When it comes to paying your Columbia bill, we have three offices to serve you. Student Financial Services manages your billing, payment processing, refunds, and Federal Work-Study pay. Financial Aid and Educational Financing awards all financial aid and can also provide guidance to you and your family about additional education loans and other financing options — whether or not you are receiving financial aid. The Student Service Center can answer questions about your bill and payment methods in addition to inquiries about registration and ID cards.
When you have questions about paying your Columbia bill, your primary resources are your school’s financial aid office and the Student Service Center (SSC).
Financial Aid and Educational Financing can assist with scholarships, grants, loans, and other sources of funding applied to you or your student account. It can also provide guidance to you and your family about educational financing options, whether or not you currently receive financial aid.
The SSC can answer general questions about your bill, payment methods, payment plans, refunds, registration, and ID cards. When an issue requires additional review, the SSC can help escalate it or connect you with the appropriate University office.
Your first fall term e-bill will be emailed on Monday, August 17. At that point, students can log into Vergil and select Account Details in the Student Financials menu to see current charges and credits.
If a family member (or anyone else) will be paying some or all of your bill, you must first set them up as an “authorized payer.” This process is required by Federal privacy regulations. Family members will not be able to view or access your account or bill until you set them up as a payer. Each payer will receive their own login information via the email address you provide. Student Financial Services provides instructions to walk you through the process of authorizing a payer.
You and your family (or other authorized payer) can pay your bill online on the e-billing website. Other options include mail, wire, in-person, and monthly payments, however, we strongly encourage you to pay your bill using our online process. For payments drawn on banks outside the United States, the University recommends a wire transfer as the most efficient method of payment. Wire transfers outside of the preferred lenders through your student account may be subject to a processing fee of $75.
You may receive a credit or refund on your student account if you are receiving financial aid or earning a stipend. The University prefers to make this refund through direct deposit. International students may receive any refunds from their student account via direct deposit into a U.S. checking or savings account. However, direct deposits of stipends are not available for international students.
You and your family can explore a variety of loan options to finance a portion or all of the total cost of your attendance, minus any other financial aid received. These may include Federal loans or private loans. We also provide a suggested lender list for international students.
Deadline: August 1, 2026 for a full Fall term plan. After this date, a down payment will be required based on the amount that would have been paid had the student enrolled when plans opened.
Columbia’s Payment Plan enables students and/or families to pay billed expenses over leach academic term, rather than in one payment. It is not a loan and, while there is an application fee, there are no interest charges or credit checks. Please note that the dollar amount of installments can change based on account activity, such as adding or dropping classes or adjusting existing charges on the account. You can enroll online during the Fall term according to the applicable enrollment periods.