Resident Assistants & Financial Aid
How does being an RA affect your financial aid? It won't reduce your parent or student contribution, but you will reap a benefit. Read on to learn more.
"How does being a Resident Assistant affect my aid?"
Being a Resident Assistant won't change your parent or student contribution. The value of your room and RA stipend will be considered as aid and will be included in your financial aid offer in the same manner as an outside scholarship, which means the value of the room and stipend will take the place of loan or work-study funds in your aid offer.
If your loans or work-study have already been reduced by outside scholarships, you may benefit less from being an RA. If your RA room value and stipend are greater than any remaining loan or work-study, Duke grant amounts will be reduced.
For more information on Resident Assistants and how to apply, visit Housing and Residence Life.
"How will my bill from Duke change if I'm a Resident Assistant?"
Step 1: Your Resident Assistant compensation will replace your loans and work study.
Step 2: Your RA compensation (the cost of a single room plus your RA stipend) will probably reduce your Duke grant aid. Whatever portion of your RA compensation doesn't cover your loans and work study will reduce your Duke grant aid.
- Example RA compensation (estimate): Single room cost of $13,000/year*, plus RA stipend of $1,500/year = $14,500
- Example: $14,500 - $7,200 covered loans and work study = $7,300. Duke grant will be reduced by $7,300 for the year for this student.
Step 3: Remove your housing and dining charges from your bill, because you won't be charged for those (unless you choose to have a small dining plan).
Result: To determine your resulting bill, add your tuition and fees (billed by Duke). Then take the amount of your remaining grant aid (after your grant aid has been reduced by the RA compensation in Step 2) and subtract this from your tuition and fees. This will be an estimate of the bill you could expect to receive from Duke.
| Example 1 | Initial Financial Aid Before RA Appointment |
|---|---|
| Sample Cost of Attendance | $80,000 |
| Family Contribution | $20,000 |
| Remaining Need | $60,000 |
| Work Study | $2,200 |
| Student Loan | $5,000 (Loan amount varies by income level) |
| Need-based Grant | $52,800 |
| Total Need-based Aid | $60,000 (Total Aid = Remaining Need) |
The above table shows an example need-based financial aid offer.
Sample Bill for this student:
Example tuition charge (per semester): $28,000
Example fees: $2,500
Example housing: $4,500
Example meal plan: $3,500
Total example bill: $38,500
Less reduced need-based grant $26,400 (half of $52,800 from example above)
Resulting bill after grant aid for the semester: $12,100
If the student accepts the $5,000 loan in the aid offer ($2,500 per semester), the estimated bill would be $9,600.
| Example 2 | Revised Financial Aid Offer After RA Appointment |
|---|---|
| Sample Cost of Attendance | $80,000 |
| Family Contribution | $20,000 (This number does not change when you are an RA) |
| Remaining Need | $60,000 |
| Work Study | $0 |
| Student Loan | $0 |
| RA Room Compensation | $13,000* |
| RA Stipend | $1,500 |
| Need-based Grant | $45,500 |
| Total Need-based Aid | $60,000 (Total Aid = Remaining Need) |
The above table shows an example need-based financial aid offer for an RA.
Sample Bill for this student:
Example tuition charge (per semester): $28,000
Example fees: $2,500
Total example bill: $30,500
Less reduced need-based grant $22,750 (half of $45,500 from example above)
Resulting bill after grant aid for the semester: $7,750
Nima is a junior and a Resident Assistant with a $30,000 family contribution ($27,000 parent contribution plus $3,000 student contribution). Her cost of attendance is $80,000 for the year, so she is receiving $50,000 of aid. Here is her financial aid offer:
$5,000 student loan
$2,200 work study
$42,800 Duke grant aid
Her RA compensation will be $14,500 ($13,000 room cost plus $1,500 RA stipend).* This will first cover her work study and loan, so now her aid offer will look like this:
$1,500 RA stipend
$13,000 room award
$35,500 Duke grant aid
Her Duke grant aid went down by $7,300.
Nima's estimated bill for tuition and fees per semester will be $30,500. $30,500 - $17,750 (reduced grant aid for one semester) = a resulting bill of $12,750.
*These are estimated figures; the RA compensation changes each year because housing costs may fluctuate each year. To determine RA compensation for the year you're considering, check in with Housing for the updated annual price for a single room.