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Cost of Attendance

Cost of Attendance

Student Budgets

The following figures are standard budgets, they do not represent the actual costs each student will incur individually. They do, however, represent the maximum aid that can be awarded a student at San Diego Mesa College. It is strongly encouraged that students develop their own budgets before beginning school.

All of the Cost of Attendance budgets shown below are based on 12 units (full time enrollment) per semester

ACTUAL ENROLLEMENT LEVELS Fall, Spring and Summer semesters for Financial Aid Students:

    • FULL-TIME = 12 units
    • THREE QUARTERS TIME = 9 units
    • HALF-TIME = 6 units
    • LESS THAN HALF-TIME = Less Than 6 units

How Is Financial Need Determined?
The federal government standardizes the exact calculations used to determine Expected Family Contribution. This means that your contribution would be assessed in the same way no matter what school you attended. Actual awards can vary by school because of the differences in cost. The methodology used can be explained with the following calculation:

Cost of Attendance - Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Financial Need

Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the amount you (and/or your spouse and/or your parents if applicable) are expected to contribute to your educational expenses. EFC is determined through a standard federal formula using the information you provide in your financial aid application. While the following budget estimates may not reflect your exact costs, they represent the maximum aid that can be awarded to Mesa and may be used as a reference as you start budgeting.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE ENROLLMENT FEE

The enrollment fee is assessed of all students, including nonresidents. The fee is currently $46.00 per unit.

UPPER DIVISION COURSEWORK FEE (ED CODE SEC 78042[G][5])

In addition to the enrollment fee and health fee, $84.00 per unit is charged for the Upper Division coursework, of students who are accepted and enrolled in the new HIM Bachelor's Degree Program. (ie: $46 + $84 = $130 per unit + health fee] (varies, please see Additional Fees)

NOTE: Upper division Coursework Fee is not eligible to be covered by the California College Promise Grant fee waiver for CA residents. Additonally, Per Education Code section 78042(c), students who wish to apply for a California College Promise Grant (CCPG) waiver must submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or a California Dream Act application in lieu of completing the CCPG application.  Non Resident students will also be assessed Non Resident Tuition, please see below

NONRESIDENT TUITION

In addition to the enrollment fee(s) and health fee, tuition is charged to students who are not determined legal residents of California.

2024-2025: $356 per unit 
(e.g. $46 + $356 = $402 per unit, + health fee (varies. please see Additional Fees below)

2023-2024: $331 per unit
(e.g. $46 + $331 = $377 per unit, + health fee (varies. please see Additional Fees below)

2022-2023: $307 per unit
(e.g. $46 + $307 = $353 per unit, + health fee (varies. please see Additional Fees below)

2021-2022: $304 per unit-increased as of Fall 2021
(e.g. $46 + $304 = $350 per unit, + health fee (varies. please see Additional Fees below)

2020-2021: $290 per unit-increased as of Fall 2020
(e.g. $46 + $290 = $336 per unit, + health fee (varies. please see Additional Fees below)

2019-2020: $264 per unit -increased as of Fall 2019
(e.g. $46 + $264 = $310 per unit, + health fee (varies. please see Additional Fees below)

Definitions

 Scroll Down for list of terminology definitions.

Semester Budget

2024-2025 Cost of Attendance Budgets

 COA 24-25 RES

 COA 24-25 NON-RES

 

 SUMMER 24-25 Budget - COMING SOON!

  


Prior Year

2023-2024 Cost of Attendance Budgets

2023-2024
Student Budget
At Home
W/ Parents
At Home
W/ Parents
Away From Home Away From Home
ITEMS One Semester Academic Year
9 Months
One Semester Academic Year
9 Months
Enrollment Fees $552 $1,104 $552 $1,104
Upper Division Fees - - - -
Health Fee $21 $42 $21 $42
Books & Supplies * $469 $938 $469 $938
Food * $1,520 $3,040 $3,236 $6,472
Housing $4,105 $8,210 $12,132 $24,264
Transportation $806 $1,612 $882 $1,764
Personal Expenses * $1,805 $3,610 $2,214 $4,428
Total Resident Budget $9,278 $18,556 $19,506 $39,012
2023-2024
Student Budget
At Home
W/ Parents
At Home
W/ Parents
Away From Home Away From Home
ITEMS One Semester Academic Year
9 Months
One Semester Academic Year
9 Months
Enrollment Fees $552 $1,104 $552 $1,104
Upper Division Fees $1,008 $2,016 $1,008 $2,016
Health Fee $21 $42 $21 $42
Books & Supplies * $469 $938 $469 $938
Food * $1,520 $3,040 $3,236 $6,472
Housing $4,105 $8,210 $12,132 $24,264
Transportation $806 $1,612 $882 $1,764
Personal Expenses * $1,805 $3,610 $2,214 $4,428
Total Resident Budget $10,286 $20,572 $20,514 $41,028
2023-2024
Student Budget
At Home
W/ Parents
At Home
W/ Parents
Away From Home Away From Home
ITEMS One Semester Academic Year
9 Months
One Semester Academic Year
9 Months
NON-RES Tuition

