Cost/Budgets

Cost is a factor for most students planning for college. While the amount of tuition is a major consideration, there are other cost components used in developing a budget or cost of attendance for financial aid purposes. The Office of Financial Aid uses an average tuition amount for each budget category and each enrollment status.
You can view the components of UM-D tuition and fee assessment.

At the University of Michigan–Dearborn, there is no residential housing, yet students are surprised to see a housing allowance in their budget. Whether you live on campus, in an apartment or with your parents, there are certain living costs involved and the OFA includes a room and board allowance in all budgets to help represent these costs.

• An allowance for the cost of books and supplies is a component in all student budgets.

• Since UM-D is a commuter school, the transportation allowance is an important component reflecting the costs of attending our university. The transportation allowance is based on school commuting mileage—not the purchase of a car.

• For students participating in loan programs, there is an average loan fee component in their budget. Remember that there are costs in the Direct Loan Program. The average loan fee used as a budget component helps to offset the actual costs of borrowing.

• Finally, there is a miscellaneous/personal allowance to address the costs of clothing, toiletries and other necessities.

It is important to remember that when the Office of Financial Aid establishes a budget for the purpose of awarding financial aid, it may not reflect all of the actual costs incurred by each individual student. The budgets established by the Office of Financial Aid represent a modest, but adequate expense allowance for the students at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Even though the budgets used are estimated costs, they can be a valuable resource in planning your personal budget and forecasting your costs of attendance at the University.

You can view actual budgets that are organized by tuition charges by clicking on the highlighted categories below. Each budget category reflects each enrollment status ranging from half-time to full-time. Budgets for less-than-half-time enrollment status are included only for undergraduate students enrolled in eligible university internship programs.