Saint Mary’s College is an independent institution and receives no operating support from public funds.
Graduate Programs
Tuition and fees differ by individual graduate program and may be increased annually unless otherwise designated for a specific program and/or cohort model. Graduate students may be eligible for federal financial aid, grants, loans, scholarships, or other sources of support to finance their graduate study. Current tuition and fee schedules, as well as scholarship, fellowship, and other funding information, are available directly from the program.
Payment
All students assume financial responsibility for any charges and/or fees posted to their account. All students further assume the responsibility for understanding Saint Mary’s office policies concerning payment deadlines, fees, policies, registration deadlines, and satisfactory academic progress. Finally, students are responsible for updating their current address, email, and telephone information as changes occur.
Tuition charges are due prior to the first day of the term. Lab fees, extra course charges, and other miscellaneous fees are billed as incurred during the academic year. All such charges are due and payable upon notice from the Business Office. Students failing to make payment will have their account placed on hold, will be denied registration, will be unable to attend class or use campus facilities, and will be assessed late fees. Students may also be dropped for non-payment. Saint Mary’s College further reserves the right to refer student accounts to a collection agency or report to credit bureaus 180 days after the institution’s first communication to the student requesting payment.
Payments may be made by mailing a check (payable to Saint Mary’s College) to 1928 St. Mary’s Road PMB 4600, Moraga, CA 94575-4600, by electronic check via the MySMC portal (Student Account Center), by credit card with a 2.95% service fee, by cash at our office window, or by wire transfer. In order to ensure proper posting, please notify the Business Office at business@stmarys-ca.edu if payment will be made by wire or ACH transfer. Payments made via our website are posted in real-time to student accounts, while wires and ACH transactions may require extra time due to manual notification and posting. For more information, please visit https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/student-accounts. Parents must be set up as Authorized Users by their students in order to view the eBill and make online payments. Students may set up Authorized User profiles on MySMC “Student Account Center” (found under All Apps). Please visit https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/student-accounts.
Billing
The official billing method of Saint Mary’s College of California is electronic billing, known as eBill. With eBill, an email notification is sent to the student’s Saint Mary’s email account each time a new bill is available. Students access their eBill by logging into their MySMC account and clicking on the Student Account Center Application under “All Apps”. All bills are sent electronically. It is the students’ responsibility to read and manage their Saint Mary’s email account in order to ensure timely notification of the eBill. Students may forward their Saint Mary’s email account to a personal email account.
Withdrawal and Refund Policy
Tuition
If a student withdraws from the College or takes a Leave of Absence, credit is given in the fall and spring semesters to undergraduate students only after receipt by the Office of the Registrar of the written application of the withdrawing student, according to the following schedule: 100% tuition refund through the end of Week 1; 80% tuition refund to the end of the second week of class; 75% tuition refund to the end of the third and fourth week of class. No refunds will be made for withdrawal from the College or Leave of Absence after the fourth week of the term. The above schedule is based on the student’s last date of attendance, defined as the date the official notice of withdrawal is given to the Registrar’s Office, or the last date of attendance reported and verified by all of the instructors listed in that term, whichever is earlier.
January Term and Summer Session have different refund schedules, which can be found on the Business Office webpage.
Room and Meals
Students who live in Saint Mary’s College housing assume contractual responsibility for occupancy for the entire academic year (fall through spring). Students who live in campus housing are required to contract for meals. For more information on the dates of coverage, refer to the Residence Hall and Dining Hall License, or contact the Campus Housing office.
Overpayments or Financial Aid Proceeds
Refunds will only be issued on credit balances after all allowable charges have been covered and any payment plan is paid in full. Refunds of overpayment may be requested on MySMC or in writing to the Business Office. Refunds from federal loan proceeds (if any) will be issued within 14 days of disbursement. If the disbursement creates a credit, the refund will be issued to the borrower of the loan. Refunds from a personal payment will only be issued upon request after the personal check has cleared. Once the academic term begins, refunds will be available every Wednesday (direct deposit) and Friday (direct deposit and checks) for all valid requests received within the previous 72 hours. Refunds will not be processed prior to the beginning of the term or for any pending aid not yet disbursed. Students have the option to pick up their refund, have it mailed to the address on file, or directly deposited to their checking or savings account. Valid bank numbers must be entered through GaelXpress 2.0 “Refunds, Reimbursements, AP” for the direct deposit option to take effect. Refunds will not be mailed to campus housing. During the first two weeks of each semester, refunds are generally held for pick-up in the Business Office unless the student has selected to be refunded by eReimbursement. SMC encourages eReimbursement as this is the fastest and safest way to receive a refund. For the 2025-2026 academic year, students who have not set up eReimbursement will have their refunds mailed to the home address on file. If the student is no longer eligible to receive financial aid or student loans, their account will be adjusted accordingly. Any refund previously received from these funds must be repaid to Saint Mary’s College immediately.
|