Fees included in the Educational Expense Budget

General Fee: The General Fee helps support facilities such as the library systems, museum, special laboratories, and non-academic services such as intercollegiate activities, recreational facilities, the Student Health Center and Student Placement Center.

Educational Technology Fee: This fee assists with the cost of computer labs and services.

Recreation Fee: The Recreation Fee results from the creation of the Pottruck Health & Fitness Center. Pottruck contains state-of-the-art exercise equipment: a climbing wall, pool, sauna, rooms for weight training, aerobics and cardiovascular training, a golf center, basketball courts, atrium, and seating area with juice bar. The Pottruck Center was created in response to student requests for expanded, updated campus recreation and personal fitness facilities. The Recreation Fee is $300 ($150 per sememster) for all full-time undergraduates.

Student Health Clinical Fee: This fee enables all students to have unlimited access to the Student Health Center and is mandatory for all full-time students. However, if a student is enrolled in Penn’s Student Health Insurance Program, the fee will be waived when the health insurance charge is posted to the student's account.  Direct questions to the Student Health Service Office at shsinsura@pobox.upenn.edu or call 215-746-3535.

Fees not included in the Educational Expense Budget

New Student Orientation (NSO) Fee: The $190 Orientation Fee ($100 for incoming transfers) covers meals provided during New Student Orientation in August. Meals will be served each day at times specified in the NSO Calendar. Since these are not part of the regular meal plan, the cost is listed as an Orientation Fee.

College House Fee: The College House Program Fee helps to fund programmatic costs for College Houses, from College House Computing (including costs associated with wireless installation) to the College House Music Program, Humanities Research Fellowships, Residential Program activities, and some of our academic support services (e.g., the Penn Mentoring Program, or the Faculty Associates program).  The College House programs are described at our website:  http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/.

Laboratory Fees: Lab fees for certain courses are not included in the standard budget.

Charges to your student account are placed by various University departments. For example, Housing and Dining Services are responsible for housing and meal plan charges. SFS will not have detailed information about most charges. Check our contact list for a listing of various departments who can assist you

Visit the Penn.Pay frequently asked questions.

Your Student Account is the central repository of all transactions: tuition, payments, financial aid, dining, housing, etc.  If you have more charges on your Student Account bill than you budgeted in the Budget Plan, you must pay your bill in addition to your Penn Monthly Budget Plan payments.  Any amount not originally budgeted will remain as a balance. For example, if you budgeted the tuition and fee amount, but not housing costs, housing will be a separate line item on your bill, for which you are responsible.

Online enrollment for the 2009/2010 Academic Year will end on 8/30/09. If you have any questions, please contact the Penn Monthly Budget Plan Office at 215-573-1150.

Check Penn InTouch to be sure your financial aid application is complete and there are no outstanding documents. If your application is incomplete, fax the required documents to our office as soon as possible at 215-573-5428. In the meantime, pay as much as you can on your bill.

If your application has recently become complete, it may be a matter of timing. Continue to check Penn InTouch to see if your financial aid eligibility has been determined. Once it has, an updated balance will be available on Penn.Pay If only part of your financial aid has been credited, be sure you have signed and submitted all loan notes. If you are expecting a sponsored scholarship, click here

Credit for the loan will appear after Student Financial Services receives your signed promissory note. Mail, do not fax, signed loan notes to SFS. See SFS mailing address. If you are a part-time graduate student, credit will appear after the drop/add period is over. Note for Perkins borrowers: If you have signed a Perkins Master Promissory Note in previous years, Perkins credit is automatically applied to your account. You will be sent a Disclosure Statement; please complete and return it ONLY if you want to decline or reduce your 2008-2009 Perkins Loan.

Credit from some loan or grant funds may not have been disbursed to your bill for one or both of the following reasons:

• The funds may not be disbursed to Penn until just prior to the beginning of the Term
• The funds may not be disbursed until Penn has performed required verification of your enrollment status and the data you reported on your FAFSA.

As a convenience to you, Penn will apply a Temporary Credit or Deferment to your account. This allows you to pay the amount due net of pending disbursements. Note that temporary credits/deferments are not included in the determination of any refund that may be due you.

The amount represents the estimate of your eligibility. In the case of federal loans, the amount is adjusted to reflect estimated fees to be deducted by your lender prior to disbursement. For PLUS and Grad PLUS Loans, we have assumed a 3% fee. Actual fees may range from 3% -4%, depending on your lender.

For Stafford Loans, we have assumed a 1% fee. Actual fees may range from zero to 2%, depending on your lender.

• Deferments and Temporary Credits for Loans
  
  
• Deferments and Temporary Credits for Grants

Once you have applied, disbursement for your approved loan will occur beginning 7-10 days prior to the start of classes.

If your application has been processed, you will see a temporary credit on your billing statement. (The temporary credit does not reflect any fees that your lender may charge, as fees can vary and Penn does not have access to this information. Therefore, the actual credit for your alternative loan will most likely be less than the posted temporary credit, and you will be responsible for the difference.)  If no temporary credit is posted yet, it will be applied once your application is processed

Your application must first go through credit approval by your lender before it is forwarded to our office. To see if Penn has received your application and to check status, visit  the Penn Loan System (PLS). Select "My loan applications" located in the navigation bar. You will see a complete list of your loan applications and loan status.