text: GoFundMe has verified that the funds raised will go directly to the intended recipient. 
   
   What does verified mean? ||||| Tuition and Fees 
   
   Amounts listed are for Academic Year 2018-2019 
   
   Answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding Georgetown's tuition rate-setting procedures are available here. 
   
   Click on hyperlinks for more detailed information about specific types of charges. 
   
   Tuition: Students registered for 12 credit hours or more in a given term will be considered to be full-time students, and will be charged the full time rate for a registration of 12-20 credit hours. Beyond 20 credit hours, each additional credit hour for which the student is registered will result in an additional charge at the part-time rate, e.g.: a student registered for 20 credit hours will be charged $26,760.00, whereas a student registered for 21 hours will be charged $26,760.00 + $2,230.00. Students wishing to register for less than a full-time course load must get approval from their dean's office. 
   
   One-Time Fees: Certain fees are charged to the student once at the beginning of his or her studies at Georgetown. These include the orientation and transcript fees. The one-time transcript fee will ensure that the student has access to copies of his or her official transcript for life. 
   
   Student Activities Fee: Undergraduate degree-seeking students are assessed this fee each semester for which they are enrolled. The proceeds from this fee fund various activities throughout the year, including Georgetown Day. 
   
   Course Fees: Certain language and science courses have a lab component. Those students registered for lab courses will be charged, in addition to regular tuition, the relevant fee. These fees will be assessed as soon as the student's registration request has been processed which, during the registration period at the beginning of each semester, will occur within 24 hours. Science lab fees are assessed per laboratory course for which the student is registered. A student will be assessed the language fee once per term, regardless of the number of language courses for which the student is registered. 
   
   Materials Fees: Certain programs assess a fee to cover required materials for the fine arts, performing arts and other courses. The amount of this fee can vary; if you have been assessed such a fee, contact your program administrator for more information,, and can vary significantly depending on the materials required. 
   
   Yates Field House Membership: The Yates Field House fee ensures access to Georgetown's gym facilities and is mandatory for any student taking 12 or more credit hours. Part-time students who wish to have access to the gym can opt in to the program at the same charge as full-time students by visiting the Field House and requesting membership. 
   
   Student Health Insurance: Georgetown University requires that all full-time students must have health insurance. If a student is not already enrolled in an insurance program, he or she will be required to accept the plan offered by Georgetown. All undergraduate students taking 9 or more hours will be assessed the insurance fee once per academic year, typically in the fall term. If a student does not require the student health plan due to prior enrollment in another program, the fee can be waived online via Student Health Services by completing the waiver survey. Please allow up to 10 business days for the waiver credit to post to the account. For more information, visit the website for Student Health Insurance. 
   
   Payment Plans: Any student with an account balance greater than or equal to $2,000.00 is eligible to enroll in a monthly payment plan. Students wishing to enroll in one of the interest-bearing plans (i.e., the 33% or 20% plan) after the end of the semester's add/drop period but prior the last day of plan enrollment will be required to pay a $60 fee. For more information, click here. 
   
   Late Registration and Outstanding Balance Service Charge: Any student with an outstanding balance as of the end of the add/drop period is subject to a flat $100.00 fee, assessed by the Registrar. At the end of each month following the start of classes, any outstanding balance will be subject to a service charge equal to 1.75% of the balance in question. 
   
   Returned Check Fee: Any paper or electronic check which is returned for any reason will result in an $80.00 charge. 
   
   Payment Options: Undergraduate students and their authorized users may pay online via an electronic check at MyAccess. Students may also pay via paper check, cash, money order, credit card, or wire transfer. For more detailed information regarding payments, click here. 
   
   Memo Items: Memo items reflect anticipated payments and/or scholarships which have yet to be received by the University. Memo items do not reduce the account balance, but do protect the student from being assessed late payment penalties against that portion of their balance covered by the memo. Upon receipt of the funds connected with the memo item, the memo will be transformed into an actual credit, reducing the account balance. Note that prior to the start of an academic term, student loans will also appear as memo items. Students should ensure that all of the requirements for disbursement have been met in order to receive these funds in a timely fashion. Visit the website of the Office of Student Financial Services for more information on financial aid. 
   
   Financial Holds: Any student for whom there remains an outstanding balance prior to the start of pre-registration for the next semester will have a financial hold placed on his or her account. This hold will prevent registration for future terms, will prevent graduation, and will prohibit the the generation of an official transcript. The hold will remain in place until the outstanding balance has been resolved. For more information on financial holds, click here. 
   
   Delinquent Accounts: Any student who becomes inactive - whether by withdrawal, leave of absence, failure to register, or graduation - and has an outstanding balance will be sent a final bill. If the account is not settled in full within 30 days of the final bill, the account will be assessed a final month's service charge and referred to a collection agency. A collection agency fee of up to one-third of the value of the debt will be assessed to the account. 
   
