FAQ | Billing and Student Accounts

If you recently received a housing charge, this charge will not be updated in the “Amount Due” until the next statement is created.

Instead, the “Amount Due” on the Current Activity page of SSOL will reflect the amount due of the most current statement.

Please see below at the Current Balance which considers any recent charges/credits applied to your bill. The housing charge will still follow the housing deadline policy, in which payments are due on the 1^st day of every month based on signed lease agreements.

• (e.g., October housing payments are due on October 1st).

The month of the transaction date on SSOL represents the month the charge is correlated with. Each monthly housing charge is dated as the 2^nd of the month, this does no correlate with the date of the occupancy.

• For example, 11/2/22 Transaction Date reflects housing for November, not the date of occupancy.

SSOL's due dates reflect the billing schedule created for tuition and tuition-related fees; you may view this information here:

• https://www.sfs.columbia.edu/bill-schedule

Instead, housing is due on the 1^st of every month based on signed lease agreements. 

Upon completing your move-in, the residential team undertakes a thorough confirmation process to seamlessly integrate the move into the system. Typically, this procedure takes 1-2 weeks, during which you can expect the housing charges to be reflected in your SSOL account.

If the charges are not received after this period, please reach out to [email protected] for further assistance.

This is the combination of the previous month’s housing and the current month in one single billing statement.

• Please reach out to [email protected] if a detailed breakdown is needed.

Housing will be charged based on the number of occupied days within that month. This means that occupying an apartment after the first day of the month will cause the month to be prorated.

To get a rough calculation of the prorated charge, try using this formula:

• (Occupied Days / Total Days in Month) * Monthly Rate = Prorated Amount. 

This indicates that the charges/credits listed as “due next statement” are not in the most recent statement and will appear on the following statement. These charges will still follow the housing deadline, in which payments are due on the 1^st of every month based on signed lease agreements.

• (e.g., April housing payments are due on April 1st.).

If a building-wide outage lasts longer than one week, residents affected will receive a 20-percent rent abatement each month until service is restored.

Each gas abatement is applied as a separate credit from the monthly housing charge on SSOL. Usually, these abatements are applied the following month of service interruption.

• (e.g., September abatement is applied in October).

Please allow a few weeks into the following month for the abatement to be processed and applied to your account.

Per our Cancellation of Housing policy, students who cancel before the end of their agreement incur a $1,000 cancellation fee. You can find more information about this by visiting the link above.

• For inquiries about late fees, or if you believe a late fee was incorrectly applied to your account, please contact Student Financial Services (SFS) by emailing [email protected]

Yes! We recommend submitting a Cancellation Fee Waiver request, using the embedded link! 

• Please wait 30 days to be notified of the committee’s decision, though most decisions come sooner!

Upon completing your move-out, the residential team undertakes a thorough confirmation process to seamlessly integrate the vacancy into the system. Typically, this procedure takes 1-2 weeks, during which you can expect the additional charges to be reversed in your SSOL account.

If the vacancy credits are not received after this period, please reach out to [email protected] for further assistance.

May graduates are eligible to apply for a short-term housing extension, which would give them an additional 30 days in housing beyond graduation (I.e., until June 30).

Students who are approved for this extension are billed rent for the days they remain in the unit plus a 20% administrative fee (based on full month’s rent).

SSOL’s billing system lists housing and tuition charges/credits on the same bill; the best way to separate the two is by submitting a separate payment for housing.

By selecting the option to “Pay Other Amount” when submitting a payment, you may enter the exact amount owed to housing. The remaining balance on your account after the payment will reflect tuition and tuition-related charges.

A separate payment is not needed. Please allow a few days for the recent housing charge to be processed into the payment plan balance. This update is automatic.

If you recently received a vacancy credit, this credit will not be updated in the “Amount Due” until the next statement is created. Instead, the “Amount Due” will reflect the amount due of the most current statement.

Please look below at the Current Balance on SSOL which considers any recent charges/credits applied on your bill. The housing charge will still follow the housing deadline policy, in which payments are due on the 1st of every month based on signed lease agreements.

• (e.g., October housing payments are due on October 1st).