NEWSLETTER Office of Student Financial Services
MONDAY
NOVEMBER
2025
Focus: Know What You Owe
Financial aid experts note that a significant number of students struggle to interpret their tuition bills, unsure of what each line item represents or when payments are due. Many enter college without prior experience in budgeting or handling large sums of money, making it difficult to plan ahead or make informed financial decisions.
When students don’t fully understand their tuition statement, they risk missing important deadlines or taking on debt they weren’t expecting. Financial literacy is critical from the moment a student explore colleges and throughout enrollment—it sets the tone for how they’ll manage their resources throughout college and beyond.
Intention: Understand Before You Pay When you are creating a college budget, it’s important to know how many credit hours you are taking each semester and whether your courses include additional fees such as lab or program fees. You can reference the Tuition and Fee Chart ( linked here ) to get an accurate estimate of your charges. Use this simple formula to calculate your estimated balance: Tuition and Fees + Meal Plan + Laundry + Housing = Balance per Semester Once you have your balance, take your financial aid award package for the full academic year and divide it by two to determine your award aid per semester. Then calculate: Balance per Semester - Award Aid per Semester = Remaining Balance Understanding these numbers gives you focus, intention, and time—the core of being Financially F.I.T. It helps you plan ahead, manage your resources wisely, and take control of your financial future. Now that Registration for the Spring has begun, take to practice plugging thses numbers in to the formulas above.
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