Estimated Cost of Attendance

The amounts listed in the following tables are ESTIMATES and include the nonresident rate for tuition and fees. Please note that your actual cost of attendance may be higher or lower than the estimated amounts listed for several reasons, including but not limited to, your course selections, specific program fees, and optional costs. These estimates are subject to change without notice. The estimated cost of attendance below includes the ISS fee of $85 per Fall, Spring, and Summer term.
 
How to Interpret the Tables:

• One Year: The estimated cost of attendance for one year includes tuition and fees for two major semesters (Fall & Spring) plus the cost of health insurance and living expenses for 12 months.
• One Major Semester (Fall or Spring): The estimated cost of attendance for one major semester includes tuition, fees, health insurance, and living expenses for one Fall or one Spring semester. If needed, this amount of time may be calculated as 4.5 or 5 months.
• One Summer Term: The estimated cost of attendance for one summer term includes tuition, fees, health insurance, and living expenses for one summer term. If needed, this amount of time may be calculated as 3 months.

 
A Note about Health Insurance:
All international students attending Texas A&M in F-1/J-1 status are required to be covered under the Texas A&M University System Student Health Insurance Plan (SSHIP) or have equivalent insurance coverage. The plan is automatically charged to each F-1 and J-1 international student’s tuition and fee statement. The estimated cost of attendance for one year includes the cost of insurance for 12 months. All new international students enrolling for Fall semester are charged a one-time ‘Mandatory First Time On Campus Arrival’ fee and all new international students enrolling for Summer term are charged a Summer term fee. These amounts are not included in the estimates provided below. For additional information about the health insurance costs and how to apply for a waiver, please visit http://iss.tamu.edu/Current-Students/Health-Insurance.
 
A Note about F-2/J-2 Dependents:
The tables below DO NOT include the cost of F-2 and J-2 dependents. An additional amount must be added to the “Student Only” total for each F-2 or J-2 dependent that will accompany the F-1 or J-1 student. Please use the following table to determine the additional required amount.

Additional Cost for F-2/J-2 Dependents
	One Year	One Fall or Spring Semester	One Summer Term
EACH F-2 or J-2 Dependent	$7,000	$2625	$1750

For the purpose of I-20/DS-2019 issuance, ISS will accept evidence of financial resources from a variety of sources, including private funds, university funds, and sponsoring company, agency, or government funds. All acceptable forms of funding submitted to ISS will be subtracted from the required total amount (refer to the tables in the section above for an estimate of the total required amount).
 
Private Funds
Private funds can be provided by any individual, including the student, a friend of the student, or a family member of the student. Financial support from private funds can come from inside or outside the United States. If the private funds are owned by any individual other than the student, ISS must also receive either a personal support letter composed and signed by the account holder or a Declaration of Financial Support Form completed and signed by the account holder. If you submit financial documentation for multiple account holders, ISS must receive either a personal support letter or a Declaration of Financial Support form for each account holder. If there are multiple names listed on a single account, ISS will still need to receive either a personal support letter or a Declaration of Financial Support form for each individual named on the account. If one of your financial supporters is in F-1 or J-1 student status, they must also be able to show that they have sufficient funding for their own expenses in addition to the funding they are able to provide for you.
 

Acceptable evidence of private funds includes the following:

• Bank letter(s) or statement(s) provided directly from a bank or printed from an online banking website
• The documentation must meet the following criteria:
  • Must contain a specific amount of money available. That is, the document must show liquid assets, such as cash deposits, certificates of deposit, saving accounts, etc.
  • Must be current (no more than 6 months old)
  • Must include the current ending balance of the account (the average balance cannot be accepted). If multiple statements are submitted for the same account, ISS will use the ending balance on the most recent statement.
  • Must be official. If it is a bank letter, it should be printed on official company letterhead or stationary. If it is a bank statement, it should clearly identify the document source (i.e. a monthly mailed statement, an online statement, a statement by request, etc.).
  • Must include the account holder’s name (in English), the type of account, the bank name, and the branch name.
  • Must be legible. Photocopies or scans are acceptable, but original documents may be requested at the discretion of ISS.
  • Must specify the currency of the funds. It is acceptable if the funds are in currencies other than U.S. dollars.
• PPF (Provident Fund) accounts are ONLY accepted if they are part of a bank letter, not from an employer letter
• Most loan offers cannot be accepted, but ISS will accept proof of the funds after the loan has been awarded and deposited into an account. In most cases, ISS can accept loan offers from from Norwegian Loan Fund and Prodigy Loan. In most cases, ISS can accept loan offers from the exchange University for Reciprocal Education Exchange Program (REEP) students.
• Additional documentation may be required on a case-by-case basis.

