Expenses
Expenses
| Expense | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition | $60,050 |
| Room and Board | $17,750 |
| Graduation Fee | $150 |
| Health Service Fee | $400 |
| Student Activities Fee | $400 |
| Application Fee | $60 |
| Continuation Fee | $500 |
| Health Insurance | Optional Charge |
Acceptance Deposits
Candidates are usually notified of acceptance from January to April and are obliged to forward a non-refundable reservation deposit of $500 by May 1. The amount deposited is credited toward the first semester bill.
Books and Personal Expenses
A fair estimate of the average personal and incidental expenses for the school year is $900. Books and supplies average about $1,000 for the year.
Financial Responsibility Agreement
The College is committed to being transparent about its billing and payment policies/procedures and collection requirements. We want our students to be aware of these policies and thus their responsibilities. Our goal is to help our students understand the cost of their education and the financial policies associated with their enrollment at the College.
While information is available on the College’s website, to further support transparency about financial costs and policies, beginning with the enrollment period for the 2022 Fall Semester, the College will require students to complete a Financial Responsibility Agreement (FRA). Under this agreement, each will acknowledge and agree to their financial obligations and understanding of the related financial policies of the College. The FRA, in conjunction with our website, ebill, letters, and other documentation, helps define the College’s expectations for payment and allows us to clearly inform students of our policies related to billing, late payments, contact methods, IRS Form 1098-T, etc.
As each semester’s registration is considered a separate commitment for which a student must accept financial responsibility, the FRA must be completed online on the student’s STAR account every semester prior to accessing the backpack for course enrollment. If a student chooses not to complete the FRA, they will not be permitted to participate in the course enrollment process.
Payment of Tuition Bills
Semester bills will be issued in June and November and are due and payable by the date indicated on each statement. Payment can be made on the TouchNet Bill+Payment account from a personal checking or personal savings account or by credit card (with a 2.95% convenience fee), or payment can be made by check or money order, payable to the College of the Holy Cross, and sent to:
College of the Holy Cross
Office of the Bursar
1 College Street
Worcester, MA 01610
In accordance with regulations from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the College offers an optional group medical plan to all enrolled students. The charge for this insurance is automatically posted on the student’s tuition bill. International students may not waive the College’s health insurance charge. U.S. citizens living abroad may not waive the College’s health insurance charge if their health coverage is with an insurance carrier based outside the United States or with a Foreign National Health Service program. The insurance may be waived upon completion of the online Health Insurance Waiver found at http://holycross.edu/bursars-office/health-vision-and-dental-insurance. The deadline for submission of the waiver is August 15. A new waiver must be completed each year. Upon receipt of the waiver, a credit equal to the insurance charge will be posted to the student's tuition bill.
The College offers a monthly installment payment plan through TouchNet Bill+Payment. Information regarding this plan is sent to current as well as prospective students and is available through the Bursar’s Office.
To avoid problems with student registration and a late payment fee, the semester bill is due and payable as specified on the tuition statement. Should a student return to campus with an outstanding balance and without payment arrangements, the student will have to sign a promissory note in order to have a registration hold removed from the account. However, in those cases when a balance remains on a student’s account and mutually agreed upon arrangements have not been made, the following late fee structure will be implemented:
Balances up to $1,999.99 = $50.00 late fee
Balances of $2,000 - $2,999 =$100.00 late fee
Balances of $3,000 - $3,999 = $150.00 late fee
Balances of $4,000 - $4,999 = $200.00 late fee
Balances of $5,000 and higher = $250.00 late fee
The policy of the College of the Holy Cross allows for the withholding of transcripts and certifications of academic records from any person whose financial obligations to the College are due and/or unpaid. Delinquent accounts are referred to credit bureaus and a collection agency. If any overdue obligation is referred to an outside agency or to an attorney for collection efforts and/or legal suit, the debt is increased to cover all costs of collection, including interest, penalties, collection agency fees, courts costs, and attorney fees.
Refunds in Connection with Withdrawal and Leaves
If a student withdraws or takes a leave of absence from the College during the semester, charges will be prorated if the student has been enrolled for less than or equal to 60.0% of the term. The refund formula measures the actual number of days enrolled during the semester. For example, the percentage elapsed in a semester is determined by dividing the number of days enrolled by the number of days in the semester including weekends and holidays and excluding Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break or Spring Break, if applicable.
