Tuition Payment Schedules: The Good and The Bad

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Now that all the dust has settled after applications, registration, etc., of course the next hurdle presents itself: tuition payments!

 

I'm not a very good money person, I'll be honest.

 

My school has several options and I'm not sure if some are patently better options than others, though I'm going to hazard a guess that full-year payments are definitely for an elite few. Anyway, here they are:

 

The second last one (5-month Automatic Deduction) seems to be the best choice: no fees and I can change my plan for the next semester if I need to. The only catch for that option is that the first instalment is due July 20th.

 

Also, I can put a down payment now to reduce each monthly payment by however much I want. This also seems like a good idea, especially so that my bi-weekly fellowship payments can easily cover each instalment.

 

Any help or opinions from more money-savvy folks than I would be greatly appreciated!