A summary of the law from the FAFSA website (https://fafsa.ed.gov/help/costatt.htm)
"The cost of attendance (COA) is not the bill that you may get from
your college; it is the total amount it will cost you to go to college
each year. The COA includes tuition and fees; on-campus room and board
(or a housing and food allowance for off-campus students); and
allowances for books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, and, if
applicable, dependent care. It can also include other expenses like an
allowance for the rental or purchase of a personal computer, costs
related to a disability, or costs for eligible study-abroad programs".
The summary makes no mention of personal expenses, however the actual law does:
Part E Link: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/1087ll
"For the purpose of this subchapter and part 42, the term "cost of attendance" means-
(1) tuition and fees normally assessed a student carrying the same academic workload as determined by the
institution, and including costs for rental or purchase of any equipment, materials, or supplies required of all
students in the same course of study;
(2) an allowance for books, supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses, including a
reasonable allowance for the documented rental or purchase of a personal
computer, for a student attending the institution on at least a half-time basis, as determined by the institution;
(3) an allowance (as determined by the institution) for room and board costs incurred by the student "
The term "FULL COST OF ATTENDANCE" appears nowhere in the law. In the athletic world, the term FULL COST OF ATTENDANCE has been coined to indicate that not all of the official "cost of attendance" items are covered in the athletic scholarships. Which of these costs are not covered by an athletic scholarship?
Item 1. All are covered.
Item 3. Room is covered. I've always assumed that the "training table" provides athletes 3 squares a day. One poster indicated it may be only 1 per day. If that is the case, include the full service meal plan in the scholarship. Problem solved.
Item 2. Books are covered. Many supplies are covered. That leaves supplies that aren't covered, transportation, miscellaneous personal expenses, and a personal computer that may not be covered by the athletic scholarship.
Transportation: Is this local or to and from home? The student only, or a trip or 2 for the parents? No problem for the latter. Include x number of trips home for the student, and y number of trips to school for the parents. No cash need change hands for these. That leaves local transportation.
Computer? Again, no problem, let the athletic scholarship provide that. No cash needed.
So the FULL COST OF ATTENDANCE, the cost of those things not covered by the scholarship, is down to:
Local transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses. This is the catchall, and could obviously be any number a school wanted to "offer" an athlete, with apparently no further specificity than "miscellaneous personal expenses". However, if these are $3000, $4000, or even more than $5000, I believe they need more itemization than just "miscellaneous". And some explanation as to why these "miscellaneous personal expenses" are so different school to school. Don't tell me regional cost of living differences, since Boston is clearly a higher cost of living than the South in general, and Louisville isn't 3 times as expensive as Lexington.
By the way, medical and insurance costs are NOT included in the federal COA items.
This post was edited on 4/14 2:28 PM by NoKyCard
"The cost of attendance (COA) is not the bill that you may get from
your college; it is the total amount it will cost you to go to college
each year. The COA includes tuition and fees; on-campus room and board
(or a housing and food allowance for off-campus students); and
allowances for books, supplies, transportation, loan fees, and, if
applicable, dependent care. It can also include other expenses like an
allowance for the rental or purchase of a personal computer, costs
related to a disability, or costs for eligible study-abroad programs".
The summary makes no mention of personal expenses, however the actual law does:
Part E Link: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/20/1087ll
"For the purpose of this subchapter and part 42, the term "cost of attendance" means-
(1) tuition and fees normally assessed a student carrying the same academic workload as determined by the
institution, and including costs for rental or purchase of any equipment, materials, or supplies required of all
students in the same course of study;
(2) an allowance for books, supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses, including a
reasonable allowance for the documented rental or purchase of a personal
computer, for a student attending the institution on at least a half-time basis, as determined by the institution;
(3) an allowance (as determined by the institution) for room and board costs incurred by the student "
The term "FULL COST OF ATTENDANCE" appears nowhere in the law. In the athletic world, the term FULL COST OF ATTENDANCE has been coined to indicate that not all of the official "cost of attendance" items are covered in the athletic scholarships. Which of these costs are not covered by an athletic scholarship?
Item 1. All are covered.
Item 3. Room is covered. I've always assumed that the "training table" provides athletes 3 squares a day. One poster indicated it may be only 1 per day. If that is the case, include the full service meal plan in the scholarship. Problem solved.
Item 2. Books are covered. Many supplies are covered. That leaves supplies that aren't covered, transportation, miscellaneous personal expenses, and a personal computer that may not be covered by the athletic scholarship.
Transportation: Is this local or to and from home? The student only, or a trip or 2 for the parents? No problem for the latter. Include x number of trips home for the student, and y number of trips to school for the parents. No cash need change hands for these. That leaves local transportation.
Computer? Again, no problem, let the athletic scholarship provide that. No cash needed.
So the FULL COST OF ATTENDANCE, the cost of those things not covered by the scholarship, is down to:
Local transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses. This is the catchall, and could obviously be any number a school wanted to "offer" an athlete, with apparently no further specificity than "miscellaneous personal expenses". However, if these are $3000, $4000, or even more than $5000, I believe they need more itemization than just "miscellaneous". And some explanation as to why these "miscellaneous personal expenses" are so different school to school. Don't tell me regional cost of living differences, since Boston is clearly a higher cost of living than the South in general, and Louisville isn't 3 times as expensive as Lexington.
By the way, medical and insurance costs are NOT included in the federal COA items.
This post was edited on 4/14 2:28 PM by NoKyCard
