Tuition and Fees (and other financial topics)
Related to "Tuition and Fees" are two other important financial topics: Cost of Attendance, and Your First Bill. These topics are covered in the two sections following the Tuition and Fees section.
This page also includes brief discussions about Medical Insurance and Monthly Payment Plans.
Tuition and Fees (for 2023-2024)
Full-Time (Day) Program Tuition and Fees
$28,608 Tuition (per semester)
$480 New Student Fee (one-time charge; fall semester of first year)
$370 Technology Fee (per semester)
$100 Library Fee (per semester)
$75 Law School Activity Fee (per semester)
$65 Student Bar Association (SBA) Fee (per semester)
$29,698 Total for Fall Semester, First Year (2L and 3L students exclude New Student Fee)
Part-Time (Evening) Program Tuition and Fees
$19,730 Tuition (10 cr. hrs. @ $1,973 is a typical enrollment, but may vary)
$480 New Student Fee (one-time charge; fall semester of first year)
$220 Technology Fee (per semester)
$ 50 Library Fee (per semester)
$60 Law School Activity Fee (per semester)
$65 Student Bar Association (SBA) Fee (per semester)
$20,605 Total for Fall Semester, First Year (2L and 3L students exclude New Student Fee)
$20,125 Total for Spring Semester (10 cr. hrs. @ $1,973)
$40,730 Annual Total, First-year (2L and 3L students exclude New Student Fee) Graduation Fee: A $210 Graduation Fee is charged during the student's final semester of enrollment. The figures on this page are our best estimate. Updates will be posted promptly.
Cost of Attendance
The information under "Tuition and Fees" (above) represent actual charges. These are also referred to as Direct Costs. There are also Indirect Costs representing costs for rent, food, transportation, and so on. Direct Cost + Indirect Costs = Cost of Attendance (COA) The Cost of Attendance (COA) is important because it determines the total amount of financial aid a student may receive. Each school determines the appropriate COA and this amount is used uniformly for all students in a given program.
A Guide for Planning for Indirect Costs while Attending CUA
Important: Your actual costs will vary, but you must keep in mind that your financial aid eligibility is based on the cost of attendance. The example below is for students living off campus, but not with a parent. Costs for students living on campus are similar with appropriate reductions for room and board
costs. For students living with a parent, the “rent and utilities” cost is eliminated.*
Rent and Utilities $16,600 $1,844 per month
Food $6,150 $162 per week (38 weeks)
Local Transportation $2,990 $79 per week (38 weeks)
Misc. Personal Expenses $2,980 $78 per week (38 weeks)
Books and Supplies. $1,950 $975 per semester
Total $30,670
Note: The cost of attendance outlined above does not include an allowance for the cost of medical insurance. This may be added to your cost of attendance on a case-by-case basis, to reflect the actual medical insurance cost you have that is attributable to you, but not attributable to dependents and/or spouse.
With careful planning and discipline your personal expenses may be significantly less than the amounts shown above. Financial aid is available to cover these expenses (within the total maximum of $30,670, plus medical insurance costs, if applicable). However, keep in mind the lower you keep your personal expenses the more you will save in the long run, especially if you need to use loans to meet these expenses.
The links below will take you to some worksheets that may be helpful as you plan for law school expenses.
Planning Worksheet
Your First Bill
You will not actually receive a paper bill for tuition and fees. Using Cardinal Students you will be able to view your charges, payments, and financial aid disbursements.* You are responsible to monitor your student account and be current with your payments.
Important: Financial aid disbursements do not appear on your account until 10 days prior to the start of classes. Charges for tuition and fees, however, will appear mid-summer. Until your financial aid, if any, disburses* to your account, you will have a balance due that reflects only your charges and your personal payments. Your tuition deposit is considered a payment toward your tuition. Financial aid funds will disburse only if you are actively registered for a minimum of six credit hours (three credit hours for summer terms). If you expect financial aid (e.g., loans) to cover your tuition and fees, no payment is required prior to the start of school. If you plan to use personal resources to pay all or a portion of your tuition and fees, CUA will appreciate payment prior to the start of classes, or as soon as practical thereafter. An unpaid balance due after about September 1 and January 15 may result in late payment fees. The Office of Enrollment Services publishes the official calendar of due dates and penalties.
Financial aid disbursements are split equally between fall and spring semesters. For example, if you use a student loan, you will have disbursed to your CUA account one-half the amount requested (minus applicable Department of Education fees) just prior to the start of the fall semester and the remaining one-half just prior to the start of the spring semester.
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* Refunds: If your financial aid disbursements exceed the balance due on your account at the time of disbursement, the "excess" funds are refunded to you - either by direct deposit to your personal bank account (strongly recommended) or by paper check. Instructions for arranging direct deposit of refunds may be found at this link. (CardinalPay) For more information about CardinalPay, please contact Enrollment Services (202-319-5300) or visit http://enrollmentservices.cua.edu.
A Typical 2023-2024 Fall Semester Statement of Account (full-time student):
$28,608 Tuition
$4,000 Estimated Medical Insurance (see additional information below)
$480 New Student Fee
$370 Technology Fee
$100 Library Fee (per semester)
$75 Law School Activity Fee
$65 SBA Fee
$33,798 Estimated Total Charges
($900) Tuition Deposit
($5,000) Scholarship Amount (example)
($10,142) Direct Unsubsidized Loan (Fall net disbursement* of a $20,500 total loan)
($23,931) Direct PLUS Loan (Fall net disbursement* of a $50,000 total loan)
($39,973) Total Payments
($6,175) This amount is refunded to the student since the total payments exceed total charges.
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* The Department of Education withholds a loan-origination fee from student loan disbursements. The amounts shown in this example represent the disbursements of one-half the total amount of a $20,500 Direct Unsubsidized Loan, and a $50,000 Direct PLUS Loan, respectively. The loan fee for the Direct Unsubsidized Loan is 1.057% of the amount disbursed; and 4.228% for the Direct PLUS Loan.
Medical Insurance
All domestic full-time students (Day program), and all international students with F1 or J1 visas, whether full-time or part-time, are required to have health insurance coverage. CUA provides a health insurance plan and will charge students' accounts ($3,833 for the 2022-2023 academic year) unless the student is covered under another approved policy and completes appropriate waiver procedures before about September 12, 2023. The CUA Human Resources Office will inform students of waiver procedures in the summer prior to enrollment.
A part-time (Evening) student may expect to see a charge on his/her student account. Unless a part-time student actively completes enrollment into the CUA medical insurance plan, the charge will be removed from his/her in early September. If a part-time student would like to have the medical insurance charge removed earlier, he/she may actively waive out of the CUA plan. The CUA Human Resources Office will inform students of waiver procedures in the summer prior to enrollment.
Please visit https://humanresources.catholic.edu/studentinsurance/index.html for more information. Further inquiries regarding health insurance should be addressed to Ms. Terry Fletcher-Shields in the Office of Human Resources at fletcher@cua.edu or 202-319-5050.
Monthly Payment Plan
The Catholic University of America is pleased to offer students the flexibility of a monthly payment option.
The optional monthly payment plan allows students to pay their balance to the university in monthly payments spread throughout the term instead of in-full at the start of each semester. The opportunity to make smaller payments on a monthly basis allows many students and families to minimize the amount they need to borrow in student loans.
Students may select from a 4 or 5 month plan for the Fall or Spring semester and a 3 month plan for the Summer term.
The payment plan is interest-free; the only cost to participate is a nominal enrollment fee paid upon enrollment in the plan. Payment plan options can be accessed in Cardinal Pay.
