COA is proud that our students have repeatedly ranked us among the top schools in the nation for financial aid, and we consistently do our best to make it possible for all students to afford the college.

Our net price calculator is one way to see how financial aid might reduce your out-of-pocket costs, but the best way to get a sense of the true net cost of a COA education is by applying for financial aid.

Basic information

If you’re new to financial aid, www.finaid.org is a great resource for understanding the process and getting started. Our staff are also always here to answer your questions—now and throughout the process.

Research and travel support

COA provides each student up to $1800 to support “expeditionary learning”.  This includes COA courses with a travel component as well as independent studies and residencies. These funds support both domestic and foreign travel. 

Financial aid staff 

Work-study

The vast majority of COA students have a work-study job included as part of their financial aid package—and at COA, work-study is a big part of the student experience and campus life.  

Work-study perspectives

  • Computer Services Help Desk
    Computer Services Help Desk
    “I like my work-study because I always learn new things. It’s a very humbling job and I think it’s important to know how to use these powerful tools that we use every single day.”-Vanessa Taylor
  • Discarded Resources
    Discarded Resources
    “A highlight of my work-study is definitely the discarded resource audit where we document and track everything that people discard of during a week and create an exhibit where community members can come face to face with their discards and challenge the “out of sight out of mind” mentality.” - Rachael Goldberg
  • Discarded Resources
    Discarded Resources
    “My work-study makes me think one step before consumption and one step ahead”-Anđela Rončević