Cost of Attendance (COA)
Cost of Attendance is the school's official total annual cost: tuition, fees, room and board, books, supplies, transportation, and personal expenses. It is the cap on how much financial aid you can receive in a year.
COA is set by each college and reported annually to the federal government. It is bigger than the "sticker price" you see on the homepage because it includes estimates for travel home, books, and personal spending — not just tuition and housing.
Athletic scholarships can cover up to (and including) the full COA, including direct cost-of-attendance "stipends" that go beyond just tuition and room. NCAA D1 schools have offered these full COA stipends since 2015.
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