Student Budget Calculator- Academic Year 2017-2018

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Instructions

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It is designed to be used by full time students while referring to their financial aid awards and other resources. The figures are based on the standard HGSE student budget and allowable living expenses for the 9 month academic year- also known as the estimated cost of attendance. Total financial aid from all sources can not exceed the total student budget, including the living expense allowances. Your actual living and personal expenses may vary from our allowances, but they should not be exceeded.

Students with less expenses than our allowances should consider reducing loans if applicable. You are encouraged to review expenses and the full report to determine if there will be any budget short falls. Reviewing the monthly versus semesterly breakdown in expenses will hopefully help you in staying on a monthly budget and not overspending early in each term. If you have a shortfall, you must either increase resources (supplemental loans may be an option) and/or reduce actual expenses (such as rent or personal expenses) to help stay on budget.

Students are encouraged to review the supplemental loan information on our website to determine which loan meets your needs and how to apply for these loans.

Please note this calculator is intended as a planning tool and general guide. Actual expenses and resources may vary.

Resources

Financial Aid Applied To Student Bill Please refer to your financial aid award package to assist in completing the fields in this section.	Academic Year
Scholarship / Grant / Fellowship Award Harvard University policy is that scholarships may not exceed tuition and mandatory fees (excluding but not limited to fees such as Harvard rent, dependent health fees and dental insurance) applied to a student's bill.
Direct Unsubsidized Loan This is a federal loan available only to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The maximum loan eligibility is $20,500 per academic year. A 1% origination fee will be deducted upon disbursement and is calculated in this formula.
Direct Grad PLUS Loan This is a federal, credit-based supplemental loan available only to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. A student may borrow up to the HGSE Cost of Attendance Budget minus all other financial aid. A 4% origination fee will be deducted upon disbursement and is calculated in this formula.
HUECU Loan (International Loan) This is a private supplemental loan for international students which does not require a U.S. cosigner. HGSE students may borrow up to $12,000 through this loan program and borrowers apply for this loan through the Harvard University Employees Credit Union.
Other Private Supplemental Loan Please note that private loans may have origination fees upon disbursement. Since these can vary widely, no fees have been calculated into this figure. Please be sure to account for this separately.
Sponsored Payment Sponsors are outside agencies, organizations or governments who directly pay a student's bill on their behalf.
Tuition Deposit This field defaults to $250 as a one-time deposit for new incoming students. If you are a returning student, please remove the $250 default amount.
External Scholarships and Financial Aid Resources This can be payments from outside scholarships, AmeriCorps Awards, Veteran's Benefits, employer-based programs, etc. Do not include amounts you will pay out of pocket from personal funds.

Stipend/FWS/Wages Please enter the expected "take home" amount. This field is for wages/stipends that go directly to you and not to your bill. Consider tax implications when calculating take home pay. If you are earning a one time or partial year stipend, you should divide the total amount you anticipate receiving by 9 to calculate estimated monthly stipend amount.	Estimated Monthly Wages
Stipend/FWS/Wages (Please note: this calculates your monthly earnings over the full nine month academic year)

Savings/Checking Account Balance (prior to academic year) Please do NOT include any portion of your savings that came from your financial aid proceeds above, expected relocation costs or for other expenses you anticipate incurring before attending HGSE. This should be the amount of your personal resources that you plan to pay directly out of pocket.
Total Personal Account Balances

Expenses

Student Type
Choose a student type from the list below to determine your tuition and your monthly student budget allowances

Fixed Cost Budget Items (Estimates)	Academic Year
Tuition (Your tuition is determined by your student type)
Student Health Fee This is generally required for all students, unless registered in absentia or less than half time. Contact the HGSE Registrar with questions regarding waiver criteria.
Student Health Insurance Plan Health insurance is required for all students, unless you meet certain waiver criteria.
Other Charges

Student Budget Allowances These fields default to the HGSE estimated cost of attendance allowances, which in many cases will not be directly billed to you by Harvard. You may be able to decrease some of these costs- for example, selecting less expensive housing or limiting personal expenses to a level below the standard budget allowances. Student budgets may only include direct educational expenses incurred during the enrollment period of your program, and cannot include items such as consumer debt payments, relocation costs or automobile expenses. You should take steps to ensure your actual costs do not surpass our allowances, since your total financial aid may not exceed your estimated cost of attendance.	Monthly Allowance
Books and Supplies
Rent, Utilities and Food The rent, utilities and food allowance is an AVERAGE cost, and generally means sharing an apartment with a roommate. Housing rates vary greatly depending on but not limited to location, number of roommates, and size. Please note that summer months are not calculated into this budget and periods of non-enrollment are not covered by financial aid. If your rent is higher than our allowance and you have a shortfall, you may need to make reductions in other discretionary expense categories (Transportation, Personal Expenses, etc.) or reassess your living arrangement.
Transportation
Federal Loan Fees (U.S. citizens only)
Personal Expenses
Research Expenses This field is available only for Ed.D. students who are in year 4 and beyond.

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Student Budget Calculator- Academic Year 2017-2018

Resources

Expenses

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