The annual estimated cost of attendance for USC is now nearly $100,000 due to fee and tuition increases, but opting out of certain fees can decrease the financial burden. 

Tuition for each semester now costs $36,630 for full-time students with additional fees varying from student to student. However, some fees, such as the Digital Course Materials fee, Tuition Refund Insurance and Health Insurance are not mandatory but are added to most students’ bills. Students can opt out of these fees before their respective deadlines of Sept. 12, and this guide will provide instructions to do so. 

Digital Course Materials 

USC’s Digital Course Materials Fee is the newest fee, and it currently costs $292 per semester. Through this program, students receive all required course materials for that semester at a flat rate, including digital course materials as well as hard-copy textbooks and other physical materials.

Because the USC Bookstore is not the exclusive provider of some required course materials, it is possible that a student’s Digital Course Materials Fee is higher than a student’s total required book cost.  

Most students are automatically enrolled in the fee — students can check their E-bill to see if they are enrolled in the program — but can opt out manually. Students can opt out of the Digital Course Materials Fee by following instructions in an email titled “Welcome to USC Digital Course Materials Program.” The deadline to opt out is Sept. 12. 

Tuition Refund Insurance 

USC automatically enrolls students in Tuition Refund Insurance at $100 per semester, which covers 85% of tuition and mandatory fees — excluding the $1,400 Health Insurance Fee — in the event of a withdrawal from classes due to “injury, sickness, or psychological and emotional conditions.” This fee is based on the value of full tuition and fees, so it will not scale with applied financial aid. 

Conditions must be approved by USC on a case-by-case basis. The illness or injury must typically be defined in the DSM-IV manual. To file a claim, students can call USC’s One Stop Center at 213-740-8500. 

Students can opt out of Tuition Refund Insurance by going to Web Registration in MyUSC, clicking the Tuition Refund Insurance tab in the current semester, clicking “no,” and then checking out. The deadline to opt out of the program is Sept. 12.

Health Insurance 

The University’s most expensive fee is the Health Insurance Fee. Like other United States universities, USC requires students to have personal health insurance at all times to avoid liability. All undergraduates enrolled in over 6 units are automatically enrolled in USC’s Student Health Insurance Program under Aetna, including international, Health Sciences Campus and PhD students. The Health Insurance Fee varies in cost depending on optional add-ons, but it costs at least $1,224 for fall and $2,298 for spring. 

This fee is different from the required Student Health Fee — described as the funding for the operation of campus health programs — which costs $700 per semester and covers additional immunizations, meetings with healthcare professionals and other actions throughout the semester. 

Students who already have health insurance through a family plan or a separate plan can waive the health insurance fee if the plan meets California’s minimum insurance requirements. 

If a student has a qualifying insurance plan, the waiver process involves submitting a request through MySHR in the Insurance Waiver Enrollment tab. The deadline to submit a waiver is Sept. 12.

Adam Young contributed to this report.