Estimated Cost of Attendance

In order to receive a Form I-20 or DS-2019, the student must show sufficient funding to cover their estimated cost of attendance for at least 1 year or for the time remaining in their academic program, whichever is less. ISS will accept any combination of the types of funding outlined on this webpage: Personal Funding, Third-Party Funding, Texas A&M University Funding, and/or Sponsored Student Funding. It is not required for one single financial resource to show the entire estimated cost of attendance.

ISS cannot accept any documents that contains a Social Security Number (SSN). If you submit a document containing an SSN, ISS will return this document to you and delete it from our system. 

All financial documents submitted to ISS for the purpose of Form I-20 or DS-2019 issuance must meet all of the basic requirements outlined below:

• Dated within the last 6 months from the date the document is reviewed by ISS
• Personal and Third-Party funding documents must be liquid assets, such as checking and savings accounts
• Clear and legible - Photocopies or scans are acceptable, but original documents may be requested at the discretion of ISS.
• Official and appear legitimate
• Printed on official company letterhead or stationary - This requirement applies to Texas A&M University funding as well.
• Financial statements must clearly identify the document source (i.e. a monthly mailed statement, an online statement, a statement by request, etc.)
• Must contain the following information presented in English - It is strongly preferred that the entire financial document be written in English, but at minimum the fields listed below must be in English in order for ISS to accept the document.
  • Name of the Account Holder(s)
  • Type of Account (checking, savings, etc.)
  • Current Balance (within the last 6 months) including type of currency
  • Name of the Financial institution
  • Branch Location or Address (If the financial institution is an online bank, the address can be the address of the financial institution's headquarters)

Please be advised that if the above minimum requirements are not met, ISS will not accept the financial document. 
 
It is not required for financial documents to include balances in U.S. Dollars, but the currency type does need to be specified in English on the financial document. ISS uses the OANDA currency converter to convert foreign currency into $USD using the date we are reviewing the request.  You can review the OANDA Currency Converter at https://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/.

Funding Types ISS Will NOT Accept

Under no circumstances will ISS accept the following types of documents as proof of financial resources:

• Statements regarding property, jewelry, cars, or other non-liquid assets
• Statements related to investments, such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
• Statements from Chartered Accountants
• Pay Stubs
• Trusts
• Passbooks
• Tax Returns
• Retirement Accounts
• Prepaid Cards
• Credit Cards
• Insurance Documents
• Income earned through J-2 work authorization

ISS typically cannot accept the following documents except in the specific situations described:

Income Letters​
Income letters 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, like a graduate assistantship.

PPF/Provident Fund Accounts
PPF / Provident Fund Accounts cannot be used unless they are part of a bank letter. They will not be accepted in any other format, such as part of an employer letter.
 
Loans
ISS will only accept the following loan offers as proof of financial resources.

• Norwegian Loan Funds or Lånekassen (ISS considers these to be Sponsored Student Funding)
• J-1 Reciprocal Exchange Students are allowed to use loans from home universities

ISS will no longer accept Prodigy Loans as an acceptable financial resource for immigration document issuance after December 31, 2020 unless the loan has already been received and deposited into the individual's account. ISS will not accept any other loans until after it has been received and deposited into the individual's account. Deposited loans must be shown in personal funding documents in order to be accepted by ISS.


Certificate of Deposits (CDs) and Fixed Deposits (FDs)
ISS can accept CDs and FDs, with the following considerations:

1. ISS will only accept the initial deposit amount listed on a Certificate of Deposit or a Fixed Deposit rather than the maturity amount, and
2. In order to be accepted by ISS, the maturity date of the deposit must be within 1 year of the date ISS will be issuing the Form I-20 or DS-2019 or within the length of time covered by the student's academic program, whichever is less.

Personal Funding includes all financial documentation where the student who is seeking an F-1 I-20 or a J-1 DS-2019 is either the primary account holder or a joint account holder. Financial support from personal funds can come from inside or outside the United States.  Funding documents of this type are required to show liquid assets.

All Personal Funding documents must comply with the Basic Requirements for All Financial Documents outlined above.

If the student is listed on the financial document as an account holder, then they only need to submit financial documentation that complies with the “ISS Basic Requirements for Funding Documents” above. No additional documentation is needed from the other account holders.

