Calculating Expected Amount Owed

IMPORTANT! If your Activity Details shows any amount in the “Prior Term Balance” line near the top of the first page, pay this amount immediately. It is past due and subject to financial consequences.

For a printable version of this worksheet, click here. 

We often get the question: WHY CAN’T HPU JUST TELL ME HOW MUCH I WILL OWE?

We certainly wish we could tell every student exactly how much they will owe! However, your financial balance can only account for known charges and known credits. We can’t know how many credits you intend to register for if that amount is different than what you are actually registered for. We can’t know how much aid you will qualify for or your scholarship amounts until they actually are authorized and reduce your balance. Only you as the student know whether the amount you have been charged reflects your actual enrollment plans and all of your awarded aid and credits. 

We can tell you that your account will accurately reflect courses you are actually enrolled in and will accurately reflect any known, authorized aid (authorized aid is aid that is fully approved and processed by the Financial Aid office, ready to post to your account once the semester starts). It’s up to you to fill in those unknown pieces to come up with the expected amount owed, and that is why we created this resource for you! 

We can also tell you, once all adjustments are complete, the final amount owed for any semester. This will be reflected in your Payment Portal under "Activity Details" and on your final eBill Statement each semester. 

We often get the question: WHY CAN’T hpu GET MY ACCOUNT TO BE ACCURATE?  

Your financial account is considered accurate at any given point in time after charges first post because it reflects classes you are actually registered for (and thus can be charged for) and charges that have been approved (such as Housing and Meal Plans) and all aid that has been approved to post to your account. However, that doesn’t mean it reflects the final amount you will owe, as we have discussed in this section.

Like any business, we can’t put unofficial charges for things you haven’t bought (e.g., classes you aren’t registered for) on your account, and we can’t allow discounts that aren’t official (e.g., aid that hasn’t been approved or processed) to reduce your balance owed.

HPU students are responsible for paying the balance they expect to owe by the Tuition Payment Deadline each semester, even if all charges and credits are not yet present. All charges and credits will be present by the Tuition Payment Deadline when a student is fully registered and they have completed all requirements to have financial aid and other credits post to their account in enough time for those credits to be fully processed by HPU offices (allow 1-2 weeks for processing).

We OFTEN get the question: WHY CAN’T I WAIT TO PAY UNTIL MY ACCOUNT IS FINALIZED?

Students cannot wait to pay their balance until all charges and credits are present if those amount are not showing on the account as of the Tuition Payment Deadline.

HPU relies on tuition and fee payments to pay your professors, set up and clean your classrooms, cover activities including orientation, and many other investments that support students before, during, and after enrollment. Paying the amount you expect to owe before the semester starts:

• Ensures you and your university start the academic semester on strong financial footing. 
• Reduces your risk of being surprised by unexpected financial obstacles later in term, after it may be too late to pivot and change course due to federal financial aid or withdrawal deadlines having passed. 

If you are looking for information about the total cost of attending HPU, including charges not billed to your by HPU, visit HPU’s Cost of Attendance website. 

Visit the Business Office's Paying Tuition website for more information about how to pay your charges.

The time to think this through is before beginning your investment and starting the semester at HPU. Remember, once the semester starts, students are financially responsible for paying for all or a percentage of their course tuition and fees even if they drop or withdraw as outlined in HPU's Academic Calendar. 

AS A STUDENT, ONLY YOU CAN KNOW WHETHER ATTENDING HPU IS ACCOMPLISHABLE WITHIN YOUR BUDGET. If you are nervous or worried about how you are going to pay, then it is very important to look closely at all anticipated costs and resources to ensure you make the right decision for your future. Don’t wait until it is too late to make your budget and ask for help. HPU can help you with thinking through your options and connecting you with information and resources. It is ultimately each student’s responsibility to make the decision that is right for the student. 

This section is an informal guide that will walk you through the components you need to think through to develop your budget and consider your choices. Our suggestion: get out a pen and paper – or a spreadsheet – and take notes as you consider each question below. 

1. HOW MUCH DOES GOING TO SCHOOL COST, AND HOW CAN I REDUCE THOSE COSTS?

• Review HPU's Cost of Attendance for a full list of estimated expenses encountered by the typical HPU student. 
• Some costs are fixed, meaning they cannot be changed (like tuition and fees). Some costs you can influence to reduce the amount you need to spend. For each cost, consider how you can reduce the amount you will pay. For example, finding an additional roomate, or choosing to opt for public transportation instead of shipping a car. 
• Think beyond your first year: Make a grid, and list out estimated costs for your entire four-year academic plan (and consider a backup plan if it takes you longer than four years to complete).
• If you do not already live in Hawai'i, consider that cost of living expenses in this unique location are also unique. For example, U.S. mainland prices for a carton of one dozen eggs averaged $4.11 each when we prepared this guide in April 2023. On O'ahu, a dozen eggs cost about $7.50. Comparing prices for items you consume using websites like Walmart.com or Target.com may be helpful in thinking through what you might actually pay. 

