Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Billing Information

Full-time tuition is billed for students enrolled in three to five courses per semester. Single courses or additional courses are billed at the rate of $7,926 per course for 2024-25.

All first-year students are required to live on campus. All other students are required to live on campus unless authorized to live off-campus through the lottery process conducted by Housing and Residence Life. All first-year students are required to be on the Finger Lakes plan unless excused by Housing and Residence Life for medical reasons. Please contact Housing and Residence Life at (315) 781-3880 for more information and medical forms. All students living off-campus are required to participate in a meal plan every semester. The minimum requirement is the Pulteney block plan. After the 10th day of each semester, students are locked into their meal plan unless they want to upgrade.

Books, supplies, and other personal expenses average $2,000 for the year. These estimated expenses vary by student.

The academic year is divided into fall, spring, and summer semesters. Bills are available online only, through our partnership with Nelnet Campus Commerce. Please see E-bill access instructions further below.

Electronic billing will occur at least two times each fall and spring term. Registration holds will be placed on accounts for past due balances. Summer term bills are prepared when the student is enrolled in a summer course. Payment for summer term is due prior to the start of the course.

	Initial bill available	Payment Due
Fall 2024	July 1, 2024	Aug. 1, 2024
Spring 2025	Dec. 1, 2024	Jan. 5, 2025**

 

**Please note: Payment of qualifying education related expenses (largely the tuition portion of the student bill, and does not include room and board as qualifying expenses) can have income tax implications for U.S. residents. If you wish to ensure your payment is posted in the 2024 calendar year, please make sure it is received in the Student Accounts Office by December 15, 2024. Please consult your income tax advisor if you have questions on whether it is better for you to make payment for the spring term in calendar year 2024 or 2025. 1098 T forms will be available online in late January 2025.

How to Obtain Electronic Billing Statements and View Student Balances

HWS has partnered with Nelnet Campus Commerce to provide online billing, payment, and account balance information for all student accounts, all in real time updates. Paper invoices are not mailed.

Simple Steps to view your e-bill - Student instructions:

• Go to hwsportal.hws.edu
• Click on Campus Solutions, and log in
• On the home page, click on the tile Student Financials
• Under the Student Accounts section, click View Bill and Payment Options

Create an Account. From here you can view your charges, e-bills, make payments, or set up a payment plan in the amount of your choosing, and set up your authorized parties.

Simple Steps to view e-bill - as Parent or other Authorized Parties:
(Post account set-up. See separate instructions for account set-up if needed on Set up E-Bill webpage.)

• Authorized parties can access/manage the account and make payments at any time by logging into online.campuscommerce.com, provided they were added as an authorized party by the student.

Students have the ability to grant shared online access to financial records. Shared online access can include the ability to view details of amounts billed, amounts due, payments posted, and pending financial aid.

Note: Nelnet provides customer service at 800-609-8056.

Late Payment Penalty Charge and Deregistration

Tuition and other charges not paid when due may be subject to a late payment charge. A minimum monthly penalty of $100 may be assessed upon any late account. Should the student account become past due, the Colleges reserve the right to place the student account with a third party collection agency or attorney. If this collection process were to commence, the student will be responsible for all fees for collections, including, without limitation, attorney fees, court fees, and other fees. Fees for collection are in addition to the past due balance, and the debt will be reported to the appropriate consumer reporting agencies. Note: in addition to late fees, delinquent accounts will be levied registration, diploma, and commencement holds in accordance with school policies and procedures.

STUDENTS WHOSE BILLS ARE NOT PAID IN FULL, NOR APPROVED FOR A FULL OR PARTIAL DEFERMENT BY THE DUE DATE, WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO REGISTER FOR THE UPCOMING SEMESTER; STUDENTS ALREADY REGISTERED WILL HAVE THEIR REGISTRATIONS CANCELLED. STUDENTS SHOULD NOT ARRIVE ON CAMPUS AND EXPECT FULL SERVICES WITHOUT FIRST MAKING ACCEPTABLE PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS BY THE DUE DATE. DIPLOMAS WILL BE WITHHELD UNTIL THE STUDENT ACCOUNT BALANCE IS PAID IN FULL.

