Financial Policies

Tuition $58,902.00 ($ 29,451.00 each semester) – 2025-2026

Tuition, room and board along with other fees & charges are due each semester.

If you would like a payment plan, you must sign up for a new plan each semester.

• Students with a balance greater than $ 500.00 may be prevented from registering for subsequent semesters, receiving transcripts, or diplomas. 

Diplomas and official transcripts are withheld from students and alumni who have not met their financial obligations to the College.  The College also reserves the right to cancel registration and evict students from residence halls and the board plan if their accounts are in arrears and to exclude a student with significant financial obligations to the College from participating in graduation ceremonies. 

Billing and payment procedures

Semester billing statements are made available online via the my.lakeforest.edu portal and are only mailed to the home address if requested. Family members must be authorized & enrolled in the Parent Portal to receive information from the Business Office. 

Payment Plan

To pay your student account balance online (student ID# required), log into my.lakeforest.edu. There you can make a one-time payment or establish a payment plan for the balance due on your account.   

• Forester Payment Plan (FPP) – Payment Plan options begin in July & January. There is a $ 60.00/per semester sign-up fee to begin a payment plan.
• Make a One-Time Payment – eCheck, Credit Card, Debit Card & ACH.
• Wire Transfer – Multiple options available.
• International Payments – Multiple options available. 

NOTE: Payments made with a US credit or debit card are subject to a service fee. Payments made with an international credit or debit card are subject to a service fee. There is a $3.00 minimum service fee for all credit and debit card payments. There is NO service fee for payments made by e-check from a checking or savings account. 

IMPORTANT: Only family members enrolled in the Parent Portal may receive information from the Business Office. If you would like someone else to be able to make payment on your behalf, please add them as an authorized user on lakeforest.myonplanu.com. 

Due Dates and Fees

Tuition, room and board along with other fees & charges are due each semester. If you would like a payment plan, you must sign up for a new plan each semester. 

Tuition & Fees

• Payments for the Fall Semester are due August 15
• Payments for the Spring Semester are due January 15

Student Insurance (SHIP) Wavier

• August 15 

Students with a balance greater than $ 500.00 may be prevented from registering for subsequent semesters, receiving transcripts, or diplomas. 

Interest charges, late fees, and collection costs

Any account not enrolled in a payment plan or paid in full by August 15th in the fall and January 15th in the spring, will be subject to a $ 100.00 late fee. For each month thereafter a $ 25.00 late fee will apply.

All payment arrangements will be subject to a payment plan fee.

Unpaid balances may be turned over to a collection agency and subject to collection costs of up to 30% or more as permitted by law. 

Matriculation deposits 

When students leave the College, whether by withdrawal or graduation, the Business Office will return the matriculation deposit by check, net of any charges left on the account, to the student at the home address. 

• The Business Office must be officially notified of the withdrawal by the Office of Student Affairs before this can happen. All withdrawals from the College are processed through the Dean of Students. 
• Deposits for graduates are returned at the end of May.  

Normal course load

A normal, full-time course load for undergraduate students is four courses, but any combination of courses ranging from 3 to 4.5 credits is regarded as full-time and the regular full-time tuition applies. There are no refunds for course load changes within this range of credits. Any reduction below three credits must be approved by the Office of Campus Life.

Undergraduate students registering for fewer than three credits per term with the permission of the Office of Campus Life will be charged at the per-course rate. The per-course rate will also apply for special students who are not degree candidates or whose degree candidacy is pending for fewer than three credits. 

Course overload charge

Students who are registered for an on-campus course load in excess of 4.5 credits in a given semester will be charged for the additional credits or fractions of credits.

Students who received Dean’s List distinction at Lake Forest College during the previous year may take one extra course during the following year without charge, subject to certain limitations. 

Bookstore vouchers

There are two situations in which you can charge books and supplies on your tuition account. 

• The first is when there will be an anticipated refund due to you after all payments and financial aid is applied. This type of voucher is administered by the Business Office. 
• The second type of voucher is given by the Financial Aid Office and is dependent upon financial need.    

Other charges and fines

Students studying abroad will be charged applicable fees as determined by the individual program. See the Director of Off-Campus Programs for the current per-program tuition rate. Regular refund policies apply to study-abroad programs. There is a non-refundable administrative fee of $500 for students who are applying their financial aid to a program through a consortium agreement, in addition to any program fee or deposit required by the selected program.

Students will not be charged a fee for credit by examination (for a subject that is not covered by advanced placement tests) if such credit is established during the fall term of the first year.

Students will be billed for bookstore charges, library fines, on-campus traffic violations, and any damage they may cause to College property.

A student who changes residential status from resident to nonresident for fall semester, and notifies the Office of Campus Life on or after June 1 and before July 1, will be charged $500. Students notifying the Office of Campus Life on or after July 1 will be charged $750. For a change of residency status after the first day of fall classes, per diem charges for room and board will be applied to the student’s account in addition to the fine. See the Office of Residence Life for more information. 

VA Pending Payment Compliance

In accordance with Title 38 US Code 3679(c), the College adopts the following additional provisions for any students using U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post-9/11 G.I. Bill® (Ch.33) or Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (Ch. 31) benefits, while payment to the institution is pending from VA.

The College will not:

• Prevent the students’ enrollment.
• Assess a late penalty fee to the student.
• Require the student to secure alternative or additional funding.
• Deny the student access to any resource (access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities) available to other students who have satisfied their tuition and fee bills to the institution.

However, to qualify for this provision, such students may be required to:

• Produce the VA Certification of Eligibility (COE) by the first day of class.
• Provide a written request to be certified.
• Provide additional information needed to properly certify the enrollment as described in other institutional policies.