Cost of Attendance
Learn more about the various components included in your cost of attendance.
Cost of Attendance & Your Bill
The Cost of Attendance (COA), also known as a budget, is the total average amount it should cost you to attend PA College for a year and includes tuition and fees and estimated costs for housing and food, books and supplies, transportation, personal expenses, and loan fees.
Your COA will always be larger than your tuition bill as your bill only includes direct costs billed by PA College—such as tuition and fees. Housing and food, books and supplies, transportation, and personal expenses are not included on your PA College bill but are expenses you will likely incur.
To calculate your COA, we add together your direct costs and your indirect costs. Your COA signifies the maximum amount of financial aid you may receive for a given year. Again, it is not the amount you will be billed and only represents what your average cost to attend may be. Your actual costs will likely be lower than the figures below as it depends on the number of credits you enroll in, how you live, whether you purchase new or used books, etc. The COA does not imply the availability of financial aid funds.
Direct costs are those costs that are paid directly to PA College. Your direct costs are billed based on the number of credits you enroll in and are displayed in Self-Service. Your direct costs include your tuition and fees. The actual direct cost will vary depending on factors that include whether you attend full or part-time or are in a clinical program. For more information, visit the Tuition & Fees page.
Indirect costs are those costs of other educational expenses students typically incur while attending school, but are not billed by PA College. Indirect costs include estimated costs for:
- Housing and food
- books and supplies
- transportation
- loan origination fees
- miscellaneous (personal) costs