Understanding Your Spring 2026 Bill

• If a Spring readmit or spring transfer is covered under another insurance plan, the student may request a waiver from the student health insurance charged by Barnard. Students may visit University Health Plans to start the opt-out process from the College's student health insurance between November 18, 2025, and January 11, 2026. If you would like to deduct the fee from the bill, the College *strongly* recommends starting the opt-out process before the deadline for the Spring payment of December 5, 2025.
• Late payment fees begin at $75 on December 6 and increase by $10 every Monday.
• There is no grace period. 
• Nelnet payment plan: You must advise Nelnet of the exact amount to pay Barnard each term. 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 is not your outstanding student account balance.
• Changes/updates to your invoice are available at the Bursar Student Account Center (disable pop-up blockers to access).
• Barnard is not responsible for lost, late, or misdirected mail. Pay online through Nelnet or allow at least ten 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.

All students residing in campus housing and all full-time non-residential students must enroll in a Barnard meal plan. Resident students will automatically enroll in the Platinum or Flex 125 Meal Plans based on their residence. You may submit the Meal Plan Change Form if you wish to change your meal plan. If a meal charge is incorrect or missing from the bill, please get in touch with our office. The deadline to change your Spring meal plan is January 12, 2026; no further meal plan change is permitted after the deadline.

Read more about Meal Plans.

1. Submit your Tuition Exemption Form to Barnard Bursar by December 5, 2025, for the Spring 2026 semester to avoid a late payment fee and complications with registration, housing, and meal plans. Only tuition is covered (no fees, room, or board).
2. To avoid progressive late payment fees, pay the remaining balance shown on your Barnard invoice for the Spring semester by December 5, 2025.
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.) 

For Federal financial aid and loans to be credited toward all charges on the student account, return the Title IV Authorizations to Bursar. One is for student authorization, which is available through the Bursar Form Portal.  The other is for the parent PLUS loan borrowers. The Title IV Authorization for Parents can be found on the Bursar website. 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 the Bursar's Office. Barnard Institutional Loan promissory notes will be mailed out from the Bursar's Office if the loan has been awarded and accepted.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.

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. 

Suppose 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. In that case, the award is already included in the total grant. If she does not have a total grant, send Bursar documentation of your NYS award 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 Bursar 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.

Barnard will offer two five-month payment plans for the fall and spring semesters. *You must enroll in the plan each term.* Nelnet administers the domestic plan and an international payment plan through Convera.  Flywire offers an international payment plan. To enroll in the Flywire payment plan, visit their site at barnard.myflywire.com. There is a $50 fee each semester for enrolling in the plans. Note Nelnet/Flywire will not adjust your budget amount 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 Nelnet (1-888-251-3597) to increase your domestic budget accordingly.  To adjust your international plan, please contact myonplanu at https://flywirecrs.zendesk.com/hc/en-us.  If your student account still shows an outstanding balance after the deduction for Nelnet/Flywire, then your plan does not cover all charges.

Note that the first Spring semester payment plan payment is due December 1st.  

By December 1, send Bursar your payment for any remaining "Balance Due" indicated on your Barnard e-bill (accessed by registered users at https://online.campuscommerce.com/signin/4NT1P) 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 Nelnet at (888) 251-3597. 

Payments not intended for the payment plan should be sent directly to Barnard Bursar, 3009 Broadway, Room 007, 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.