In cases where registration is cancelled and later reinstated, the Colleges will make every effort to honor the student's original selection of courses on a space-available basis. We cannot, however, guarantee that selection.

Students who will not be returning for a semester should notify the appropriate Deans Office.

Financial Aid

If you are unable to pay the balance due in full by the due date or if the monthly payment plan amount is too large, please contact the Financial Aid Office at Finaid@hws.edu or 315-781-3315 to ensure that you have explored all available sources of financial aid including parent loans, additional student direct loans and alternative loans. Additional direct loan amounts may be available to students whose parents have been denied a parent loan for credit reasons.

The Office of Financial Aid administers scholarships, loans and grants. Federal and State aid, including loans, are contingent upon satisfactory academic progress.

Student/Parent Loans

Parents and students who are planning to take out loans should make arrangements in advance so that these loans can be secured before the start of classes. All loans are applied to student accounts.

NOTE: If you have not received notification of scholarships and/or student loans by the due date (August 1), the bill is to be paid in full. When the funds are received, a refund will be issued upon request. Outside scholarships, those not administered by HWS, are the responsibility of the student.

Tuition Stabilization Plan

In order to provide a means of stabilizing tuition expenses for certain undergraduate student(s), the Colleges are willing to accept payment in full of such student's remaining tuition at the Colleges' tuition rate for the next full school year. The Colleges will accept payments for students (i) who are enrolled full time, and (ii) who have remaining prior to graduation not less than four nor more than eight terms for which tuition is unpaid commencing with the next full school year. Students who receive institutional need- or merit- based scholarships, awards, and grants do not qualify for this program. Please contact the Student Accounts Department for a contract to complete.

This plan offers the potential to:

a) create certainty about future tuition costs and eliminate future tuition increases, and

b) substitute interest for future tuition increases.

The plan is applicable to all who prepay the total tuition, from whatever source, prior to the fall term billing due date. The plan is not intended for use by students receiving any financial aid. Hobart and William Smith Colleges will accept prepayment of the total undergraduate tuition at the rate in effect when the student enters the plan. A student whose tuition is paid under this plan does not pay future tuition increases. All tuition stabilization plan participants will be required to sign the Tuition Stabilization Agreement covering the operative terms of the plan. If the student withdraws from the Colleges, the unused tuition will be refunded as provided by the Agreement and applicable rules of the Colleges.

The tuition plan was designed to help participants better plan, manage and afford the costs of a Hobart and William Smith Colleges undergraduate education. Many families should find the tuition plan attractive as a hedge against rising costs. Prepayment may be funded by liquidating investments or borrowing on existing equities, especially those which have appreciated in value. As tuition rates for private colleges have been rising the tuition plan participants may achieve savings in tuition increases equivalent to the loss of investment income or interest payments.

Tuition Insurance

The Tuition Refund Plan offered by A.W.G. Dewar, Inc., is an insurance plan to protect your tuition and fees if a withdrawal is necessary due to personal illness or accident. Details are mailed to home addresses during the summer months. We highly recommend this valuable, affordable insurance. The cost of the insurance for the 2024-25 year is $654 for on-campus students and $532 for off campus students. In order to be accepted, your application must be postmarked prior to August 26, 2024, the first day of fall term. Coverage and application information is available at www.collegerefund.com/college/1441/1/coverage. Questions regarding the plan should be addressed to A.W.G. Dewar at 617-774-1555.

1098T Tax Information

Colleges and universities are required to report information on enrolled students to the Internal Revenue Service. The information is reported on a 1098-T form. Payment of qualifying education related expenses (largely the tuition portion of the student bill, and does not include room and board as qualifying expenses) can have income tax implications for U.S. residents. Please consult your income tax advisor if you have questions on whether it is better for you to make payment for the spring 2025 term in calendar year 2024 or 2025. 1098T forms will be available online in late January 2025.