Your Cost of Attendance (COA) establishes the maximum amount of financial aid you can receive during an award year. Generally, an increased COA does not increase the total amount of Federal Direct Loans you are eligible to receive. An increased COA may allow you to borrow additional private loans and Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans. Possible circumstances that would result in a COA adjustment would include but are not limited to:
You may request an increased COA if your course load for fall/spring averages out to more than 15 credit hours per term for undergraduates or 10 credits per term for graduate students or if you are taking courses that have additional fees not factored into your estimated COA.
You may request an increase in your COA up to $2000 to cover the cost of a computer purchase. SDSU will only approve a COA increase for a computer once every four years unless you provide documentation to support that prior computer has been lost or stolen, is no longer working or does not meet the specifications required to complete SDSU coursework. Include a dated receipt documenting proof of purchase or an itemized cost estimate with documentation from the seller such as website screenshot.
You may request an increase to your COA if you are studying abroad during an academic term. Please attach documentation from the Study Abroad Office detailing the estimated costs of the trip and receipts for any additional costs such as airline fares not covered in the estimate.
You may request an increase in your COA to cover costs related to a disability including costs for special services, personal assistance, transportation, equipment and supplies that are not paid for by insurance or another organization. Please provide an itemized list of your monthly disability related expenses that are not covered by insurance or another organization and documentation to support the costs.
You may request an increased COA if your monthly housing costs exceed the allowance in the COA due to providing housing for dependents, supporting two households, living in an area that has a high cost of living or other circumstances that result in high monthly housing costs. Please provide proof of your monthly housing payment such a copy of your lease or mortgage and an explanation of why your costs are higher than usual.
You may request an increased COA if your transportation costs are higher than usual. This includes costs of driving to and from school for commuters, airline and other travel expenses for students who travel long distances to and from campus at the start and end of the terms and breaks and travel required as part of coursework. Your COA cannot be increased to include the cost of purchasing or leasing a car. Please provide documentation to support the costs such as a Google Map showing the number of miles traveled by car between your home and school and how often the trip is made, receipts for airline tickets or other documentation of the cost of transportation.
You may request an increased COA for the cost of dependent care if the care was necessary for you to attend school. For example, costs incurred for periods when you were in class, studying and commuting to/from school can be included in your request. Do not include costs for care that occurred for periods when you were working or engaged in activities not required for you to attend school.
Complete the Budget Adjustment Form. Be sure to include all requested documentation.