Home > Offices > Student Financial Services > Guide to Fees & Payments

This Guide highlights the practical information Smith students and their families need to know about bills and making payments.

	Student Account Charges			Forms of Payment
	Student Health Plan			Monthly Payment Plan
	Miscellaneous Fees			Parent Loans
	Billing and Payment Dates			Student Work Earnings
	Late Payments			Outside Scholarships
	Credit Balances			Financial Aid
	Billing Procedures			Other Important Contacts
	Address Changes

Student Account Charges for 2013-14

Undergraduate students are billed half of the annual charges at the beginning of each semester:

Tuition		$42,840
Room & Board		$14,410
Student Activities Fee		$274
Student Health Plan (est.) - optional		$2,152
Total per year		$59,676

The student account charges for Ada Comstock Scholars are billed on the same schedule as those of traditional students, but amounts vary with the number of credits taken each semester. Please see the Ada Comstock Guide to Award Letters for these amounts.

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Student Health Plan

Commonwealth of Massachusetts law requires that all full-time and part-time students be covered by a health insurance plan. Each Smith student is automatically enrolled and charged half the cost each semester. This fee may be waived if your own or your family’s insurance meets the Massachusetts requirements and you complete the waiver process by the published deadline. A Smith College Student Health Plan e-mailing will be sent in July with information on how to waive or enroll in the insurance. In addition, an Optional Health Services Plan is available to supplement existing private coverage. If you are interested in learning more details now, please check our Web site for a link to the insurance agent, Gallagher Koster Insurance.

Students with extremely high need, who do not have outside health insurance coverage, may be eligible for a Health Grant to cover the cost of health insurance through Smith College.  If you need assistance with the health insurance charge, and feel you may qualify, please contact Student Financial Services at sfs@smith.edu.  No increase in grant aid may be authorized for students who choose not to borrow the loans suggested in their award letter.

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Miscellaneous Fees

Miscellaneous fees are posted to an account when applicable. These include fees such as the Continuation Fee for students on leave and the Optional Student Health Plan fee. Other fees and fines may be posted to a student’s account by a college department such as a library, Registrar’s Office, the Dean of the College and Public Safety. A complete list of all fees can be found in the Smith College Catalogue.

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Billing and Payment Dates

IMPORTANT:  Student account bills are not printed and mailed.  Students and any authorized users, will be informed electronically when the semester bill is available. 

The fall semester bill is available in July and the spring semester bill is available in December.

Fall semester payments are due by August 10.

Spring semester payments are due by January 10.

Students will receive a bill each month in which there is activity on their account. Payments are due on the 10th of the next month.

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Late Payments

Late fees are assessed at the rate of 1.25% per month on overdue balances. Students with overdue balances cannot register for courses in future semesters, participate in independent study abroad or other off-campus programs, or receive a transcript or diploma.

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Credit Balances

Credit balances for traditional students are refunded upon request.  Any refund required by federal regulation will be sent with in the required time period.  Any credit balance can be requested at any time by using a Refund Request Form.

Credit balances from parent loans are refunded to the parent borrower.  Parents may authorize the refund to be paid directly to the student by selecting the appropriate choice during the PLUS loan application process.

All Ada Comstock Scholars and Graduate students will receive automatic refunds for credit balances over $100.  These refunds will be processed weekly.

Student accounts that have credit balances due to a payment plan will not be issued a refund until the payment plan is completed.  Please adjust your Tuition Pay Plan if it results in an anticipated credit balance.  Otherwise, please use the Refund Request Form once your plan is paid in full.

All credit balances over $100 will be refunded to the student at the end of each academic year.

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Billing Procedures

Students and any authorized user designated by a student, such as parents, guardians, or sponsors will be able to view billing statements, review student account activity, and make secured payments electronically throught the TouchNet website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When the bill is ready for viewing, students will receive an email directing them to log into BannerWeb and redirected to TouchNet to view the eBill.  Authorized users enrolled by the student will receive an email with the url link to the TouchNet login page.

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Address Changes

If you change your permanent address, you should promptly notify the Registrar’s Office to ensure that you receive transcripts, housing, and other important information from the college. If you will not be at your permanent address during the summer, you should notify the Registrar’s Office of your temporary summer address so that you will receive all college mailings in a timely manner.

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Forms of Payment

Be sure to include the student’s name and social security number or college ID on all forms of payment and correspondence.

	Electronic check (ACH) from a checking or savings account in the United States.  Payments may be made anytime on the TouchNet website.
	Checks and Money Orders should be made payable to Smith College in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank and mailed to: Smith College PO Box 414147 Boston, MA 02241-4147 Print and cut remittance from TouchNet eBill website and include with payment. Do not include written correspondence with these payments. Note: Outside Scholarship checks should be sent directly to Smith College, Student Financial Services.
	Correspondence and Express Mail should be mailed to: Smith College Student Financial Services College Hall 106 10 Elm Street Northampton, MA 01063-0021
	Cash Payments must be made at the Cashier’s Window, College Hall.  The Cashier is open Monday - Friday, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
	Bank Wires from a U.S. bank involve fees that range from $15 to $50 per transfer. Wire transfers from a bank not affiliated with a U.S. bank are subject to a collection fee. The net amount applied to the student’s account will be less than the amount of the wire transfer.   Please include student's full name and college ID or SS#.  All wire transfers must be sent through Bank of America.  Please contact Student Financial Services for further details.

Smith College does not accept credit card payments.

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Monthly Payment Plan

Four month payment plan per semester with optional down payment.  Please go to our financing options page for more information.

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Federal PLUS Loan (for parents)

The Direct PLUS Loan is a low-interest loan for parents of dependent students.  The loan can be used to pay for educational expenses up to the cost of attendance minus all other financial aid.  The lender is the U.S. Department of Education rather than a bank or other financial institution.  With Direct Loans, you borrow directly from the federal government, as facilitated by the school.

Further information is available on our Federal PLUS Loan page.

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Student Work Earnings

A student who works on campus will either receive a payment every two weeks for hours worked, or may ask to have all or part of her earnings applied to her student account. After the student completes a Student Payroll Deduction Authorization, the earnings will be automatically credited to the student’s account as earned.

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Outside Scholarships

It is required that students report all outside scholarships to Student Financial Services.  To view the college's policy on outside aid and to download an Outside Award Response Form, please go to our Outside Aid web page.  Scholarships received from sources outside the college appear as actual credits when funds have been received and the student has satisfied all requirements. Prior to satisfaction of requirements and/or receipt of funds, outside scholarships appear as pending credits. If an outside agency requires direct billing, please let us know.

Please submit all outside aid payments directly to Smith College, Student Financial Services.

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Financial Aid

One-half of the student’s accepted grant and/or loan is posted to the student account at the beginning of each semester. The funds show as credits if all requirements have been completed or as pending credits if the student has not completed all of the requirements for a particular fund (signing a promissory note, submitting a required form, completing entrance counseling online, etc.), or if the funds have not arrived from the source (such as scholarships or state grants.)

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Other Important Contacts

Offices other than Student Financial Services also generate charges on student accounts. You should contact the appropriate office with inquiries about those charges. Refer to the following list:

Fee		Office
Course fees		Academic Department (phone varies by dept.)
Library fines		Neilson Library, (413) 585-4162
Parking fines		Public Safety, (413) 585-2490
Telephone bills		Information Technology Services, (413) 585-2082
Faculty eval. fines		Dean of the College, (413) 585-4900
Infirmary charges		Student Health Service, (413) 585-2800
Key fines		Student Affairs, (413) 585-4940
Bed removal fee		Physical Plant, (413) 585-2400

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