Estimate Your Bill: Undergraduate Students
The Student Account Calculator is a helpful interactive tool that full-time undergraduate Tufts students can use to estimate their bill balances in advance of the semester eBill being released in July and November. The Calculator is typically updated with actual figures for the upcoming year after the Board of Trustees confirms the costs.
It is also helpful for students who want to get a rough idea of how changing a meal plan, living off campus, or studying abroad will impact their bill balance in the future based on their current financial aid award.
Please keep in mind that the Student Account Calculator is not a bill. Actual semester charges will be billed electronically and are due and payable the first week of August for Fall semester, and the first week of December for Spring semester.
For first year students, the calculator assumes the required room and meal plan charge, as well as a $600 Admission deposit credit. The deposit amount can be adjusted, if needed.
How to Use the Student Account Calculator
A step-by-step description of the different pieces of information you will need to enter in to the Student Account Calculator can be found below:
Current Class Standing
Select your current class standing. Selecting “First Year” will automatically populate the Calculator with the required Housing and Board Plan costs with no option to make changes to either. It will also automatically populate the standard $600 Admissions Deposit in the Aid/Resources section below. If you were not required to submit an Admissions Deposit, or were required to pay a different amount, be sure to update that field accordingly.
Selecting “Sophomore” will populate the standard Housing and Board Plan costs but will allow you to select different housing and meal plan options. Selecting “Junior” or Senior” will not automatically populate the Housing or Board Plan fields, so you must select the options that fit your circumstances.
All students should indicate whether they plan to purchase the Tufts Health Insurance in this section of the Calculator.
Enter Your Financial Aid and Other Resources
This is where you enter all the financial aid and resources you are using to pay your bill. You will need your financial aid award information for this section. If you will receive outside aid, or your parent will borrow a Federal Parent PLUS Loan, or if you will borrow a loan from a private lender, you will need that information handy as well to generate the most accurate estimate.
Enter any grant or loan aid from your award letter in the appropriate column for Fall or Spring. If you did not receive the type of aid listed, you can leave the field blank. If you were awarded Work-Study, do not enter the award amount in the Calculator. Work-Study is an award you can earn during the academic year, it is never credited to your bill.
You can enter miscellaneous funding such as a 10-month payment plan you may enroll in, a 529 plan payment, or any other source not already listed in the bottom row titled “Other resource not listed above.”
Calculate Charges and Balance
After you have entered all your aid and resources, click the “Calculate Charges and Balance” button at the bottom of the page. This will bring you results page. The itemized charges will be listed in the top section, with semester and combined totals in the bottom row.
Below the Charges section is the Aid/Resources section, displaying all the resources you entered on the previous page. Please note that the Direct Loan and PLUS Loan fees have already been deducted (if you listed either of these as a resource), and the net values are displayed on this page.
The bottom section does the math and subtracts the total financial aid and resources from the charges and displays the “BALANCE OWED (OR CREDIT)” for each semester, and the total for the year. A balance due is displayed in red font. A Credit is displayed in green font in a parenthesis.
Be sure to look over each section to see if it makes sense, or if you made any errors entering your information. To make changes, simply click the “Redo Calculation” button at the bottom of the page. It will take you back to the previous page where the original data you entered remains. Now, you can make any necessary changes.
Planning Estimates
Returning students can use the Student Account Calculator to get an idea of how living off campus, living in a different housing tier, studying abroad, or changing a meal plan may impact their bill based on the current year’s financial aid award.
In these cases, if you are currently a first year or sophomore student looking ahead to junior year, be sure to select “Junior” as your Current Class Standing. This will allow you to select any Housing or Board Plan combination that is available.
Please note that you must apply for aid each year, and the Student Account Calculator cannot account for possible changes in financial aid or future cost increases. We recommend that you also contact your financial aid counselor if you have any questions about this type of estimate.