The Basics of College Tuition, Room, and Board
You will inevitably wind up juggling college applications and considering your financing options at the same time. The three major costs of college are tuition, room, and board. Understanding all three will help you plan for college and prepare to apply for any financial aid you need to get you through. Tuition Tuition is the core of the college bill. It is the fee associated with taking each course, and it's often calculated per credit. For example, a college may charge $300 per credit for undergraduate courses, which means that a three-credit undergraduate history course will cost $900. The average general education course is three or four credits.1 College students typically take between three and five classes per term.23 Some colleges and universities provide a flat rate for tuition, which covers a minimum and a maximum number of units per semester.4 That can work well for a student who is committed to a full schedule of classes each term. For example, a college may charge...