Understanding Your Spring 2021 Bill

• If the student is covered under another insurance plan, she may request an annual waiver from the student health insurance charged by Barnard.  Students attending Barnard in the Spring 2021 semester may visit University Health Plans to start the opt-out process from the College's student health insurance between November 9, 2020, and January 8, 2021. If you would like to deduct the fee from the bill, the College *strongly* recommends that you start the opt-out process before the deadline for the Spring payment of December 14, 2020.
• Late payment fees begin at $200 on December 15 (Spring semester) and increase to $250 on 12/21, $310 on 12/28, $385 on 1/4, $460 on 1/11, and $535 on 1/18.
• There is no grace period. Return the Bursar Worksheet with payment to BURSAR by December 14 (Spring semester) at the latest.
• TMS/Nelnet payment plan: You must advise TMS/Nelnet of the exact amount to pay Barnard each term. TMS/Nelnet does not automatically adjust your payment plan to reflect the actual balance due to Bursar.  
• Remember to deduct a lender's origination fees from any pending federal or private loans you subtract from your invoice.
• Your "expected family/student contribution" for financial aid purposes is not your outstanding student account balance.
• Changes/updates to your invoice are available at barnard.afford.com (disable pop up blockers to access).
• Barnard is not responsible for lost, late, or misdirected mail; pay online at barnard.afford.com, or allow at least 10 days for postal mail delivery.

The student's TOTAL GRANT will already be deducted as "Total Grant remaining to be credited." If you have a "Financial Aid Award Letter" showing a TOTAL GRANT that is not deducted, deduct it on the Bursar Worksheet after reading the Bursar sections below on TAP, Outside Awards, and Self Help.

"Federal Work-Study" or "Barnard College Job" will never be deducted from your bill. Wages are paid directly to the student by paycheck for work performed during the term. They do not reduce your payment.

The Federal Direct Stafford Loan is deducted from the bill once the student has accepted the loan through the Financial Aid portal. First-time borrowers must complete their application before the credit can be applied to the invoice. If you have questions about the status of your loan application, please contact the Financial Aid Office at finaid@barnard.edu.

For the 2020-2021 academic year, all students residing in campus housing must enroll in a Barnard meal plan. Commuter students are not required to enroll in a meal plan.  Resident students will be automatically enrolled in the Standard Meal Plan. If you wish to change your meal plan, you may change your meal plan online in the StarRezPortal. If a meal charge is incorrect or missing from the bill, please contact our office. The deadline to change your meal plan is December 18, no further change of meal plan is permitted after the deadline.

For Spring 2021, Juniors and Seniors eligible for the 2020 Room Selection process will be given priority for spring housing.  These students must complete a Spring Housing Contract by November 5, 2020. All students can apply for spring housing through Residential and Housing.  For those in fall housing and Spring  '21 move-ins, your room and board charges (along with all other college charges for tuition and fees) are payable by December 14.  The balance must be paid before move-in to be issued a room key.   

Read more about Meal Plans.

1. Submit your Tuition Exemption Form to Barnard Bursar by December 14 for the Fall semester to avoid late payment fees, and complications with registration, housing, and meal plan. Only tuition is covered (no fees, room, or board).
2. To avoid progressive late payment fees, make payment of the remaining balance shown on your Barnard invoice by December 14 for the Fall semester.
3. Columbia University (CU) tuition exemption authorization may be available to CU employees at hr.columbia.edu. (Click Benefits --> CU Benefits Enrollment System, and log in.) 

In order for Federal financial aid and loans to be credited toward all charges on the student account, return two Title IV Authorizations to Bursar. One is for student authorization, and the other for a parent PLUS loan borrowers. (They are both printed on the same document.)  Without these signed forms, we will not be able to apply any federal aid awarded (including Stafford and PLUS loans) toward all charges assessed to your bursar account.