12 units/term *
$3,972 $7,944 $3,972 $7,944
Enrollment Fees $552 $1,104 $552 $1,104
Upper Division Fees - - - -
Health Fee $21 $42 $21 $42
Books & Supplies * $469 $938 $469 $938
Food * $1,520 $3,040 $3,236 $6,472
Housing $4,105 $8,210 $12,132 $24,264
Transportation $806 $1,612 $882 $1,764
Personal Expenses * $1,805 $3,610 $2,214 $4,428
Total Non-Resident Budget $13,250 $26,500 $23,478 $46,956
2023-2024
Student Budget
At Home
W/ Parents
At Home
W/ Parents
Away From Home Away From Home
ITEMS One Semester Academic Year
9 Months
One Semester Academic Year
9 Months
NON-RES Tuition

12 units/term *
$3,972 $7,944 $3,972 $7,944
Enrollment Fees $552 $1,104 $552 $1,104
Upper Division Fees $1,008 $2,016 $1,008 $2,016
Health Fee $21 $42 $21 $42
Books & Supplies * $469 $938 $469 $938
Food * $1,520 $3,040 $3,236 $6,472
Housing $4,105 $8,210 $12,132 $24,264
Transportation $806 $1,612 $882 $1,764
Personal Expenses * $1,805 $3,610 $2,214 $4,428
Total Non-Resident Budget $14,258 $28,516 $24,486 $48,972

Summer Budget

2023-2024
Student Budget
At Home
W/ Parents
Away From Home
ITEMS SUMMER
3 Months
SUMMER
3 Months
NON-RES Tuition

12 units/term *
$0 $0
Enrollment Fees$552 $552
Upper Division Fees- -
Health Fee$21 $21
Books & Supplies *$469 $469
Food *$912 $1,941
Housing$2,463 $7,279
Transportation$489 $588
Personal Expenses *$1,084 $1,328
Total Non-Resident Budget$5,990 $12,178
2023-2024
Student Budget
At Home
W/ Parents
Away From Home
ITEMS SUMMER
3 Months
SUMMER
3 Months
NON-RES Tuition

12 units/term *
$3,972 $3,972
Enrollment Fees$552 $552
Upper Division Fees- -
Health Fee$21 $21
Books & Supplies *$469 $469
Food *$912 $1,941
Housing$2,463 $7,279
Transportation$489 $588
Personal Expenses *$1,084 $1,328
Total Non-Resident Budget$9,962 $16,150

Estimate Your Aid Using Mesa's Net Price Calculator

Get a better sense of the kind of assistance you may be eligible to receive using our cost estimation tool. The calculations are based on cost of attendance and financial aid provided to students in a previous year and do not represent a final determination of aid.

Access the Net Price Calculator

Budget For Upper-Division Coursework

Earn A Bachelor's Degree at Mesa
Did you know Mesa offers a four-year Bachelor's Degree in Health Information Management (HIM)? Learn more about Mesa College's HIM program and the unique opportunity to enroll in upper-division classes and earn a bachelor's degree as a community college student.

Check out Mesa's HIM program

Parking Fees

If you plan to park at Mesa, you will need to pay for a parking permit. Permits are available for semester as well as daily purchase

Automobile permits per semester: $40
Carpool permits per semester: $30
Motorcycle permits per semester: $17.50

Learn more about parking services at Mesa

Associated Students (AS) Membership Card

Each academic year, you will have the opportunity to purchase or renew your AS membership for $8. As an AS member, you will have the opportunity to support campus clubs and organizations, create campus-wide activities and events, and advocate for student issues on local, statewide, and national levels. Be a part of Mesa's student government.

