3,000. Most schools don't. Plan for the gap when budgeting your family's actual annual cost.

What it doesn't include

Some real costs are NOT in the COA:

• Health insurance — most schools require students to have insurance and either include their own plan in COA or require students to provide proof. International students must usually buy the school's plan ($2,000–$4,000/year).
• Visa-related costs — SEVIS fee ($350), visa application fees, embassy interview travel.
• Initial setup — bedding, winter clothes, personal supplies for arrival.
• Optional study abroad — semesters in other countries usually cost the same as home tuition but with extra travel.
• Greek life or expensive social activities — not budgeted by the school.

Comparing schools

When deciding between admitted schools, compare each school's net cost to your family — not the sticker price. A school with a $90,000 COA but a $75,000 grant offer is cheaper than a school with a $70,000 COA and a $30,000 grant offer ($15,000 vs $40,000 out of pocket per year).

This is the single most important calculation when choosing among admitted schools. Use the school's Net Price Calculator before applying to estimate your likely family cost — running this on every target school before you finalize the list saves families from getting admitted somewhere they can't actually afford.