When you are admitted to a study abroad program, you get an Estimate of Costs from the administering campus. The estimate includes tuition and fees, housing expenses, the cost of flying overseas, books, insurance, pocket money - everything we think you will actually spend. You will probably find that a semester overseas is budgeted at a few thousand dollars more than a semester at your home SUNY campus. To stay at your home SUNY campus, you are probably spending $5,500 to $6,500 per semester, and your financial aid is calculated on this number. Now that you are going overseas, your aid package should be recalculated using the figures on the Estimate. You may find that your aid will increase substantially. If you don’t currently qualify for aid, you should still have this Estimate of Costs reviewed by your financial aid office because you may qualify for aid to help defray the additional costs of study abroad.

The Estimate includes amounts that you pay to UAlbany or another SUNY campus. It may also include amounts you will be paying in local currency when you go overseas. Many items on the Estimate are approximate amounts, so do not be surprised if the amounts you actually pay change a bit. Read both the amounts and the payment instructions on the Estimate to see when you pay for each item listed and also to learn which office will be billing you for each of these items.

How did we determine the "Miscellaneous Personal Expenses" on your Estimate of Costs? It’s an educated guess. We cannot tell you how much you will spend in a restaurant before you order, but we can give you an idea of what you might spend. In the same way, some of the items on the Estimate are our reasonable expectations for what you will spend. We don’t bill you for them, and our experience has been that some students will spend more than we expect and some students will spend less. For example, students who up-grade their rooms or who travel extensively will spend more. You will do what your own budget permits. No matter what your budget is, be sure to keep a reserve for emergency situations.

Tuition Charges

The University at Albany or your home SUNY campus will bill you for your SUNY tuition charges depending on your state of residence. At the time of your initial registration for an international program, you will be automatically registered for 15 credits each semester or for the usual number of credits awarded in a particular summer program. Upon successful completion of the semester, this number is adjusted to reflect the actual number of credits you have earned. Tuition is billed according to the original registration. It is subject to upward revision for students who complete more credits than they have paid for, but will not be reduced if fewer than 12 credits (or the minimum required for a summer program) are ultimately earned.

If you have already completed a baccalaureate degree at UAlbany or any other school and if you are not enrolled in any degree program and if you are participating during the spring or fall semester, you will be billed by the credit-hour at the undergraduate part-time rate for undergraduate level coursework or at the graduate part-time rate for graduate level coursework (SUNY Policy 055.2). Because of the way overseas program budgets are designed, you will always be billed for the 12 credit minimum (or the summer program’s minimum credit load), even if you do not take 12 credits overseas. On the other hand, your bill will be recalculated if you complete over 12 credits. If you take any of your courses for graduate credit, all your credits will be billed at the graduate rate.

Paying Your SUNY Tuition

You will be billed for SUNY tuition each semester, even if you are on a year-long program (meaning you do not have to pay for the entire year at once). You may also be billed for a Study Abroad Differential, which is explained in the next section. Your tuition bill will be sent to your permanent address within about a month of the date you register or are registered by the Office of International Education at UAlbany. UAlbany and non-SUNY students who have questions about their SUNY tuition bills may call the Office of Student Accounts at UAlbany at (518) 442-3202 or fax them at (518) 442-3333. Other SUNY students should contact the office on their home campus that bills for tuition. Tuition will be billed as follows:

SUNY Students: You register for study abroad on your home campus, so you will receive a regular SUNY tuition bill for Fall and Spring tuition and University Fee from the Office of Student Accounts/Bursar at your home campus in the usual manner. All other fees are waived for UAlbany students in a SUNY overseas program, but some other SUNY campuses do not waive all fees for students studying abroad. Bills are sent out automatically once you have registered for classes or study abroad.

Non-SUNY Students: You will be billed for SUNY tuition and the University Fee by the University at Albany’s Office of Student Accounts. Bills are sent out automatically once we have registered you for study abroad. As long as you have returned all the forms UAlbany has sent you, the bill will come eventually.

All Students: SUNY tuition is set by the State of New York and may be increased at any time. Your tuition depends upon your legal place of residence and the number of credits you are registered for. At UAlbany, tuition bills are sent out once a month by the Office of Student Accounts. If you have not received a bill by the start of your program, you may contact them at (518) 442-3202.

Study Abroad Differential

On some programs, students are required to pay a Study Abroad Differential in addition to their basic SUNY tuition. The Study Abroad Differential is your share of the difference between the actual instructional costs of your program and your regular SUNY tuition. Your instructional costs are more than just the tuition UAlbany pays to your host university, so the total of your differential and your SUNY tuition may be greater than the published tuition of the host university. The amount UAlbany charges is different for each host university and is subject to change from year to year.

If your program has such a charge, it will appear on the Estimate of Costs included in your acceptance package. You will be billed for the entire differential by the Office of International Education before the start of your program. If you wish to pay this bill in installments, you may arrange with the Office of International Education to do so.

Payment by Credit Card

The University at Albany and the Office of International Education will accept payments made with Visa and MasterCard only for amounts that are otherwise payable to the University at Albany or UAS. Therefore, you can pay your bills for your SUNY tuition and fees and your Study Abroad Differential by credit card.

To pay by credit card, UAlbany must have the name, address, and phone number of the cardholder. We also need the signature of the cardholder, the type of card (Visa, etc.), its number and expiration date, and authorization for the specific amount to be charged IN WRITING. Faxes are acceptable for this purpose. If you are getting enough financial aid to cover these amounts, you can work with UAlbany to see that your aid pays these bills.

You probably will not be able to use a credit card to pay any amounts that go directly to your host university or for most of the other items listed on the Estimate. You may or may not be able to use a credit card for your overseas flight, depending upon the policy of your travel agent. Talk with the adviser for your program about these payments if you have questions.