Room and board.
In plain English
Room and board is the school's estimate of what it costs to live and eat while you are enrolled. "Room" is housing, whether that is a dorm or off-campus rent. "Board" is food, usually a meal plan. Your college bundles this into your cost of attendance, which is the full price tag the financial aid office uses to decide how much aid you can get. You can borrow and use grants to cover room and board, not just tuition.
01Why it matters
Room and board is often as large as tuition or larger, and it is real money you spend whether you live on campus or off. Underestimating it is how students run short mid-semester.
02The math, step by step
Say tuition is $12,000 and the school estimates a separate room and board figure on top, which varies by school and is published in your college's cost of attendance. Your cost of attendance adds both together, plus books and other costs, and your aid is calculated against that larger total, not tuition alone.
03What this is NOT
Room and board is NOT tuition. Tuition is the charge for instruction. Room and board is the separate cost of where you sleep and what you eat, and it is often the bigger line.
04Receipts
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Plain-English answers from our glossary. Receipts included. Never advice.
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