NASFAA Mention: College Going Online? Student Loans Still Cover Living Costs
"Attending college from a laptop in your childhood bedroom might not be the experience you had in mind. But just because you’re not living in a dorm this fall doesn’t mean that expenses disappear. Your cost of attendance might have changed if you’re learning remotely due to COVID-19, but colleges will factor at-home or off-campus living expenses into your overall costs. And you can still use financial aid — including student loans — to pay for them," NerdWallet reports.
"... Colleges often use regional data and student surveys to come up with estimates for off-campus rent and utilities, and oftentimes those amounts aren’t too different from living on campus, says Jill Desjean, policy analyst at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. However, your school will always consider living off campus to be cheaper than living on campus.
Montclair State University in New Jersey, for example, estimates that housing and meals for in-state students who live off campus will cost $13,068 for the fall semester, compared with $16,193 for room and board on campus.
Your expenses may be lower at home with your parents than living on your own or on campus, but colleges will factor into their estimates the costs your parents take on by having you home, Desjean says.
'When you bring that student back in, the lights are on longer, you have to feed them so the cost of food goes up, heating — everything goes up,' Desjean says. You can use financial aid to offset your contribution to increased home bills.
And remember that the school’s cost of attendance impacts how much financial aid you can get, but it's an estimate rather than an exhaustive list. You might need additional technology and equipment to learn more effectively from home, such as a dedicated desk setup and laptop if you don’t have one."
NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.
Publication Date: 8/24/2020