   Dining Plans 
   
   Dining Plans Per Semester All Access 7 plus 100 flex dollars $2,948.50 18 meals/week plus 200 flex dollars $2,948.50 14 meals/week plus 75 flex dollars $2,619.00 12 meals/week plus 100 flex dollars $2,345.50 Block 150 (and $100 Flex) $2,345.50 Block 115 (and $100 Flex) $1,904.00 Block 75 $1,140.00 Block 25 (and $25 flex) $431.00 
   
   Block Plans: Each of the four block plans entitle the student to the stated number of meals per semester. All block plans except the Block 25 plan (available to graduate students only) are available to upperclassmen; the Block 150 plan is available to sophmores. 
   
   All Access Plans: All access meal plans entitle the student to an unlimited number of meals for the number of days indicated in the plan description. The All Access 7 meal plan is the default plan and automatically assigned to freshman and sophomores living on campus. First and second year undergraduates living on campus must enroll in an all access plan, the 18 weekly meal plan or the 14 weekly meal plan, and second year undergraduates have the option to enroll in the 12 weekly meal plan. 
   
   Weekly Plans: Each of the three weekly meal plans entitle the student to the stated number of meals per week. The 18 weekly meal plan and the 14 weekly meal plan are available to all classes while the 12 weekly meal plan is not available to freshmen. 
   
   Flex Dollars: Dining Plans that include Flex dollars will be credited to the student's GOCard for use at various on-campus dining facilities. For a list of on-campus dinig facilities that accept Flex dollars, visit Hoya Eats. It is important to remember that flex dollars are not refundable, or exchangeable, at all. Flex dollars must be used within each semester, and do not roll over between semesters. 
   
   Refunds/Changes: Dining Plan participants will be allowed to change or cancel their plan within the first two weeks of each semester (as outlined in the Dining Plan Policies for Georgetown). All refunds and changes aresubject to a pro-rated charge, which is based on the number of days enrolled in the weekly meal plan, or the amount of meals used in the block plan. 
   
   How does the pro-rated refund/change get calculated? For weekly meal plans, there will be a charge for the number of days enrolled in the plan that is being terminated, and a credit for the number of days elapsed before enrolling in the new plan. For Block Plans, there will be a charge for the meals eaten in the Block Plan being terminated. If you are enrolling in a Block Plan after the beginning of a semester, you will be charged for the full set of meals in the Block Plan. 
   
   Note that if a student is enrolled in a plan in the fall term, he or she will be automatically enrolled in the same plan for the spring term, with an option to submit a change online via MyAccess during the first two weeks of the semester. 
   
   If you withdraw from the University before the end of the semester (be it for a leave of absence, medical leave or any other reason) please be aware that the meal or block plan for which you are enrolled will not be automatically removed from your account. It is your responsibility to review your account at: myaccess.georgetown.edu 
   
   Notify GOCard Services immediately with any question or problems at 202-687-2700. 
   
   Visit the Hoya Eats website for more information. 
   
   Housing 
   
   Rates are per semester 
   
   Residency Halls Residence Halls $4,846.00 - $5,810.00 Apartments Alumni Square $5,703.00 Henle $5,703.00 - $5,957.00 Nevils $5,703.00 - $5,957.00 Village A $5,703.00 Townhouse Per Person Rate (Undergraduate) $6,111 .00 - $6,390.00 
   
   For more detailed information, please visit the website for Georgetown Student Living. ||||| Seth Owen endured "conversion therapy" and homelessness to rise to the top of the class. Now he needs some help with his college tuition. 
   
   After a year of "conversion therapy" that attempted to turn him straight, Seth Owen was told by his parents he could either continue the counseling or move out of their home. After choosing the latter, Owen walked across his high school stage in Jacksonville, Fla., as co-valedictorian, and he is currently trying to raise funds through a GoFundMe page to attend Georgetown University. 
   
   The 18-year-old’s devoutly religious parents discovered he was gay after finding a picture on his phone. Their response was to force him to attend their church, which held anti-LGBT views, while he attended counseling intended to alter his sexual orientation. 
   
   “They made it clear the intention was to make me straight,” Owen told Jacksonville TV station WCWJ. “[That]was their end goal.” 
   
   Despite being technically homeless and crashing with friends, Owen maintained at 4.16 GPA and “[walked] across the stage in a Jacksonville arena weighed down by more cords and medals to count," according to biology teacher Jane Martin, reports Towleroad. 
   
   Martin was the same teacher who started the GoFundMe campaign, and reiterates that she had a close relationship with the valedictorian. According to her message on the campaign’s page, he was ringbearer at her wedding. 
   
   Tuition at Georgetown is $77,000, and the original financial aid package Owen received was based on the premise that he would be financially supported by his parents, which means that the package wouldn’t have been generous enough for Owen to attend in the fall. 
   
   After appealing to the university with letters from mental health professionals, school personnel, mentors, and community organizers, Georgetown refused to amend his financial aid package, which left Owen with a $22,000 tuition bill for his first year. 
   