2. WHAT RESOURCES DO I HAVE AVAILABLE TO FUND MY EDUCATION, AND HOW CAN I INCREASE THOSE RESOURCES?

• HPU provides an Award Letter that shows any HPU scholarships and U.S. federal student aid that is available to you to fund your education. This information is also in the myHPU portal under "Financial Aid." If you have not already completed your FAFSA, make sure you do that, as doing so may create opportunities for additional aid even if you think you do not qualify. 
• In addition to any HPU scholarships you may have been awarded, look into what external scholarships might be available to you. 
  • Check out the Financial Aid External Scholarships page for more information. 
  • Speak with your local high school guidance counselors, who are often a wealth of information about local scholarship opportunities. 
  • Many scholarships go unawarded because students do not apply! Taking the time to carefully apply for scholarships can produce results and pay off. 
• If you are eligible for benefits as a Veteran or Active Duty Service Member or family member, be sure to look into any requirements for using those benefits. Check out HPU's Military Campus Programs website for more information. 
• Consider what assets and resources are available to you and your family. 
  • Was your family able to help financially plan for your education through investing in a state 529 plan? If so, what is the balance in the account? Check with your 529 plan provider to learn more and understand the requirements for disbursing the funds.
  • Think of any other tangible or intangible assets that could be considered, if appropriate, to support your college fund. 
  • Calculate the amount that you can realistically earn working, if applicable, during college to support your costs, while prioritizing keeping your grades up and maintaining academic progress. 
• Recognize that in the U.S., many students fund the majority of their education through loans. If loans are required in your situation, do the math on interest rates and compare options to ensure you understand the terms of any loan you take out, and reduce future payments and interest expense. If you can afford to do so, consider paying your loans down while in school (if they accrue interest) to minimize the amount of interest you will pay. Check out the Financial Aid Loans page for more information. 
• Payment Plans may help you with any amount you owe after scholarships, loans, grants, etc. by spreading the total amount owed into monthly installments. Check out HPU's Payment Plan website for more information, and be sure to sign up early for the smallest installment payments. 

3. HOW DO I EXPECT THIS TO CHANGE OVER THE NEXT 4 YEARS?

• Some costs will increase. Nationally, tuition increases by an average 3-5% at U.S. universities per year, but scholarships may stay flat. Or, if your grades are not maintained you could lose eligibility for scholarships. 
• On the other hand, you might be able to find more scholarships as you go by applying to as many as you can, so your available resources could increase! 

After laying all of this out, you might ask guardians, family members, or trusted advisors to review the information with you. Make sure your plan is solid and supports your future success. Reach out for help if needed, and feel free to ask our office for guidance anytime. 

QUESTION: The Tuition Payment Deadline asks that students pay in full or sign up for a payment plan before the semester begins. What if I need a payment plan to afford my expected amount owed, but all aid has not yet been posted and the payment plan payment is too high?

In most cases, if a student and/or their family has processed all required documents in a timely manner, then financial aid, loan, scholarship, tuition assistance, and other amounts will already be reflected in your balance by the Tuition Payment Deadline, and this will not be an issue.

However, there could be a delay in processing documents during high volume times, or it  may be that the student did not timely submit the required information. In that case, the student/family may not be able to pay the full expected amount owed, and the payment plan amount may be way higher than budgeted. What should the student/family do in that case?

ANSWER: It’s okay to sign up for a payment plan even if all credits have not yet posted. Once the payment plan sees the aid posted, the Payment Plan will automatically reduce the balance on your Payment Plan and all remaining installment payments.

• If the first payment without the credits posted is too large for your budget and you anticipate needing a payment plan this semester, we still ask that you sign up before the Tuition Payment Deadline.
• This allows you to achieve the smallest monthly payment possible, because once the aid has posted, your remaining payments will reduce automatically. If you wait, you might miss the enrollment period for the 6, 5, or 4-month plan options.
• It also allows your account to be considered in good standing even though it is not paid in full, as it will be accounted for in a Payment Plan.
• There is a grace period of 14 days after the payment date before Payment Plan Late Fees of $10/month are assessed. This means you have up to an additional 14 days past the payment due date for the expected credits to be fully processed and reduce your payment amounts.
• Ensure you have done everything needed to have your credits post as soon as possible.
• EXAMPLE: A student’s account balance is $12,000 and they’re expecting $8,000 in loans, but those loans are not yet authorized or approved. Signing up for a 4-month plan in August before the loans are applied means a $3,000 payment will be due September 1^st. This is too big of a payment for the family’s budget. However, the student technically has until September 14^th to make that payment before a $10.00 late fee is applied. So, if the loans are fully processed on September 12^th,  their payment plan payments will adjust down to $1,000 that day, and they can make the $1,000 payment on September 13^th without incurring a $10.00 late fee. Their next payment of $1,000 will be due as scheduled on October 1^st.

IMPORTANT NOTE: HPU payment plans automatically adjust to lower amounts, but do not automatically increase when charges increase. STUDENTS MUST ACCEPT PAYMENT PLAN INCREASES IN THE PAYMENT PLAN PORTAL. THIS AVOIDS AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS INCREASING WITHOUT STUDENTS BEING AWARE OF THOSE INCREASES.