Expenses

Tuition, room and dining charges for one semester are equal to one-half the charges for the full year. The following table is an estimate of expenses for full-time degree candidates for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Tuition

In the College of Arts and Sciences, the basic annual tuition charge includes schedules of 12 to 16 hours each semester. Students taking more than 16 semester hours per semester are charged $1040 per credit hour for each hour above 16.

Part-time status allows a student to take fewer than 12 hours, at a tuition rate of $1,650 per credit hour. Students taking fewer than 12 hours without permission to study part-time are charged full tuition.

Students in the College of Arts and Sciences who pass the requisite audition may be permitted to register for an assigned section of private lessons in the Conservatory at no additional cost. Students who pass an audition in more than one instrument or voice category may be permitted to register for lessons in multiple areas, but will be assessed a fee for each additional area of study (please consult with the Conservatory Dean’s office for a fee schedule). All lesson assignments are provided on a space available basis and are contingent upon the approval of the Office of the Associate Dean in the Conservatory.

In the Conservatory of Music the basic tuition charge includes schedules of 12 to 17 hours per semester. For schedules of less than 12 hours, $1,650 per hour is charged. For each hour above 17, $1040 per hour is charged.

In the Conservatory of Music, students who register for private lessons in two principal private-study areas are charged extra tuition at the credit hour rate of $1,650 for any credits in excess of six principal private-study credits. Conservatory students who have declared majors in two performance areas are not charged extra tuition for the second principal private-study area. Students paying for two principal private studies may take 19 semester hours without additional tuition. Double-degree students follow the guidelines for charges for Conservatory students.

Tuition is charged for courses in which a student is officially registered, regardless of attendance. The receipt of a NE, F, W, or NP grade, either through completing and failing a course, or through neglecting to drop officially a course not completed, does not cancel additional tuition charges for the course.

Activity Fee

The activity fee subsidizes approved student activities and publications. The amount is established by the Student Finance Committee with the approval of the Board of Trustees. The fee is administered by the Student Finance Committee. (Graduate students are not required to pay this fee.) For 2009-2010, the activity fee will be $318.

Green Edge Fund Fee

The Fund for Ecological Design and General Efficiency (The Green EDGE Fund), administered by a board of students, faculty, and staff, invests in manageable projects with a clear and prompt payback to the fund. Student Board members manage the process by developing detailed, financially sophisticated proposals and working with Facilities to implement them. For 2009-2010, the fee is $20 per semester. 

Auditing Fee

Students registered for at least one course for credit are permitted to audit up to two courses per semester that are recorded on their transcripts. There is a non-refundable service charge of $30 for recording the first audit; $70 for recording the second.

Room Charges

For 2009-2010 the residence hall room charge for a multi-occupancy room will be $2,725 each semester. The 2009-2010 charge for a single room will be $2,890 each semester. The 2009-2010 charge for apartment/village housing will be $3,060 each semester. A student participating in an on-campus Winter Term project may stay in his or her dorm room at no additional charge. Fifty percent of the total charges for the year (tuition, room and dining) is due for the fall semester; the remaining 50 percent is due for the spring semester. Students not on campus first semester who return to campus second semester are charged 50 percent of the total charges for the year (tuition, room and dining).

Dining Charges

2009-2010 dining charges will be $2,515 each semester for the 14-meal plan. Winter Term dining in Oberlin College dining halls is optional; the charge is based upon actual usage. Co-op rates are usually different than the on-campus dining program rates. There is no meal plan option during fall and spring term breaks.

Co-operatives

There are nine student-operated dining cooperatives and four housing cooperatives. The 2008-2009 dining rates were $1,335 each semester. Room rates were $2,445 (single), $1965 (double), and $1875 (triple) each semester. Rates will likely increase for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Fees for Transfer of Credit

Students who transfer credit for courses taken at another institution during academic leaves of absence from Oberlin College are charged $50 for each transfer of credit application. Students who transfer courses taken at another institution while on personal leave, during the summer, or while finishing away are charged a $15 fee per semester hour for the first 10 hours and $10 for each hour above 10. (Please note that these fees do not apply to the transfer of Advanced Placement credit earned in high-school or college-level courses completed elsewhere before a student has matriculated at Oberlin.)

Enrollment/Matriculation Deposit

A $300 enrollment deposit is required to secure a place in the class. The deposit is payable two weeks after receiving notification of a financial-aid award or on the due date of the intent-to-enroll card, whichever is later. The deposit is forfeited if a student does not enroll; it is refunded after a student graduates. To receive a refund upon withdrawing from Oberlin College, a withdrawal application must be submitted to the Office of the Dean of Studies by the official last day of the semester preceding the semester from which a student is withdrawing.

Financial Statements

Student term bills, which include tuition, fees, room and dining, are sent to students at their home addresses:

- For first semester, bills are sent in July. Payment is due by August 1.
- For second semester, bills are sent in early January. Payment is due at the end of January.

During the academic year, monthly account statements are sent to the student’s home address, unless a written change in billing address request is sent to the Office of Student Accounts.

Prepayment for the upcoming semester must be made prior to enrollment, or the student must be enrolled in a monthly payment plan, either directly with Oberlin College or through an external agency. Payments must be current.

A Budget Payment Plan for paying term bills in monthly installments is available through Oberlin College. A signed contract must be forwarded each year to the Office of Student Accounts to activate the payment plan. Contract forms are included with the July and January term bills.

Annual student charges are billed at 50 percent for each semester. Financial aid, where applicable, is applied at the same ratio. An interest charge of 1 percent per month (annual percentage rate approximating 12 percent) will be assessed on all unpaid balances.

Oberlin recognizes that college expenses often impose a heavy financial responsibility on parents and students. In cases where special, unexpected hardships develop, Oberlin is more than willing to cooperate and act in a reasonable manner. However, Oberlin does reserve the right to withhold transcripts and recommendations, and may also ask for the withdrawal of a student who consistently fails to meet his or her financial obligations to Oberlin.

Prior to graduation, all outstanding debts to Oberlin College must be paid before a student can receive a diploma.

Health Insurance

Oberlin College students are required to have health insurance coverage. Except for international students, students may elect to waive the health insurance charge if they are covered by another plan. To waive the charge, students must complete a waiver form and submit it to the Office of Student Accounts by the deadline date indicated on the form. Oberlin College bills all students for health insurance in the fall semester for the upcoming school year. Waivers are sent to the student’s home address in July and August. The 2009-2010 estimated cost is $825.

All students, whether they have Oberlin insurance or their own insurance, may use the Student Health Services provided by the College. For more information about health care at Oberlin College, please see the Student Life section of this catalog.

Refunds

All students who withdraw or who take a medical or personal leave of absence during a semester will be charged tuition, room and dining at the rate of 10 percent of the semester charge for each week or fraction thereof spent in residence. If a recipient of financial aid who withdraws or takes a medical/personal leave is scheduled to receive a refund, then all or part of the refund will be used to reimburse the financial aid programs from which the student received funds. The required Student Activity Fee is non-refundable.

As a supplement to the college refund policy, a tuition refund plan is offered. For more information, please see: http://www.collegerefund.com/.

Study Away Fee

Students taking an academic leave of absence are charged a $1,275 study away fee per program. Excluded from this fee are the programs for which Oberlin tuition and fees are already charged. Students who receive financial aid will have this fee considered in their financial aid package.

Changes in Published Charges

While there is no expectation that the charges and fees published in this catalog will change, Oberlin College does reserve the right to increase or decrease fees during and pertaining to the 2009-2010 academic year without prior notice.