Rutgers Students Cost of Attendance

*View the cost of attendance for 2024-25 academic year.

You can find further descriptions of the components of Rutgers’ Cost of Attendance on our Cost of Attendance Elements page.

Understanding Cost of Attendance

Institutions are responsible for establishing, maintaining, and publicly disclosing their Cost of Attendance (COA) figures in compliance with Federal reporting requirements. According to the most recent Federal Student Aid Handbook, a COA is a school-determined estimate of a student’s educational expenses for a specific period of enrollment, used to calculate financial need by comparing it to the Student Aid Index (SAI).

Institutions must base COA components on reasonable average costs for groups of similar students, using primary and secondary methods, rather than individual actual expenses, by using a combination of primary and secondary data sources at the schools’ discretion. Primary methods may include institutionally conducted student expense surveys, focus groups, or direct data collection on housing, food, and other living costs specific to their student population. Secondary methods may include publicly available data such as regional cost-of-living indices, rental market analyses, consumer expenditure data, or information from government agencies and industry reports. Schools may also incorporate institutional data, such as historical student budgets or contracted housing rates, to refine these estimates. By combining these approaches, institutions can develop accurate, supportable average cost figures that reflect the economic realities of their student populations while remaining compliant with Federal guidelines.

The allowable components of COA are strictly defined by Section 472 of the Higher Education Act and include tuition and fees, housing and food, books and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses. These costs are typically categorized as direct costs (such as tuition and fees billed by the institution) and indirect costs (such as housing, food, transportation, and personal expenses not billed directly). Financial Aid Administrators may use professional judgment to adjust a student’s COA for special circumstances when appropriate.

In-State Students

Out-of-State Students

Rutgers will bill you directly for charges which include tuition, fees, and room and board. In addition to billed charges from Rutgers, you will need to pay for other expenses such as books and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous costs (like laundry and personal care items). Final tuition and fees are set annually in July by the Rutgers Board of Governors.

International Students on F-1 and J-1 visas are charged an International Student Fee of $500/semester.

NOTE: Students may appeal to include the cost of a one-time purchase of a computer for school use. However, including the cost of a computer does not guarantee that you will have enough funding to pay for the purchase of a computer after your other charges are paid. Only if you have aid in excess of tuition, fees, room and board (if you contract with the school) will you receive a refund to assist with the purchase of a computer.