Billing & Payments

Billing is by semester, and SFS will send your bill (a/k/a term invoice) to your Columbia email address (your UNI) a month prior to the beginning of the start of the term. You may view your bill at any time on https://ssol.columbia.edu/

To see when your bill is due, please go to the billing schedules page

Pay by ACH eCheck with QuikPAY when drawing from a U.S. bank account. Students can also access QuikPAY through SSOL.

International students with foreign bank accounts will need to choose a wire service to make payments to Columbia. 

***SFS does not accept credit card or cash payments for tuition, fees, housing or meal plan charges that appear on bills

SFS/Billing link with detailed information: https://sfs.columbia.edu/content/pay-mail 

The university accepts checks or money orders made payable to Columbia University in U.S. dollars and drawn on U.S. bank accounts.

Send payments to:

      Columbia University

      Student Account Payments 

      P.O. Box 1385

      New York, NY 10008-1385

*Please ask the plan provider or scholarship organization to include your full name and CUID# with the payment.

If you require assistance with mailed payments, please contact [email protected] for assistance Or visit in-person at 205 Kent Hall, 1140 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027 (walk-in appointments are acceptable).

You must sign up for a monthly payment plan prior to the term bill being due.

SIPA has limited ability to assist students with late fees. Please be mindful and pay your bill by the billing due date. Late fees are assessed on balances that are remain unpaid by the due date.  Details on the University’s management of unpaid balances can be found here.

Financial aid will appear as an anticipated credit on your bill so long as the award has been made by the time of billing and you have completed all necessary processes.  Aid will be credited to your account shortly prior to the beginning of each semester, provided all necessary documentation has been submitted and processes completed. 

Please keep in mind that fluctuations in enrollment can impact financial aid eligibility; most student loans require enrollment for a minimum of 6 credits per semester, while most SIPA funding requires full-time attendance (12 or more credits).

If your tuition is being paid in full or in part by a sponsor, employer, scholarship provider or other third party, and those payments are sent directly to Columbia, you will need to work with Student Financial Services to set up a sponsored or third party billing arrangement. 

Once SFS has prepared and submitted the invoice to your sponsor, any Fellowship/Sponsorship amount will be reflected on your Columbia University bill. Invoicing to sponsors begins each semester after the end of the Change of Program period - ie: usually about two weeks after the start of classes. 

Please note the sponsored billing invoicing schedules - https://sfs.columbia.edu/content/sponsored-students 

All sponsors have 30 days from the invoice date to make payment. For additional clarification of the sponsorship/third party billing agreement and process please contact the Sponsored Billing department using the following email address: [email protected]

Students living in Columbia Housing will be billed monthly for rent; the amount for an apartment rental on the initial bill of the term is typically the amount due for the first month's rent only, not the amount for the entire semester.  See CU Housing's billing and payment policies here.  

Most financial aid, including scholarships, fellowship and loans, are first credited towards tuition and fees.  If the total amount of all such aid exceeds the amount charged for tuition and fees, you will receive the credit balance as a refund that you can use for living expenses, textbooks, and other costs related to your studies.

Refunds are usually issued approximately one to two weeks after the start of the semester, and never prior to registration. You should be prepared to pay living expenses from your own resources upon arrival in New York and for the first few weeks of each semester.

Students may qualify for tax credits for tuition costs or interest paid on student loans. You will receive year-end documentation such as a 1098-T from Student Financial Services that you can use when filing your federal income tax return.  The SIPA Financial Aid Office cannot offer tax assistance or advice; please visit a qualified tax professional, or the IRS website for more information.

For withdrawals that occur during the fall and spring semesters, see the Office of the University Registrar for University policy on tuition liability for partial semesters of enrollment.

If a student withdraws from the program during the summer term, the tuition is subject to reduction at the following rates, based on when the withdrawal takes place.  This also applies to withdrawing from individual courses billed on a per-credit basis.