If the funding is part of a family business account AND the student is listed as an account holder, then they only need to submit financial documentation that complies with the “ISS Basic Requirements for Funding Documents” above. No additional documentation is needed from the other account holders.

If the student is not listed as an account holder (i.e. bank statement of family member or friend) then these funds will be considered Third-Party Funding.

Third-Party Funding includes all financial documentation where the student is NOT one of the individual account holders. The account holders may be family members, friends, a family business, or any other individuals WHO ARE NOT government agencies, major corporations, or other sponsoring organizations.  Third-party funding must be shown as liquid assets. Third-party funding documents must be accompanied by either an ISS Declaration of Financial Support Form completed and signed by one of the account holders or a signed letter from one of the account holders stating that the student may use the funds from the submitted financial document(s) for their educational expenses.

All Third-Party Funding documents must comply with the Basic Requirements for All Financial Documents outlined above.

If the funding is part of a family business account and the student is not listed as an account holder (i.e. bank statement of family member or friend), the following documents are required:

• A Bank Statement or Letter for the Business Account
• A Declaration of Financial Support Form OR a Signed Letter from one of the Account Holders
  • If the name of the account holder who is identified on the financial support form or letter submitted to ISS is NOT listed on the financial document for the business account, then ISS will also need to receive a letter from the business/company on official letterhead to confirm that they are willing to sponsor the student.

Texas A&M University Funding includes various forms of funding provided by the University to students, both directly and indirectly. The most common types of University funding received by international students are graduate assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, and grants. Funding documents from these sources must explicitly state the amount of funding a student will receive. If Texas A&M University funding does not fully cover the student's estimated cost of attendance for at least 1 year, the student will be required to show additional financial resources to make up the difference. This could include personal funding, third-party funding, or sponsored student funding.

All Texas A&M University Funding documents must comply with the Basic Requirements for All Financial Documents outlined above.

If a student is being financially supported by a unit at Texas A&M, ISS needs to receive an offer letter that describes the financial support in detail.

The financial offer letter must be printed on department letterhead and must include the following:

• The student's name
• The date of issuance of the offer letter (As stated in the Basic Requirements section above, the offer letter must be dated within the last 6 months from the date the document is being reviewed by ISS.)
• The contact information for the employing department or office 
• The applicable date(s) or academic term(s) of the offer (ISS cannot accept financial documentation for past terms as evidence of financial support for current or future terms. In order to calculate the financial benefit of a University funding offer, the offer must apply to current or future dates/terms.)
• The specific dollar amount(s) being awarded, including any applicable salary or pay rate
• The frequency by which the financial support will be distributed (once, each semester, monthly, bi-weekly, etc.) 
• The benefits (i.e. insurance), if any, that accompany the financial offer (If the letter does not specify insurance or any other benefit, ISS cannot assume they are included.)
• Any waivers or contributions toward the cost of the student's tuition and/or fees.  It is best to very specific with wording in the letter. Some examples include.
  • The student is receiving a waiver of the out-of-state tuition only and they can pay tuition at the in-state rate 
  • The student's tuition is being paid but they are still responsible for fees 
  • All the student's tuition and fees will be paid 

Students who receive funding assistance from Texas A&M University are urged to work with their departments to better understand their aid package. In some cases, aid packages from departments do not cover all necessary expenses in order for ISS to issue the Form I-20/DS-2019. If Texas A&M University funding does not fully cover the student's estimated cost of attendance for at least 1 year, the student will be required to show additional financial resources to make up the difference. This could include personal funding, third-party funding, or sponsored student funding.

Sponsored Student Funding includes sources outside of personal, family, or University funding, such as sponsoring government agencies, major corporations, or other sponsoring organizations.  Funding documents from these sources must explicitly state the amount of funding a student will receive. If the sponsor funding does not fully cover the student's estimated cost of attendance for at least 1 year, the student will be required to show additional financial resources to make up the difference. This could include personal funding, third-party funding, or Texas A&M University funding.

All Sponsored Student Funding documents must comply with the Basic Requirements for All Financial Documents outlined above.

