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Cost and Resource Planner

Where You Can Find This Information

Estimated Cost of Attendance

Students can find their estimated cost of attendance online through the WVU Portal. First-time freshmen and first-time transfers can usually review their cost of attendance starting around mid-December for the upcoming aid year. Students in any other student group (currently enrolled, continuing students, graduate/professional, etc.) can usually review their cost of attendance around mid-to-late May.

Estimated Financial Aid

Students who have submitted a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to WVU can find their estimated financial aid through the WVU Portal. First-time freshmen and first-time transfers usually start receiving scholarship offers around mid-December and full financial aid offers around mid-March for the upcoming aid year. Students in any other student group (currently enrolled, continuing students, graduate/professional, etc.) usually receive their financial aid offers around mid-to-late May.

Navigating to Your Estimated Cost and Aid

Find your cost of attendance and financial aid by going to Financial Aid Information in your WVU Portal and selecting the “Offer” tab.

  • Under “Cost of Attendance,” you will see “Billable Items” and “Non Billable Items.”
  • Under “Options to Pay Net Cost,” you will see a list of the financial aid that you have been offered.

You will be asked to input the amounts you see for each semester and the totals for each item in order to calculate your remaining cost and other potential payment options.

Step 1. Enter Estimated Cost of Attendance

Your estimated costs include Billable (direct costs billed by the institution) and Non Billable items (educational expenses you may have while pursuing your degree which you will not usually see on your bill). Your Billable plus Non Billable costs equal your estimated cost of attendance for educational expenses and financial aid purposes. Your estimated cost can be impacted by changes to your student record, such as updates to your residency for tuition purposes, campus, college or program of study, enrollment in degree-pursuant courses, and legislative changes. They can also be impacted by choices you make for books, supplies, housing, and other living expenses. For Non Billable expenses, you are encouraged to develop your own budget based on actual expenses.

Enter Billable Items

Estimated Billable items are costs that you usually will see as part of your student bill. Once you have a financial aid or institutional scholarship offer for the aid year, you can find your estimated Billable Items online through your Financial Aid Information in your WVU Portal.

Enter Non Billable Items

Estimated Non Billable items are costs that you usually will NOT see as part of your student bill. These are estimates of other potential educational expenses you may have while pursuing your degree. Once you have a financial aid or institutional scholarship offer for the aid year, you can find your estimated Non Billable Items online through your Financial Aid Information in your WVU Portal.

Summary

Fall Spring Total
Total Estimated Cost of Attendance for Financial Aid Purposes

Step 2. Enter Estimated Financial Aid and Payments

Estimated financial aid eligibility can be impacted by changes to your student record, such as updates to your residency for tuition purposes, campus, college or program of study, academic level, aid not listed in your financial aid offer (such as external scholarships, enrollment in degree-pursuant courses, changes to information provided you your FAFSA, and legislative changes.

Enter Estimated Gift Aid

Aid that usually does not have to be repaid.

Enter Estimated Federal Work-Study

Aid you earn while you work.

Enter Estimated Loans

Borrowed aid that must be repaid, usual with interest. Since you must repay everything you borrow - plus interest - you should only borrow what you need to cover educational expenses. Find interest rates for federal loans on the Federal Student Aid interest webpage. Please note that most federal loans (Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Graduate PLUS, and Parent PLUS) have loan processing fees that are a percentage of the total loan, so plan accordingly for the disbursed amount to be less than the borrowed amount.

Input Estimated Loans: This is the amount you will borrow.
Estimated Amount That May Disburse As Payment Due to Federal Origination Fees: Since most federal loans (Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Graduate PLUS, and Parent PLUS) have loan processing fees that are a percentage of the total loan, the amount that disburses as payment on your student account will be less than the amount you accept/borrow.

Enter Estimated Out-of-Pocket Payments

No description for this one.

Estimated Summary

Estimated Remaining Billable Costs After Aid and Payments

The estimated remaining billable costs after your financial aid and payments is for direct costs only (those billed by the institution) minus the aid and payments listed above. It does not include Federal Work-Study as an anticipated payment because work-study funds are earned throughout the semester based on hours worked and do not apply directly as payment toward your institutional expenses. This is an estimate of what your balance due may be for the semesters listed. If this amount is negative, that would be your estimated refund for the semester.

Estimated Remaining Cost of Attendance After Aid and Payments

If you want to plan for all of your educational expenses listed - both billable and non billable - this is the estimated cost of educational expenses not covered by aid and payments.

Estimated Payment Options

If you want to plan for all of your educational expenses listed - both billable and non billable - this is the estimated cost of educational expenses not covered by aid and payments.

Option 1: Pay Out-of-Pocket for the Semester

Estimated payment per semester - one for fall and one for spring. The balance for fall is due at the beginning of August and spring is due at the beginning of January. This is billable costs only (costs billed by the institution) minus financial aid listed above (both free and borrowed aid - excluding Federal Work-Study if applicable).

Fall Spring
Amount Due

Option 2: Monthly Payment Plan

If signed up for payment plan, payment is made over multiple months. Visit our Tuition Payment Plan webpage for more information and the deadlines to sign up for each option. Signing up later means payments will be spread over fewer months, so the monthly payments will be higher. There is a $250 minimum for the semester to utilize the payment plan, so if your direct cost for fall is less than $250 you will see "Not Available" for the payment plan amount. No interest accrues, and there is a $35 enrollment fee per semester.

Option 3: Federal PLUS Loan

Credit-based loan that can be applied for by graduate/professional student for themselves or parents of dependent undergraduate students on behalf of the student. Amounts listed below include a 4.228% loan origination fee. You can apply on the Federal Student Aid website. The loan application usually becomes available by April for each upcoming academic year. Please note that PLUS Loan applications for less than $200 cannot be processed, so if your remaining cost is less than $200, you will see "Not Available."

Option 4: Private Loan

Credit-based loan that a student or parent may apply for (depending on the lender). Student may need a cosigner. Please note that most private lenders will not process applications that are less than $1,000. Learn more about comparing private lenders and options on our Private Loans webpage.