Estimating Your Balance
Traditional Undergraduate Students
Creating an annual budget is an important step in your Cal Lutheran educational experience. It helps you understand your total direct costs, learn how your financial aid can help cover those costs, and determine if there is a remaining balance due to Cal Lutheran.
Tips for using this worksheet:
Use this worksheet to estimate your charges, financial aid, and balance due for the academic year — or see the Monthly Payment Plan breakdown at the bottom. Please refer to your Financial Aid Offer for a list of your offers.
2026-2027
About this Estimate
Important: This worksheet is not a bill. Cal Lutheran is providing this estimating
tool as a means for you and your family to investigate the different costs that may
be associated with attending Cal Lutheran. Your charges and balance owed are determined
by the Student Accounts Office and will be billed to your student account once you
are enrolled. In order to maximize your financial aid, it is important to make wise
decisions regarding living arrangements and choice of lifestyle. While personal and
transportation expenses are not included in our estimates, we recommend you consider
them and budget accordingly.
Cost of Attendance
The cost of attendance for a student is an estimate of that student’s educational
expenses for an academic year. The Office of Financial determines Cal Lutheran's cost
of attendance by calculating average expenses for students at Cal Lutheran, rather
than actual expenses. Per federal regulations, the total aid a student receives may
not exceed the school’s pre-determined cost of attendance. Therefore, if you receive
outside scholarships that causes your total aid to exceed your cost of attendance,
we will need to reduce the amount of loans and work-study listed on your Financial
Aid offer Letter. Learn more about Cost of Attendance.
Important Note
The Office of Financial Aid understands that sometimes a family’s current financial
situation may be drastically different from the prior tax year as originally submitted
on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In these situations, on a
case-by-case basis, a review of your financial information may be warranted. Please
contact your Financial Aid Counselor to discuss your situation following payment of your enrollment deposit.
If you have questions or comments about tuition and fees, please contact the Student Accounts Office. If you have questions or comments about financial aid and cost of attendance, please contact Office of Financial Aid.