If a student is being financially supported by a sponsoring government agency, major corporation, or other sponsoring agency, ISS needs to receive an offer letter that describes the financial support in detail: 

• The student's name
• The student's academic program 
• The date of issuance of the offer letter (As stated in the Basic Requirements section above, the offer letter must be dated within the last 6 months from the date the document is being reviewed by ISS.)
• The contact information for the sponsor 
• The applicable date(s) or academic term(s) of the offer (ISS cannot accept financial documentation for past terms as evidence of financial support for current or future terms. In order to calculate the financial benefit of a sponsored student funding offer, the offer must apply to current or future dates/terms.)
• The specific dollar amount(s) being awarded, including any applicable salary or pay rate
• The frequency by which the financial support will be distributed (once, each semester, monthly, bi-weekly, etc.) 
• The benefits (i.e. insurance), if any, that accompany the financial offer (If the letter does not specify insurance or any other benefit, ISS cannot assume they are included)  
• Any waivers or contributions toward the cost of the student's tuition and/or fees. It is best to very specific with wording in the letter. Some examples include:
  • The student is receiving a waiver of the out-of-state tuition only and they can pay tuition at the in-state rate 
  • The student's tuition is being paid but they are still responsible for fees 
  • All the student's tuition and fees will be paid 

In addition to the information listed above, ISS will also need the following information from each sponsor. This can be included in the financial offer letter or provided as a separate document(s): 

• Does the sponsor require the student to be in F-1 or J-1 status?
  • If the sponsor requires that the student be in J1 status they must provide the majority of the student's funding (i.e. 50.1% or more) for a minimum of 2 years (24 months) 
• How is the funding provided to the student?
  • ​For example, through third-party billing or directly to the student? 
  • Lastly, if the sponsor wants the Form I-20 or Form DS-2019 to be issued for a specific period of time, the period of time must be stated in the offer letter or in another document that the student provides to ISS in the Terra Dotta system. 
    • If this is not specified, then ISS will refer to our other policies to determine the length of Form I-20 or Form DS-2019 to issue for the student. 

If the sponsor funding does not fully cover the student's estimated cost of attendance for at least 1 year, the student will be required to show additional financial resources to make up the difference. This could include personal funding, third-party funding, or Texas A&M University funding.

The 2021 Estimated Cost of Attendance should be utilized by the following groups of students:

• F-1 and J-1 students who submit a request to ISS on or after January 1, 2021.
• Students who are seeking to attain F-1 or J-1 status beginning in Summer 2021 or Fall 2021 terms.

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.


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 all estimates provided below. For additional information about the health insurance costs and how to apply for a waiver, please visit http://iss.tamu.edu/Health-Insurance.
 
F-2/J-2 Dependents
The “Student Total” in 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. The amount that should be added for each F-2 or J-2 dependent is included on each of the Estimated Cost of Attendance Tables provided below.
 

2021 Estimated Cost of Attendance Tables

ISS has created 5 estimated cost of attendance documents for 2021. Students should review the descriptions of all 5 estimated cost of attendance documents below, and then select the one that best fits their situation. Click on the title of each document to access a downloadable PDF.

• One Year Beginning Fall or Spring ‐ Summer Enrollment NOT Required: Includes the estimated cost of tuition and fees for two major semesters (Fall & Spring) plus the estimated cost of health insurance and living expenses for one year – 12 months.
• One Year Beginning Summer ‐ Summer Enrollment IS Required: This table is only applicable to students who are beginning a new academic program or a new F-1 or J-1 status in the Summer term. It includes the estimated cost of tuition and fees for Summer, Fall, and Spring plus the estimated cost of health insurance and living expenses for one year – 12 months.
• Two Major Semesters Only (Fall + Spring) ‐ No Summer Included: Includes the estimated cost of tuition and fees for two major semesters (Fall & Spring) plus the estimated cost of health insurance and living expenses for two major semesters (Fall & Spring) – 9 months.
• One Fall or One Spring Term: Includes the estimated cost of tuition and fees for one major semester (Fall or Spring) plus the estimated cost of health insurance and living expenses for one major semester (Fall or Spring) – 4.5 months.
• One Summer Term: Includes the estimated cost of tuition and fees for one Summer term plus the estimated cost of health insurance and living expenses for one Summer term – 3 months.