Get involved with Associated Students at Mesa

Student Representation Fee

All students are required to pay a mandatory $2 student representation fee each semester. The fee is utilized to support student advocacy efforts to ensure students' voices are heard and acknowledged across Federal, State, and Local Governments.

Definitions

Below we provide the updated definitions of commonly used COA terms based on the statutory changes in section 472 of the HEA, incorporating the changes described above for the 2023-24 award year: 

Tuition and fees—An amount normally assessed a student carrying the same academic workload, as determined by the institution.

Books, course materials, supplies, and equipment—An allowance for books, course materials, and equipment, which must include all such costs required of all students in the same course of study, including a reasonable allowance for the rental or upfront purchase of a personal computer, as determined by the institution.

Transportation—An allowance, as determined by the institution, which may include transportation between campus, residences, and place of work.

Miscellaneous personal expenses—An allowance, as determined by the institution, for a student attending the institution on at least a half-time basis.

Living expenses—An allowance for food and housing costs, as determined by the institution, to be incurred by the student attending the institution on at least a half-time basis, including—

  • A standard food allowance that provides the equivalent of three meals each day, regardless of whether a student chooses institutionally owned or operated food services (i.e., board or meal plans). Institutions must provide an allowance for purchasing food off campus for a student that does not elect institutionally owned or operated food services.
  • Housing allowances for students residing in institutionally owned or operated housing with or without dependents must be based on the average or median amount assessed to such residents for housing charges, whichever is greater.
  • Housing allowances for students living off campus must include rent or other housing costs.
  • For dependent students living at home with parents, institutions must include a reasonable standard allowance for living expenses that is not zero.
  • For students living in housing on a military base or for which they receive a basic allowance under section 403(b) of title 37, United States Code, institutions must include a reasonable allowance for food on-campus or off-campus but cannot include housing costs.
  • For all other students, institutions must include a reasonable allowance based on expenses incurred by such students.

Review each living expense category above to ensure that you properly capture all required categories in your COA policy.

Study abroad expenses—An allowance for reasonable costs, as determined by the institution, for a student in a study abroad program approved for credit by the home institution.

Cooperative education costs—An allowance for reasonable costs, as determined by the institution, associated with such employment for a student engaged in a work experience under a cooperative education program.

Dependent care—An allowance based on the estimated actual expenses incurred for dependent care, based on the number and age of such dependents.

  • Such allowance must not exceed the reasonable cost in the community in which such student resides for the kind of care provided; and
  • The period for which dependent care is required includes, but is not limited to, class-time, study-time, field work, internships, and commuting time.

Disability-related expenses—An allowance, as determined by the institution, for expenses associated with a student’s disability, including special services, personal assistance, transportation, equipment, and supplies that are reasonably incurred and not provided for by other agencies.

Federal student loan fees—An allowance for the cost of any Federal student loan fee, origination fee, or insurance premium charged to the student or the parent of the student. The allowance—

    • May be actual or average costs, as appropriate; and
    • May not include the cost associated with non-Federal loans.

Professional licensure, certification, or a first professional credential—An allowance for the costs associated with obtaining a license, certification, or a first professional credential, for a student in a program that prepares them to enter a profession that requires such a qualification.

 

Special Populations

The following student populations have cost of attendance requirements based on their unique situations.

Cost of attendance for students engaged in a program of study by correspondence must include tuition and fees and, if required, books, course materials, supplies, and equipment. A school may also include an allowance for travel, housing, and food costs incurred specifically for a period of residential training.

The cost of attendance for confined or incarcerated students may only include:

    • Tuition and fees
    • Books, course materials, supplies, and equipment
    • The cost of obtaining a license, certification or a first professional credential

The cost of attendance for students enrolled less than half-time:

    • Must include any components (tuition and fees; books, course materials, supplies, and equipment; and transportation) normally applied to students who are enrolled less than half-time, along with any other components (disability expenses, etc.) that are not expressly prohibited for less than half-time students (e.g., miscellaneous personal expenses).
    • May also include an allowance for living expenses, including food and housing costs, for up to three semesters, or the equivalent, with no more than two semesters being consecutive.

For students receiving all or part of their instruction by means of distance education, no distinction may be made with respect to the mode of instruction in determining costs. For example, an institution may not eliminate the transportation cost component for a distance education student.


UPDATED JUNE 2023 reposted 12/4/23 ~SD

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