These loans will not appear as a credit on the bill until the student has signed the appropriate Loan promissory note with Financial Aid. This promissory note is not the same as the Notice of Financial Aid or the promissory notes you may sign for Federal Stafford, Federal PLUS, or Tuition Management Systems (TMS/Nelnet). Barnard Institutional Loan promissory notes are available from the Financial Aid Office if the loan has been awarded.

If you have completed your loan applications for the year and Financial Aid has processed them, we have already extended estimated credit for any pending loans at the bottom of your invoice. This amount is based on the loans for which you applied this academic year. It reflects the estimated net amount of your loan minus your lender’s fees.

To apply for a Federal Direct Stafford loan, you must complete a "Master Promissory Note" (MPN). Students must enroll for at least 6 credits to qualify for any Federal Direct loan.

If you applied for a Federal Direct Loan and estimated loan(s) are not already deducted at the bottom of your bill, you may contact the Financial Aid Office at finaid@barnard.edu.  The College is required to disburse the funds each semester; therefore, only half of your annual loan (minus the origination fee) will be deducted from your charges each fall/spring semester.  To calculate the amount the College will receive from your loan, for Federal Direct Stafford Student Loans, multiply the principal loan amount by .98941.  For Federal Direct PLUS (Parent Loans), multiply the loan amount by .95764. 

If the student is a New York State resident taking at least 12 credits this semester and has applied for the NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) or NYS Scholarship for Excellence, the award is already included in the total grant. If she does not have a total grant, send Bursar documentation of your NYS award each semester along with the Bursar Worksheet showing the deduction.

If you have already advised Financial Aid of any outside awards you expect to receive, these are already included in the total grant amount, if any, on your invoice.  However, if you have not advised Financial Aid of an outside award, do not deduct it without first speaking with Financial Aid at (212) 854-2154; follow their instructions.  Scan your documentation for any outside award to both Financial Aid (finaid@barnard.edu) and Bursar (bursar@barnard.edu).

If a third party (e.g., parent's employer, embassy, scholarship, 529-plans) pays any part of the student's bill and requires an individual invoice, you may grant them access to the Student Account Center (SAC).

If the third party needs to be invoiced directly, submit the official authorization for billing the third party to the Bursar before the payment deadline.

For the 2020-2021 academic year, Barnard will offer a six-month payment plan for the fall and spring semesters. *You must enroll in the plan each term.*  The plan is administered by a third party, Tuition Management Systems (TMS/Nelnet), at barnard.afford.com. There is a $50 fee each semester for enrolling in the plan. Note that TMS/Nelnet will not adjust the amount you budget without specific instructions from you. If you incur additional charges with Barnard (e.g., increased tuition, meal plan, residence hall charges, lab/course fees, etc.), your payment plan will not automatically be increased to cover the additional cost. You may contact TMS/Nelnet (1-888-251-3597) to increase your budget accordingly. If your student account still shows a balance outstanding after the deduction for TMS/Nelnet, then your plan does not cover all charges.

Note that the first payment for the Spring semester payment plan is due January 1.  

By December 14 (Spring semester), send Bursar your payment for any remaining "Balance Due" indicated on your Barnard e-bill (accessed by registered users at barnard.afford.com) to avoid Barnard's late payment fee. If you have enrolled in a payment plan for the semester, but the plan is not deducted on Barnard's e-bill, contact TMS/Nelnet at (888) 251-3597. 

Payments not intended for the payment plan should be sent directly to Barnard Bursar, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027-6598.

Students enrolled in the Barnard/Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) dual degree program pay each institution separately. If you are expecting a refund from JTS that you wish to apply toward your Barnard invoice, please complete the Bursar Worksheet and submit it to our office with a copy of your JTS invoice showing your expected refund. If you wish to forward a credit balance from your Barnard account to JTS, please complete a Student Refund Request form.  You may reach the JTS Bursar at (212) 678-8829 or bursar@jtsa.edu.