Estimating Your Costs

Cost Of Attendance

What is Cost of Attendance?

The Cost of Attendance (COA) is a budget used by any financial aid office to estimate the average student’s cost to attend SCC. This is usually given as an annual amount. COA includes tuition and fees; living expenses (or a housing and food allowance); and allowances for books, supplies, transportation, and loan fees as well as estimates for miscellaneous and personal expenses you may incur as a result of seeking a degree.  COA includes both direct costs and indirect costs.  

Direct costs are items a school may charge directly to a student account and may include tuition, fees, books and room & board.  SCC does not charge room and board for students.

Indirect costs are expenses that a student may incur on their own and could include room and board (living expenses), cost of books, supplies, transportation, miscellaneous expenses or dependent care. The indirect costs shown below are estimates based on average expenses in our geographical area.

2022-2023 Cost Estimates

Budget Figures 2022-2023 Fall & Spring
(9 months)		 Summer
(2 months)
In-District living with parent $13,640 $4,435
In-District not living with parent $21,515 $6,404
Out-of-District living with parent $14,984 $5,107
Out-of-District not living with parent $22,859 $7,076
Out-of-State living with parent $16,304 $5,767
Out-of-State not living with parent $24,179 $7,736
Direct COA Components Fall & Spring
(9 months)		 Summer
(2 months)
In-District tuition 24 hours x $111 = $2,664 12 hours x $111 = $1,332
Out-of-District tuition 24 hours x $167 = $4,008 12 hours x $167 = $2,004
Out-of-State tuition 24 hours x $222 = $5,328 12 hours x $222 = $2,664
Technology Fee 24 hours x $10 = $240 12 hours x $10 = $120
Student Success Fee 24 hours x $4= $96 12 hours x $4 = $48
Books and supplies $1,100 $550
Nursing students – 2 year program $2,100 (to cover costs of extra supplies, books and program fees) $1,050
Tier 1 tuition increase $40 per credit hour $40 per credit hour
Tier 2 tuition increase $100 per credit hour $100 per credit hour
Tier 3 tuition increase $115 per credit hour $115 per credit hour
Online course tuition increase $15 per credit hour $15 per credit hour
Indirect COA Components Fall & Spring
(9 months)		 Summer
(2 months)
Transportation $2,367 $592
Miscellaneous* $1,935 $484
Living expenses – with parents* $5,238 $1,310
Living expenses – not with parents* $13,113 $3,278
Dependent care $6,660 (each child under the age of 6) $1,665 (each child under the age of 6)

*Living expenses and miscellaneous expenses are only figured into a COA budget when enrollment totals 6 or more credit hours in a semester.

 Full time enrollment is defined as 12 credit hours per semester. COA budgets in this chart were calculated based on 24 credit hours for a Fall-Spring period and based on 12 credit hours for a Summer period.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Cost of Attendance?

The Cost of Attendance (COA) is a budget used by any financial aid office to estimate the average student’s cost to attend SCC. This is usually given as an annual amount. COA includes tuition and fees; living expenses (or a housing and food allowance); and allowances for books, supplies, transportation, and loan fees as well as estimates for miscellaneous and personal expenses you may incur as a result of seeking a degree.

What are the Cost of Attendance component definitions?

  • Tuition and fees — An amount normally assessed a student carrying the same academic workload, as determined by the institution.
  • Books, course materials, supplies, and equipment — An allowance for books, course materials, and equipment, which must include all such costs required of all students in the same course of study, including a reasonable allowance for the rental or upfront purchase of a personal computer, as determined by the institution.
  • Transportation — An allowance, as determined by the institution, which may include transportation between campus, residences, and place of work.
  • Miscellaneous personal expenses — An allowance, as determined by the institution, for a student attending the institution on at least a half-time basis.
  • Living expenses — An allowance for food and housing costs, as determined by the institution, to be incurred by the student attending the institution on at least a half-time basis.

How is the Cost of Attendance Used?

COA is a limit to how much federal, state, or institutional financial aid a student may receive. If you are only receiving privately funded awards, you are not limited by COA unless specifically restricted by the awarding agency. COA is also used to determine your financial need based on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

How is Cost of Attendance determined?

The SCC Financial Aid Office has determined COA based on local, state and national information. Since COA is based on your enrollment, it is possible for it to fluctuate if you add or drop classes. For this reason, COA is locked based on your enrollment at the end of forth week of class also known as the Census Date. Any courses added after the Census Date will not be included in your COA.

NOTE: Your financial aid package may be affected if you drop courses prior to the Census Date.

How does enrollment affect Cost of Attendance?

The tuition and fee portion of your COA will be based on your level of enrollment. There are four levels of enrollment for financial aid: full-time, three-quarter time, half-time, and less-than-half-time. For students attending less than half-time, the COA includes tuition and fees as well as allowances for books, supplies, and transportation.

What classes will be included in the Cost of Attendance?

Only those classes that meet the following criteria will be included in the COA:

  • Courses required for your degree program
  • First repeat of a previously passed course
  • Course added prior to the end of the fourth week of class day (Census Date) for the fall and spring semesters
  • Course added prior to 10th day of the summer semester
How does Cost of Attendance affect financial aid?

Federal regulations mandate that each student has a Cost of Attendance that accounts for averaged, estimated expenses that any degree-seeking student at the institution may incur as a result of pursuing their education at that institution. These regulations also mandate that a student’s total financial aid package must be limited to the student’s COA. This means that, as you begin to accrue additional financial assistance, you may lose eligibility for existing or new awards to prevent an over-award on your file. This also means that your financial need could be reduced, which could also affect your financial aid.

What is Financial Need?

Financial Need is calculated by the COA minus the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is a result of the FAFSA. Financial Need can also be affected by Other Financial Assistance (OFA) including scholarships, grants, or other need-based aid you are receiving. Your Unmet Need is calculated by Financial Need minus OFA.

Why is Financial Need and Unmet Need important?

Some financial aid awards are considered need-based, which means you must have Financial Need to qualify. Some of these awards include Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), federal work-study, and federal direct subsidized loans.

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