ISS cannot accept the following types of private fund documents for the purpose of I-20/DS-2019 issuance:

• Statements regarding property, jewelry, cars, loans and other non-liquid assets
• Statements regarding investments, such as stocks and bonds
• Statements from a Chartered Accountant
• Retirement accounts
• Portfolios
• Prepaid cards
• Insurance policies
• PPF (Provident Fund) accounts from an employer letter
• Passbooks
• Tax return documents
• Most loan offers cannot be accepted, but ISS will accept proof of the funds after the loan has been awarded and deposited into an account
• Proof of employment or income - Employment documentation cannot be used as a means of financial support for newly admitted students unless the student has an offer of employment from Texas A&M University that accompanies admission to a graduate-level academic department (for example, a graduate assistantship).

University Funds
Texas A&M University provides various forms of funding to students. The most common forms of University funds used by international students for the purpose of I-20/DS-2019 issuance are graduate assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, and grants. Please contact your academic department or Scholarships and Financial Aid for information concerning University funds that may be available to you.
 
The University always issues written offer letters. If you have been offered any form of financial support from Texas A&M University then it is strongly recommended that you submit evidence of this to ISS so that it can be reflected on your I-20 or DS-2019. If the University funding does not meet all your financial requirements, then you may show additional funding from other sources, such as personal funds or funds from a family member or friend (see the Private Funds section above for more details). ISS is not automatically notified regarding the awarding of University funds to international students, so it is the responsibility of the student to provide evidence of these funds to ISS so they can be reflected on the Form I-20/DS-2019.
 

Tips for Students with Graduate Assistantship Offers:
If you have been offered employment through a graduate assistantship, please review your offer letter carefully to make sure it addresses the following:

• The letter should clearly specify the applicable dates or semesters of the assistantship offer.
  • If the letter is outdated (i.e. it refers to a semester that is now in the past), you will need to obtain an updated letter.
  • If the letter does not clearly indicate that the assistantship will cover at least 1 year, then ISS will not be able to calculate it as contributing toward 1 year of your expenses. For example, if the letter states it is only applicable for Fall semester, you will very likely need to submit evidence of personal and/or family/friend funds in order to have evidence of sufficient funds for 1 year.
• The letter should clearly specify whether health insurance benefits are included in the offer.
• The letter should clearly specify how you will be paid and the amount you will be paid. For example, whether you be paid bi-weekly or monthly. Your specific salary or pay rate should indicated.
• The letter should clearly specify how the assistantship position contributes toward the cost of your tuition and/or fees. The most common examples include:
  • A waiver of the out-of-state tuition (You still pay the in-state tuition rate and the fees)
  • Payment of all tuition (in-state and out-of-state) (You still pay the fees)
  • Payment of all tuition and fees

Also, please note that you will not begin to receive employment payments immediately upon arrival. As such, you will need to have means available to pay for some initial expenses. Financial aid is generally not available to new international students, and financial assistance to continuing students is limited. Please contact your academic department or Scholarships and Financial Aid for additional information.


Tips for Students with Scholarship, Fellowship, and Grant Offers:
If you have been offered a scholarship, fellowship, or grant, you may be able to view details about this award through the Financial Aid Portal or the Scholarships tab within the Howdy Portal (https://howdy.tamu.edu/). Please review your offer letter carefully to make sure it addresses the following:

• The letter should clearly specify the applicable dates or semesters of the offer.
  • If the letter is outdated (i.e. it refers to a semester that is now in the past), you will need to obtain an updated letter.
  • If the letter does not clearly indicate that the scholarship, fellowship, or grant will cover at least 1 year, then ISS will not be able to calculate it as contributing toward 1 year of your expenses. For example, if the letter states it is only applicable for Fall semester, you will very likely need to submit evidence of personal and/or family/friend funds in order to have evidence of sufficient funds for 1 year.
• The letter should clearly specify if the scholarship, fellowship, or grant contributes toward the cost of your tuition and/or fees. The most common examples include:
  • A waiver of the out-of-state tuition (You still pay the in-state tuition rate and the fees)
  • Payment of all tuition (in-state and out-of-state) (You still pay the fees)
  • Payment of all tuition and fees

Also, please note that you may not begin to receive payments from your scholarship, fellowship, or grant immediately upon arrival. As such, you will need to have means available to pay for some initial expenses. Financial aid is generally not available to new international students, and financial assistance to continuing students is limited. Please contact your academic department or Scholarships and Financial Aid for additional information.
 

Sponsoring Company/Agency/Government Funds
If your funding will come from a company, business, agency, or government entity, please visit the Sponsored Students section of the ISS website.