Cost and net price · no account, no e-mail
Cost of attendance, line by line
Pick a university and type the grants you expect: the budget splits into its lines and the amount left for the year appears.
Left to pay for one year at Harvard University
$75,134
Cost of attendance 2026-27: $95,134
| Tuition | $62,226 |
| Fees | $6,216 |
| Housing and food | $23,192 |
| Books and supplies | $1,000 |
| Personal | $2,500 |
| Total cost of attendance | $95,134 |
| Minus your grants | −$20,000 |
Harvard University, published budget 2026-27. Loans and work-study are not grants: they are ways to pay what is left. How this is calculated.
Built by Radif Partners · Method and data · Editorial policy
The cost of attendance is the budget a university sets for one year of study: tuition, mandatory fees, housing and food, books and supplies, transportation and personal expenses. It is the sticker price, and it is also the ceiling of all financial aid, since grants and loans together cannot exceed it. The tool shows each university's newest published budget, which is the 2026-27 budget for 60 of the 110 schools, and the federal components of 2024-25 for the others, each labelled with its year. The three highest totals on file are at University of Chicago ($103,821, 2026-27), Duke University ($103,180, 2026-27) and University of Southern California ($103,162, 2026-27). Housing and food alone have a median of $18,780 across these budgets. Type the grants in an award letter to see what remains for the family, student work and loans.
What the budget includes, and what it leaves out
Federal rules define the cost of attendance for aid purposes: tuition and fees, an allowance for housing and food, books, supplies and equipment, transportation, and miscellaneous personal costs, plus some specific items such as a computer or study abroad. Universities set the allowances themselves, so a "personal" line can differ by several thousand dollars between two schools in the same city. Health insurance is a frequent trap: many universities require it and bill it unless the student shows family coverage, and some leave it out of the published total. At Harvard, for example, the 2026-27 budget totals $95,134 before a travel allowance, and the required insurance comes on top for students without family coverage.
Harvard: what your grants leave to pay
Left to pay for the year
$47,134
| Cost of attendance 2026-27 | $95,134 |
| Grants entered | $48,000 |
| Share covered by grants | 50% |
Loans and work-study are not grants: they are ways of paying what is left.
Billed and unbilled costs
Only part of the budget appears on the university's bill: tuition, fees and, for students in university housing, rent and the meal plan. Books, transportation and personal costs are estimates of what students spend elsewhere. This matters when comparing aid offers: a grant that covers "full tuition" can still leave housing and food to pay, which at a residential campus is often a third of the budget or more. The net price ranking shows what families actually paid after all grants.
Living off campus
Most universities publish a second budget for students living off campus, with a rent and food allowance based on local prices, and a third one for students living with their parents. Living at home removes most of the housing line but rarely brings the cost to tuition alone. Aid offices build the award on the budget of the student's actual housing choice.
Using the budget with an award letter
Subtract only grants and scholarships from the total: the result is the real price for the year. Federal student loans, parent PLUS loans and work-study then pay part of that price, but they are not discounts. If the remainder is beyond reach, ask the aid office whether a professional judgment review is possible for a change in income, a family medical cost or a second child in college; universities can adjust the expected contribution in such cases.
Four years, not one
Budgets rise each year with tuition and housing rates. A family planning four years should multiply by more than four. The comparison tool and the four-year estimate on each university page let you choose the yearly increase you assume.
Why two universities in the same city publish different budgets
Each aid office estimates the cost of living its own way: some use the price of a double room and the most popular meal plan, others average the rents their students report, and the personal allowance can be modest or generous. Two campuses a few miles apart can therefore differ by thousands of dollars on the same lines. Compare tuition and fees as published, and look closely at the housing line, the one most families can actually change.