Cost of Attendance

It is important that students and parents understand the cost of attending a University can be more than just tuition and fees.

The Cost of Attendance (COA), sometimes referred to as a student budget, is an estimate of the total amount of your educational expenses for the period of enrollment during the Award Year and is reflected on your financial aid notification (College Financing Plan).

This information is provided to give you an estimate of the total cost to attend Montclair and to set a limit on the amount of financial aid you can receive during the academic year (which federal regulations require us to do). This means your actual expenses may be different from what’s listed on your financial aid College Financing Plan or on NEST, and the total amount of your aid—including scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study—can’t exceed your total cost of attendance.

Your COA is based on whether or not you are a New Jersey resident, your program of study, and if you live on or off campus while attending the University. The COA initially assumes full-time enrollment for most programs and will be reduced if you enroll less than full-time. The COA includes estimates of tuition and fees, the average cost for books, course materials, supplies, and equipment, housing, food, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses.

Direct costs are those you can expect to pay through your student account. Indirect costs are costs incurred outside of the University and paid by you out-of-pocket.

The information below represents the COA for students in standard undergraduate and graduate programs. Tuition for graduate students reflects a weighted average of the Standard Rate for Master & PhD candidates. Certain programs may have a different rate.

Please Note: The first two below are re-ordered and a sentence removed from Commuter paragraph.

• Commuter students will see that a cost for food is listed in your cost of attendance. In addition, you may want to account for a parking pass if you plan to park on campus. This paid at the time of purchase and is considered an indirect cost.
• Resident students preparing to live on campus should realize the additional cost for living on campus. This is a full year commitment. There may also be charges for required or optional meal plans. For more information regarding living on campus visit the Residence Life page and the Resident Student Living Guide.
• Commuter students will see that a cost for food/meals (food/meals charge) is listed in your cost of attendance. Some commuter students opt to have a meal plan for the time they spend on campus. Also, you may want to account for a parking pass if you plan to park on campus.
• Students living off campus should be aware that we include an estimated meals amount because even if you do not buy a meal plan, you still need to pay for food. If a student living off campus is planning to use the refund to assist in paying for rent, you should be aware that refunds are not issued until after the end of the add/drop period. You should not depend on your refund to help with your first month’s rent or food costs.
• Indirect costs (books, supplies, etc., travel, miscellaneous) are costs that should be kept in mind when planning. You may need a new laptop, software, etc. that will qualify for miscellaneous charges. If you are not a commuter student, travel is included for your return home for holidays and breaks.
  • Students with dependent care, computer or study abroad expenses should contact the Financial Aid Office to document allowable expenses which may serve to increase their COA. Students awarded Federal Direct Loan(s) also have an average of the mandatory loan fees automatically added to their COA.
  • Students with disability-related expenses may contact Financial Aid to have their additional expenses considered. Disability-related expenses include but are not limited to: personal assistance, equipment, and supplies. We may potentially include disability expenses in the COA that are not provided by other assisting agencies. We may consult with the Disability Resource Center to confirm the average cost of such expenses.
  • The COA will also include the one-time cost of obtaining the first professional credential in a field that requires licensure or certification in order to obtain employment. This cost must be incurred during a period of enrollment even if the exam is taken after the semester has ended.

If you have enough aid to pay your direct costs and you want to use the excess funds to purchase books from the University Bookstore, you can move some of your aid to your Red Hawk Dollars. Go to the Auxiliary Services Office in the Student Center Suite 1 (next to the Computer Lab). You should be aware that if you do not have enough money to do this, it will become a charge on your account. Charges that are not paid can result in holds and late fees. Questions regarding Red Hawk Dollars should be directed to Auxiliary Services.

Any funds not moved to Red Hawk Dollars will be sent to the you as a refund approximately two weeks after the add/drop period has ended and depending on when your financial aid has disbursed. Students are encouraged to use direct deposit to avoid lost checks. You can sign up for direct deposit via NEST. If you do not sign up for direct deposit, checks will be mailed to your current mailing address on NEST. Checks cannot be picked up in the office. Refunds also cannot be issued prior to aid disbursing. For questions and concerns regarding direct deposit and your physical check, please contact Student Accounts.

Undergraduate Cost of Attendance 2023 – 2024

This table reflects full-time student with 12-18 credits per semester for the fall/spring 2023-2024 academic year.

Graduate Cost of Attendance 2023-2024

This table reflects full-time student with six (6) credits per semester for the fall/spring 2023-2024 academic year. View specific Graduate Tuition and Fee Rates.

Financial Planning Tools

• Net Price Calculator – determine your educational expenses using our cost calculator.
• FAFSA Estimator – estimate your eligibility for federal student aid using the Federal Aid forecaster. Use a browser other than IE.
• NJ TAG Estimator – estimate your eligibility for the New Jersey Tuition Aid Grant that is awarded by New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistant Authority (NJ HESAA).
• Login to NEST to view your Financial Aid records.
• Loans– information regarding the various loan programs
• Payment Plan – information regarding the payment plan through the Student Accounts office.

Instructions for Students Who Request an Increase in Their Loan Eligibility*

1. All financial aid is for 9-month/30-week academic year only based on enrollment. Adjustments to this standard may be made by the Financial Aid Loan team if students are also enrolled in the Summer term.
2. You must submit a request in writing and list all expenses for the 30-week period.
3. These expenses are compared to the current allowances to determine if a budget increase can be justified.
4. Certain expenses are not permissible (ie: pay off credit cards, car payments).

*Increases will only be made up to the student’s allowable yearly amount allowable by regulation.

If you would like to increase your loan eligibility please complete the COA Re-Evaluation form and submit to the Financial Aid Office with documentation.

The Financial Aid Office may revise a student’s Cost of Attendance to reflect actual charges to account for institutional aid (e.g. RA Waivers, etc.) and/or to maximize aid eligibility.

Pursuant to the passage of both the FAFSA Simplification and FUTURE Acts, educational institutions are required to make cost of attendance information publicly available on sites that detail tuition and fees. “Cost of Attendance”, or COA, is defined as the average cost to attend for one academic year and includes expenses other than tuition and fees that you should plan for: Housing, Food, Transportation, Books, course materials, supplies, and equipment, Miscellaneous, Federal loan fees.