Cost and Payment Options
2023-24 Cost of Attendance
The cost of attendance used for the awarding of financial aid is made up of both direct and indirect costs.
Direct costs are those that show up on the billing statement from Oberlin; these typically include tuition, fees, food and housing (living expenses).
Indirect costs are the estimated expenses that do not appear on the bill, and it's just as important for students to budget for these. Examples generally include books and supplies, personal expenses, and travel.
Direct Costs:
- Tuition: $63,700
- Housing: $9,398 (this is for all campus owned housing options)
- Food: $9,544
- Fees1: $946
The College reserves the right to move to remote instruction as required for the health and safety of the community. Tuition and mandatory fees have been set regardless of the method of instruction and will not be refunded in the event instruction occurs remotely for any part of the Academic Year.
Estimated indirect expenses for all students:
- Books - $930
- Personal Expenses - $978
- Travel - Varies
Other costs that may be charged:
- Student health insurance2: $3,140
- Part time, per credit: $2,656
- Overload, per credit - $1,582
Students choosing to live and or dine with OSCA:
Financial Aid will use the actual cost charged by OSCA for housing and food in the cost of attendance used to determine eligibility for aid.
Housing: $8326 for the year, $4163 per semester (2022-23)
Dining: $5100 for the year, $2550 per semester (2022-23)
Students living off campus:
For students who choose to live off-campus, renting an apartment, you will not be charged by the College for housing. Our office will use a housing allowance in our cost of attendance to determine your need for need based Oberlin Grant, which will be set at $3699 per semester for 2023-24. The College will require students living off-campus to have a meal plan unless given an exemption by Dining Services. The cost of the GoYeo plan will be used in your financial aid cost of attendance for 2023-24.
If you get an exemption for having a dining plan, we will use an allowance of $1500 per semester for the purchase of food.
Commuting students:
For students who live and commute from home, we will give you an allowance for housing and dining and add that to our cost of attendance, for purposes of determining your financial aid. The allowances will be set at $1500 for housing and $1500 for food for 2023-24.
Students who change their dining or living status at any time during the semester, moving from OSCA to campus dining for example, will have their campus dining charge prorated and their aid will be adjusted based on that prorated CDS charge.
[1] Fees includes a $50 refundable “Green Fee.” Students may waive this fee if they do not wish to support the Green Edge Fund.
[2] Student health insurance is billed in the fall semester; with certain exceptions, students who have other adequate coverage may choose to waive this insurance.
* Fees with an asterisk notation are currently listed as estimates and subject to modification.
Estimating Your Financial Aid Package
Oberlin’s Quick Cost Estimator provides an easy way for families to estimate their need-based financial award. Another tool is the Net Price Calculator. Keep in mind that the figures these tools provide are only estimates.
Bill Payment
The Office of Student Accounts issues term bills in early July [with payment due in late July] for the fall semester and in early December [with payment due the third week of December ] for the spring semester.
Students and Banner Self Service Proxy users are notified through their e-mail account when the statements are available on Banner Self Service.
Term bills may not reflect your financial aid award. This can happen for several reasons.
- If we have not received all the information needed to finalize your financial aid eligibility, your file is considered incomplete. In general, aid is not credited to an account until your file is complete.
- If you have not yet completed your loan entrance counseling before the fall term bills are mailed, your loan will not be sent to Oberlin.
- Outside scholarships are credited to your account when Oberlin receives the funds. Generally, this occurs after you have officially enrolled and classes begin. Many outside scholarship agencies require you to provide an invoice or enrollment verification before a check will be sent. You should contact the scholarship program to see if there are special requirements.
- Work-study is not automatically credited to your bill. Students will receive a paycheck every two weeks based on the number of hours they work. Students are responsible for finding employment. You and your family should decide how your paychecks will be used. Many students use earnings to make payments to their bill. But you may also use your earnings for personal expenses if your bill is paid by other means. Please visit the Office of Student Employment for additional information.
If you receive an invoice that does not include your financial aid, you should reconcile your financial aid award with your billing statement and anticipate what your balance will be after your aid is credited. You may pay the anticipated balance. For detailed information about billing, see the Office of Student Accounts. If you receive an invoice that does not include your financial aid, you should reconcile your financial aid award with your billing statement and anticipate what your balance will be after your aid is credited. You may pay the anticipated balance. For detailed information about billing, visit the Office of Student Accounts.
A number of financing plans are available to assist families with financing an Oberlin education by dividing the cost in equal monthly payments.
Oberlin College does not recommend one program over another. The decision to participate in any of the programs should be based on the unique circumstances in each household. This information is as current as possible but is subject to change.
Please visit the Student Accounts website for more information regarding payment plans.