How much financial aid will I need?

Your financial aid award letter uses estimated direct costs (tuition, fees, on-campus housing, and meal plan) to give you an estimated out-of-pocket responsibility.

  • If you are planning to live on campus, you may already have an idea of what your actual housing and meal plan charges will be based on selections you've submitted to those offices as well as information available from the websites of the Office of Residence Life and Dining Services.
  • If you aren't planning to live on campus, you need to subtract the estimated housing and meal plan charges from the equation so your estimated out-of-pocket responsibility is closer to your actual amount due. 

We created a Financing Worksheet to help you with this process. On the worksheet, you can fill in your actual housing and meal plan charges ($0 for commuters) to determine an out-of-pocket responsibility that will be closer to your actual charges. 

Download the financing worksheet for full-time undergraduate students on UA's Main Campus. 

Things to keep in mind:

  • The Office of Student Financial Aid plans for the academic year. You are charged for tuition, fees, room (if applicable) and board/meal plan (if applicable) per semester. The financing worksheet is to help you plan for the academic year.
  • Actual amounts for tuition/fees, housing, and meal plans are calculated in late June. To estimate your expenses, use the cost information available online: 

To use the worksheet, watch our video (coming soon!) or follow the steps below.

Section 1 - Direct Costs (Billed by the University):

  1. On line 1, enter the amount of estimated tuition for the correct entering class. Example: students who will enroll at UA for the first time this fall (2021) should enter $12,078. This is the estimated figure our office uses. Your actual tuition will be based on the number of credits for which you are registered and will be calculated in late June. If you adjust your registration/enrollment after this calculation has been made, be sure to use the updated figures available in the Finances section of the Student Center in My Akron. 
  2. On lines 2 and 3, enter the actual amounts of room and meal plan if you are living on campus and/or plan to have a meal plan. If you haven't yet selected your meal plan, or haven't received your housing assignment, use the links above to see current residence hall and meal plan rates. Commuter students who will not add a meal plan should leave this line blank.
  3. Add lines 1, 2, and 3; enter the total amount into line 4.

Section 2 - Financial Aid Credits/Awards (as applicable):

  1. On line 5, enter any scholarships/grants as shown on the award letter. If you've misplaced your original award letter, remember, you can access it online through MyAkron. Follow these steps.
  2. On line 6, enter the student loans you plan to borrow. Make sure to only enter the loans available to you in your name (DL Subsidized, DL Unsubsidized, and/or Nursing Loan).
  3. Line 7 is informational - if Federal Work-Study is part of your financial aid award, review the ways you can use the funds. Since the funds aren't available to you until you are on campus and working, we did not allow for them to be considered for the purpose of completing the worksheet.
  4. Add the figure on line 5 and line 6 together; enter the total amount into line 8.

Estimated balance due:

  1. Subtract line 8 from line 4; enter the result into line 9. This is your out-of-pocket contribution towards your direct costs for the academic year (fall/spring) at The University of Akron for the 2021-22 academic year. Keep in mind that:
    • This figure does not include non-billed expenses that you may have - books, supplies, non-campus transportation, rent/utilities/food for non-residential students. If you need to include these expenses into your financing plan, add them to the number on line 9. 
    • This figure is for planning your expenses for the academic year and assumes your costs will be the same each semester. Your actual costs may vary. You will need to adjust your financing plan accordingly.
  2. Review the Financing Options of these Next Steps for information about the resources available to you to help with the figure on line 9, if necessary.

Return to "Next Steps."