Cost of Attendance
Cost of Attendance (COA) is an estimate of how much it will cost a student to live and attend school for a nine-month academic year. The estimate includes both direct (how much is billed by the university) and indirect costs (how much it costs to live in/near Denver).
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The University of Colorado Denver uses COA figures to calculate your financial aid eligibility. Actual costs may differ from the information found under Undergraduate Tuition & Fees or Graduate Tuition & Fees. Overall, your total COA will depend on your program, coursework, residency and enrollment status, and personal spending choices. If you do not receive financial aid, you can still use the same tuition and fees information to estimate your costs.
The total amount of financial aid offered to a student, including all scholarships and grants, cannot exceed the cost of attendance at the University of Colorado Denver for that aid year. Financial aid offers (e.g., loans, work study, scholarships, or grants) may be reduced for students whose total aid exceeds the cost of attendance. Additional information on scholarships can be found here.
In addition to the estimated COA Calculator, CU Denver offers a Net Price Calculator, designed to offer individual undergraduate student/family estimates of the net price to attend CU Denver.
Estimated Costs/Budget
You can find detailed cost estimates for Undergraduate, Graduate, Resident, Non-Resident, and WUE students found under Undergraduate Tuition & Fees or Graduate Tuition & Fees. For those students who are living on campus, you can find detailed information on your housing and food options as well as the cost on the Housing and Dining website.
What is Cost of Attendance?
Cost of Attendance (COA) consists of the following components:
Cost of Attendance Appeal
If you have expenses that are not taken into account in the standard budget, you may submit a Cost of Attendance Appeal form (see Forms). Your budget will be reviewed and your financial aid eligibility will be re-evaluated.
Unusual expenses could include a variety of items:
- High medical/dental costs not covered by insurance.
- Costs of equipment or supplies required for a specific class.
- Disability related expenses not covered by other programs.
- Dependent childcare expenses incurred during periods of university attendance.
- Purchase of a computer or computer-related equipment or upgrades.
- Actual tuition and/or course fees that are higher than the average.
Students with expenses not included in the standard estimated COA may appeal to increase their COA.