Expenses
College Charges
Fees for the 2023–2024 academic year are listed below. Books, course materials, supplies, equipment, miscellaneous personal expenses, and transportation are not included; students must budget for such items on their own. For planning purposes, students and families should anticipate that tuition and other charges will increase each year to reflect program changes and other cost increases experienced by the College.
| Expense | By Semester | Full Year |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | $32,512 | $64,304 |
| Fees | $303 | $606 |
| Housing | $4,244 | $8,488 |
| Food (21-meal plan)* | $4,601 | $9,202 |
| Books, Course Materials, Supplies & Equipment | $420 | $840 |
| Miscellaneous Personal Expenses | $830 | $1660 |
| Health Insurance (See Health Care section below) | $3,063 |
| * | This table assumes that students will enroll in the 21-meal plan. For more details, please see the website of the Office of Student Aid. |
Off-Campus Study Fee
The College assesses a fee for participation in off-campus study programs. The fee for 2023–2024 is $1,500 per program.
Registration and Enrollment
All continuing students are required to register for courses during registration “rounds” held during the prior semester in accordance with the schedules posted at the College. All students are further required to submit an Enrollment Form by the end of the first week of classes. While registration places students in courses, the Enrollment Form serves to notify the College that the student is on campus and attending classes.
Payment of College Bills
By registering for courses, a student incurs a legal obligation to pay tuition and fees. This debt may be canceled only if a student officially withdraws from the College before the start of classes. Students’ accounts must be current (namely, payment of all outstanding balances, including any past due balances) for semester enrollment and course registration to occur. A student with a past due account will not be permitted to register for courses or to enroll without the written consent of the College. After the first week of classes, students who have not enrolled for any reason are dropped from courses. A student’s access to their residence hall, meal plan, and the library is deactivated at that time. The student is placed on an involuntary leave of absence for the semester (see Academic Standards and Regulations).
Bills for tuition, food, housing, and fees for the fall and spring semesters are generated and posted online in July and December, respectively. Bills are delivered electronically to students who are enrolled or participating in off-campus study programs. Email notifications are directed to the students’ Bowdoin email accounts.
Payment for each semester is due thirty days from the billing date. Payment may be made by the semester due date, by installment payment plan over the course of the semester, or by combining the two options. Payment plans may be arranged with Nelnet Campus Commerce; Bowdoin does not operate its own in-house payment plan. Credit cards are not accepted in payment of college charges.
Veteran Benefit Disbursements
Students using Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill® Benefitsb or Chapter 31 Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Benefits are not prevented from registering and/or enrolling in courses due to a delay in VA disbursement if the student has provided the College with a certificate of eligibility no later than the first day of classes. The College does not impose late fees while waiting for the disbursement. Additionally, students are not denied access to residence halls, dining halls, or the library. Students are not required to borrow additional funds to cover the anticipated benefit.
Students are required to pay the difference of their financial obligation to the College and the anticipated VA education benefit disbursement to participate in registration and/or enrollment.
Students receiving VA benefits must maintain a 2.000 GPA to be eligible to continue to receive these benefits.
| b | GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at www.benefits.va.gov/gibill. |
Withdrawals and Refunds
All students acknowledge and agree to the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement at the time of enrollment.
Students leaving the College during the course of a semester are refunded tuition and fees based on the following schedule:
| Withdrawl | Refund |
|---|---|
| During the first two weeks | 80 percent |
| During the third week | 60 percent |
| During the fourth week | 40 percent |
| During the fifth week | 20 percent |
| Over five weeks | No refund |
After adjustments for fixed commitments and applicable overhead expense, refunds for food and housing are prorated on a daily basis in accordance with the student’s attendance based on the College’s calendar. Students who are dismissed from the College within the first five weeks for other than academic or medical reasons are not entitled to refunds.
College scholarships, in coordination with other funds received, will be credited in proportion to educational expenses, but in no case will they exceed total charges to be collected. Title IV funds (Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Grant, and Federal Direct Loans) will be refunded to the source in accordance with federal regulations and in the proscribed order. Federal funds are earned based on the number of days the student is in attendance for the semester. There is no federal refund after the student has attended 60 percent of the semester. Unearned Department of Defense Tuition Assistance funds are returned to the source on a proportional basis through at least the 60 percent portion of the period for which the funds apply. Refunds will be made within thirty days of the student’s departure or date of determination of the student’s departure, whichever is later.
In the case of a student who must withdraw because of activation for military service, the College will work to identify solutions that will not result in additional student debt for the required return of funds providing the student’s bill was paid in full prior to the withdrawal.
Financial Aid
There are opportunities at Bowdoin to receive financial aid in meeting tuition, housing, food (board), and indirect costs to help students cover things like books, course materials, supplies, equipment, miscellaneous personal expenses, and transportation. Information about student aid at Bowdoin may be found here.
Food and Housing
First-year students and sophomores are guaranteed housing and are required to live on campus. Entering first-year students may indicate their residence preferences online the summer preceding their arrival at Bowdoin. The Office of Residential Life coordinates housing accommodations for the remaining classes through a lottery system.
Residence hall suites consist of bedroom(s) and a common room and are furnished with essential furniture. College property is not to be removed from the building or from the room in which it belongs; occupants are held responsible for any damage to their rooms or furnishings.
Food charges are the same regardless of whether a student eats at the Moulton Union or Thorne Hall. Students who live in Bowdoin facilities, except apartments and a few other student residences, are required to take a 21-meal, 14-meal, or 10-meal residential food (board) plan. First-year students are required to take the 21-meal plan for their entire first year on campus. Students living in College apartments or off campus may purchase a 9-meal or declining balance food (board) plan or one of the residential plans, if they choose.
Other College Charges
All damage to the buildings or other property of the College by persons unknown may be assessed equally on all residents of the building in which the damage occurred. The Student Activities Fee is set by the student government, and its expenditure is allocated by the Student Activities Fee Committee.
Health Care
The facilities of the Peter Buck Center for Health and Fitness and the Counseling Service are available to all students. All students must maintain health insurance coverage while enrolled at Bowdoin. The College offers its own policy for those students who do not carry comparable insurance. The College’s policy provides year-round coverage, whether a student is enrolled at Bowdoin or in an approved off-campus study program. The full-year accident and sickness insurance plan costs $3,063.
A pamphlet specifying the coverage provided by the student health policy is available from the health center and will be mailed in the summer preceding the policy year. Any costs not covered by the insurance will be charged to the student’s account.
Motor Vehicles
All motor vehicles, including motorcycles and motor scooters, used on campus or owned and/or operated by residents of any College-owned residence, must be registered with the Office of Safety and Security. The registration decals cost $100 and are valid for the academic year in which they are purchased. Vehicles must be reregistered each academic year. Students wishing to register a vehicle for a period of time less than one semester must make special arrangements with the Office of Safety and Security. All students maintaining motor vehicles at the College are required to carry adequate liability insurance. The College assumes no responsibility for the security of or damage to vehicles parked on campus. Parking on campus is limited and students will be assigned parking space based on availability. Comprehensive information regarding motor vehicles and campus parking is available here and in the Code of Community Standards online.