Your student was just admitted to BU?
Congratulations! Being admitted to Boston University is quite an achievement, it is also the beginning of a major investment in your student’s future.
You are going to need a four-year plan to manage the cost of education, knowing how much you will need to pay and what resources are available to you is an important step in creating that plan.
If your student is receiving need-based financial aid, it is important that you read and understand the “Boston University Guide to Your Financial Aid” included with their award offer before making an enrollment decision.
Aid that meets our full demonstrated financial need is great, but now what?
A BU need-based financial aid award meets your student’s full demonstrated financial need for students eligible for affordableBU. Having an award that meets 100% of your BU need, though, doesn’t always mean that your award will cover your full costs each year.
You will likely still have expenses and a bill during your BU journey, having a plan on how you will pay for the remaining costs is a crucial step in making an informed enrollment decision.
You should make a four-year plan for the cost of BU based on the initial award offered with your admission decision. Our “Four Steps to Managing the Cost of Your Education” brochure is a great place to start the planning process and includes resources available to get you started.
Will our bill be the same for all four years?
When making your four-year plan to finance BU, it is important to consider the increased cost of education after the first year. With BU scholarship assurance, a student’s BU financial aid award will increase by the same percentage as the annual increase for tuition. If BU tuition goes up 3.5% then your student’s financial aid award will also be increased by 3.5%. It is important to know that this increase may not be for the same amount as the tuition increase since it is a percentage (not dollar for dollar) and it also does not include potential increases to the cost of dining plans and housing.
Housing, it doesn’t all cost the same!
At BU there are many housing and dining plan options with different costs. After the first year, housing selection is one of the primary sources of increased costs.
It’s important to start considering and planning for the different housing costs and what housing options your student may be interested in future years.
Selecting a more expensive housing option is a choice and will not increase BU need-based financial aid. It is important to make sure you communicate with your student about their housing selection and where they are thinking about living in the upcoming years.
But don’t worry, housing rates are determined by room occupancy not dorm style, so there are a lot of options available for students at the base rate for future years that don’t only include the major large residence halls.
If students need specific housing accommodations, this is a conversation that begins with BU Housing.
If you are a QuestBridge Match Student, please view the information on our QuestBridge Scholarship page, as different information may apply to you.
Have your student grant you delegated access to MyBU Student
Once your student matriculates, BU Financial Assistance can only communicate directly to the student for specific account information. Your student can grant you delegated access to their MyBU Student Portal and grant you consent to disclosure. This is also the way that you can view billing and payment information.