2025-2026 Budget Adjustment Request Application

Form for students to appeal their COA.

2025-2026 Budget Adjustment Request Application

Columbia University School of Nursing is required to establish a cost of attendance (COA) for a moderate standard of living for the New York area during the nine-month academic year. Students may pursue an adjustment based on special circumstances. Students may encounter some educational expenses that are not covered by the standard COA — for example, the purchase of a personal computer or unreimbursed costs for medical services which occur within the school’s academic year.

To cover such expenses, students can request a review of their individual budget for possible adjustments to their COA. To request a budget adjustment, complete this application and submit it to the Financial Aid Office, along with receipts and supporting documentation, where applicable (e.g., a letter from an impartial third party provider). Requests for budget adjustments are considered on a case-by-case basis. Statements and explanations provided by the student, family, other relatives/friends, etc. do not constitute supporting documentation for budget adjustments. Depending on the reason for the requested increase and in order for the Financial Aid Office to determine if an increase is allowable, students may be asked to submit additional supporting documents beyond those originally submitted.

The following expenses will not be considered for budget increases: Federal law prohibits the school from providing aid for consumer debt. Payments for prior debts (credit card bills or other); summer expenses or expenses incurred during periods of non-enrollment; other discretionary expenditures (e.g., car payments, car insurance, entertainment, and other lifestyle or non-educational expenses). Therefore, students who have high consumer debt or other financial obligations that cannot be deferred while they are in nursing school must carefully examine their ability to accommodate their needs to the student budget.

Note that most grant and loan funds are divided equally and disbursed at the beginning of each term, and must cover educational expenses for several months. As such, it is very important to budget carefully so that your funds will last until the next disbursement. The expected grant and loan disbursement dates are late August to early September for the fall term and mid-January for the spring term. Generally, one-half of the total award amount (minus any applicable origination fees for loans) will be credited directly to your student account each term. Please plan accordingly for your living expenses (rent/utilities/food/etc.).

Important information and requirements for completing this application

This form must be completed in its entirety by all students requesting an adjustment to the standard COA.

do not leave any items blank on this form. If an item on the form does not apply to your situation, enter N/A or zero in the space provided.

Unless otherwise indicated, all financial information must represent the average monthly amount.

Federal regulations set forth the elements contained in the standard budget. The regulations only permit increases to the standard COA for educational-related expenses of the student.

The standard COA is designed to reflect a student’s estimated cost of attendance and a student lifestyle.

Revolving debt (such as credit cards, car loans, etc.) is not an educational-related expense and, therefore, student budgets cannot be adjusted for this purpose.

You must attach documentation supporting your request for a COA increase. Requests will not be processed and additional loan funds will not be certified until all required documentation is submitted.

Computer Purchase Adjustments: Attach a copy of your receipt of the purchase.

Housing Expense Adjustments: Attach a complete and fully executed copy of your rental agreement. Additionally, for utilities that are not included in your rent, you must attach copies of all utility bills (e.g., electric, gas, phone) for the last 3 months.

Notwithstanding the information and documentation you provide with your request, we may require additional information from you before making a decision on your request for a budget adjustment.

The Office of Financial Aid will review this request within 30 business days. Decisions are based upon your provided documentation and are directed by administrative parameters previously established by Columbia University School of Nursing. All decisions are final. Notification will be sent to the student via email.

Please note, when submitting proof of payments via peer-to-peer payment service such as Zelle, please indicate the sender, receiver and payment amount.

PART I: STUDENT INFORMATION

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

CUID/UNI

Birthdate

Telephone Number

Expected Grad date (MM/YYYY)

Class Level

I will be enrolled at CUSON for the full academic year during 2025-2026

Yes

Have you borrowed to the maximum of the standard student budget?

Yes

PART II: AMOUNT OF REQUEST AND BASIS FOR REQUEST

Amount of Budget Increase Requested:

Please explain the basis for your request in detail below or attach a supplemental narrative (max 200 characters):

List of document(s) & Amount of expense submitted with this application (example: Rent-$1,900/mth):

Please upload all supporting documents as ONE file

PART III: CALCULATION OF STUDENT’S EDUCATIONAL-RELATED EXPENSES

Student’s Academic Year
Living Expenses
(Note: Not all items listed below are considered educational-related expenses.)

Rent & Utilities

Apartment Type: Studio, 1BR, 2BR, 3BR

Do you share living expenses with others?

If yes, provide the name(s) of other(s) and relationship

*Attach a complete and fully executed copy of your rental agreement. Please provide proof of rent payments. Not to exceed $2,300 per month.

Average monthly utilities. Attach copies of utility bills for 3 consecutive months during the 9-month academic year.

The following is a breakdown of the current budget standards:

RENT & UTILITIES	$1,736 per month
*FOOD	$799 per month
*PERSONAL	$390 per month
TRAVEL	$147 per month

*Food and Personal allotments cannot be altered.

Medical & Dental Care

Documentation is required for medical expenses which are not covered by insurance. Documentation must: 1) be from a medical provider (third party); 2) provide the amounts of the medical expenses; 3) indicate whether the medical expenses are covered by health insurance; 4) indicate that the medical expenses occurred or will occur within the current academic year; and 5) indicate that the procedures are medically necessary (not elective or cosmetic).

Prescriptions & Co-payments

Attach documentation supporting items not covered by insurance. Please see Medical & Dental Care, above, for details.

Child Care

Documents that verify the following:

the student has a dependent who is included in the student’s household
the care is required in order for the student to attend school
the student incurred or will incur dependent care expenses not to exceed $1,400/month

Copies of child care contract and cancelled checks/proof of payment.

Computer Purchase

*one-time educational related expense up to $2,000. Include tax, hardware, and software. Attach a copy of your receipt of the computer purchase
Tablets are not considered a computer

Other