If a student is a recipient of Federal Title IV financial aid, refunds to those programs are required by federal law to be the first priority and must be returned in the following order: Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, Subsidized Stafford Loan, Federal Plus Loan, Federal Pell Grant, and Federal SEOG. A student is not eligible for a refund until all Federal Title IV programs and other scholarships are reimbursed as required and all outstanding balances with the College have been cleared.
If a student withdraws or takes a leave after the 60% point in the semester, there will be no refund of tuition and fees. Room and board fees will be refunded after the 60% point only if the withdrawal or the leave of absence occurs due to disciplinary action, medical hardship, or closure of all College residential housing. Under these circumstances, refunds of room and board will be calculated on a daily basis based upon the number of days that room and board are offered for the semester.
There will be no refund of tuition or fees in the event that the College determines that all courses must move to a virtual format, all residential housing must close, or as a result of any other changes to programs or activities.
Room and Board Refunds with Continued Enrollment
The College will provide refunds of room and board under the following circumstances in which a student remains enrolled and has not withdrawn or taken a leave of absence.
- The College will provide a full refund of room and board to any student who entered into an Agreement regarding Occupancy of Student Residence Housing and College Board – 2023-2024 Academic Year who notifies the College in writing (by contacting Residential Life and Housing at reslife@holycross.edu) on or before Monday, August 28, 2023 for the fall semester and on or before Monday, January 22, 2024 for the spring semester that such student will not reside in College housing at any time during that respective semester.
- From Tuesday, August 29, 2023 until Monday, September 18, 2023, a student may elect to decide that she, he, or they will no longer reside in College residential housing during the 2023 Fall semester by sending a written notice to Residential Life and Housing at reslife@holycross.edu. From Tuesday, January 23, 2024 until Monday, February 12, 2024, a student may elect to decide that she, he, or they will no longer reside in College residential housing during the 2024 Spring semester by sending a written notice to Residential Life and Housing at reslife@holycross.edu. In such a case, the student will receive a prorated refund of room charges and the unused portions of meal plans based upon the number of days that room and board are offered for the semester as described above. Students who decide that they will no longer reside in College residential housing after the above dates will not receive a pro-rated adjustment to their room and board charges.
- Students who are required by the College to vacate their College-provided housing before the end of the housing license period due to a closure of all residential housing will receive a prorated refund of room charges and the unused portions of meal plans based upon the number of days that room and board are offered for the semester. However, students who are approved to remain on campus despite the closure of residential housing because of an inability to depart will be responsible for room and board fees for the duration of their stay.
Refunds from Overpayments from 529 Accounts via Flywire
The College will be utilizing Flywire, a third party service that now provides a platform for electronic disbursements to the College from 529 accounts. Because the College does not accept overpayments beyond the amount actually billed, please ensure that any payments made from 529 accounts through Flywire reflect the exact amount billed. Any overpayment from a 529 account received by the College via Flywire will result in the issuance of a paper check in the amount of the overpayment made payable to the student. This check will be mailed to the student at their home address on file with the Bursar’s Office. Because 529 funds are intended to be used only for qualifying educational expenses, certain tax consequences may result from the refund of 529 overpayments. Accordingly, students and/or their families should consult with their financial or tax advisor(s) to determine the appropriate disposition of the 529 funds refunded in this manner.
Fees and Items Not Subject to Refund
The following items are not subject to the refund policy: Visual arts fees, medical insurance, computer installment payment plans, late fees, leave of absence fees, dormitory fines, parking fines, library fines, and any other miscellaneous fines or charges.
All refunds are calculated and issued from the Office of the Bursar. Federal regulations require that the final tuition statement of all withdrawing students be finalized no later than 30 days after the withdrawal date.
Direct Deposit is the default refund method. Students are encouraged to provide their banking Information on their TouchNet Bill+Payment account to facilitate any refunds via direct deposit. Students would need to log into their STAR account, open the TouchNet Bill+Payment link, and select the Refunds tab.
For further information concerning the details of the refund policy, contact the Bursar's Office 508-793-2521.
Credit Balances
If a student’s tuition account is at a credit balance after receipt of all financial aid and payment plan payments, the Bursar Office would be able to return excess funds upon receipt of a written request from the student. A credit balance that is a result of a parent payment or a parent loan will be refunded to the parent, or to the student with written permission from the parent. A credit balance that is a result of a scholarship or grant or a student loan will be refunded to the student. Refunds from the 529 disbursements are issued to the student.
Policy Change
The charges made by the College are subject to change at any time by the formal action of the College administration.