If your students choose to take College classes online take note of this fact about their financial aid

U.S. News and World Report recently published a blog that showed taking college classes online can really affect the financial aid a student receives from traditional Colleges.

When a college offers the option to either learn from home or return to campus and a student chooses the former, the financial aid office typically recalculates his or her cost of attendance. The cost of attendance is the total cost for the school year and includes tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other expenses. This cost, along with a student’s financial information provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is used to calculate how much financial aid a student can receive.

Similar to the calculations made for commuter students, a college may reduce estimated living and meal expenses for a student who learns remotely from the family home during the coronavirus pandemic. This translates to the possible elimination of institutional grants and other financial aid opportunities, and may be a rude awakening for students this spring and beyond when they realize the financial impact of choosing to study at home.

For this reason, experts urge students to ask their financial aid office about the college’s policy around cost of attendance recalculations during the pandemic before making the decision to study virtually or on campus.

This is definitely something your students should note as they begin planning for their futures.

Here is a link to the U.S. News and World Report article: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/how-taking-college-classes-remotely-amid-coronavirus-can-cost-you