Are there limitations on room and board expenses?

Beneficiaries must be enrolled at least half-time at a postsecondary institution for room and board to be considered a qualified higher education expense. Room and board expenses amounts are determined by each college campus. Room and board expenses for students who live off campus or at home with their parent(s) cannot exceed the amount included for room and board in the school’s "cost of attendance." For those students living on-campus, room and board expenses are limited to the amount included for room and board in the school’s "cost of attendance," or the actual invoice amount billed to the student, whichever is greater. Schools typically publish cost of attendance figures for all three student living arrangements.

To learn the recent reported cost of attendance amounts at a particular school, go to the college navigator at http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator , enter the school name, click on the school and then click on "estimated student expenses (before aid)." You should contact the school financial aid office to learn this information for the current or upcoming academic year. If a student living off-campus or at home actually incurs room and board expenses that exceed the amount published by the school, he/she may request that the school approve the higher amount. Congress has delegated to the school's financial aid administrator the authority to compensate for special circumstances on case-by-case basis with adequate documentation.