   “Georgetown University admits and enrolls students without regard to their financial circumstances and is committed to meeting the demonstrated financial need of eligible students through a combination of aid programs that include grants, scholarships, employment and loans from federal, state, private, and University resources," a spokesperson from Georgetown told The Advocate. "While we cannot comment on any individual case, we work closely with students whose financial circumstances change after admission to modify financial aid assistance and ensure they can still enroll regardless of their ability to pay.” 
   
   However, the GoFundMe page has already accumulated over $30,000, which means that Owen will be be covered for his first year. 
   
   Owen plans on paying off his debt one day by becoming a defense attorney for teens, according to WCWJ. ||||| JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Thousands of teens will leave the familiar life of high school and family next month to head off to college. But 18-year-old Seth Owen separated from his family months ago has been living on his own because he is gay and his religious beliefs didn't agree with his parents. 
   
   Owen said he too is college bound, and he's determined to become successful with or without anyone's acceptance of his lifestyle. Owen is optimistic about the future and ready for new experiences. 
   
   He said he has survived with the help of friends, his reality is far too common for LGBTQ teens. 
   
   His lesson in adversity began in his sophomore year of high school. 
   
   "I was writing a paper one night and my dad decided to check my phone," Owen said. "He was searching for quite a few hours and found a photo that clearly showed that I was gay and questioned me for quite a few hours that night." 
   
   Days later, Owen said his parents sent him to counseling. 
   
   "They made it clear the intention was to make me straight. (That) was their end goal." 
   
   That end goal failed and Owen lived in his truth, that he is gay. 
   
   Seth continued to live with his parents for a couple years, staying busy will three jobs, after school programs, dual enrollment classes and swimming. 
   
   "I guess you could say it was easier to try to avoid home. I felt like I was doing something good with the struggle instead of doing something damaging," Owen said. 
   
   But Owen and his parents would reach a breaking point. 
   
   The pastor at his parents' church had strong opinions about women's place in society and the LGBTQ community -- opinions that Owen couldn't abide. He asked his parents to send him to a different church, but they said no. 
   
   "Either go to church or you can move out," Owen quoted his parents telling him. "I called a mentor. I said, I can't do this. I went back in and asked, "Is there any way that we can compromise,' and my dad said no." 
   
   He moved out in February of this year -- two-thirds of the way through his senior year. 
   
   "I was really, really upset," Owen said. "It was extremely hurtful to know that I was walking out that door not knowing what lay ahead and feeling I don't know how to explain it it was devastating, absolutely devastating." 
   
   Owen was homeless, sleeping on friends' couches and find support through his mentors. 
   
   Despite the challenges, Owen maintained a 4.16 GPA and became co-valedictorian of his First Coast High School's class of 2018. 
   
   Seth story is not unique, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Bullying and assault are common for LGBTQ teens who come out. One study published on the CDC website shows 30 percent of LGBTQ teens consider suicide, compared to 6 percent for heterosexual teens. 
   
   Owen, by contrast, is looking forward to the future. He was accepted to Georgetown University, but that is its own challenge. 
   
   Tuition is $77,000 annually. Owen was awarded about $50,000 in scholarships, but has no one to help make up the difference or sign a student loan. 
   
   One of Owen's former teachers created a GoFundMe account. Within five weeks, more than 300 people donated and the total has surpassed $25,000. 
   
   "I don't think thank you is good enough," Owen said. "Of course I am extremely grateful, but I think thank you doesn't say it. Now it's time to pay it forward." 
   
   He has already decided he will pay it forward by becoming a defense attorney for teen criminals. Owen says they too have been neglected and need more help. Owen leaves for Georgetown Aug. 22. 
   
   Copyright 2018 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved. ||||| / Updated By Alexander Kacala 
   
   Seth Owen, 18, said attending college has always been his “life goal,” one he has been working on diligently since elementary school. 
   
   “I was the nerd in fifth grade who walked around recess talking about how I wanted to be an astronaut,” Owen told NBC News. “I was always in a textbook, always in the library, always reading something.” 
   
   Seth Owen, left, and his swimming coach, Kaylee Petik, on graduation day Courtesy Seth Owen 
   
   With a 4.61 GPA and an acceptance letter from Georgetown University, it seemed like the high school valedictorian’s dream would become a reality. But when he received his financial aid package from the prestigious school, a different reality set in: The financial aid package had been determined based on the expected contribution of his family, a family he said drove him out of his home due to his sexuality. 
   
   “I started to cry, because I realized there was no way that I could go to college,” he said. “Georgetown was my only option, because I had already denied my other acceptances.” 
   
   With Georgetown refusing to amend his financial aid package and $20,000 needed for his first year’s tuition, the Florida teen thought his situation was hopeless. But then his former biology teacher stepped in. 
   
   “Seth was just a kid that really stood out to me,” the teacher, Jane Martin, told NBC News. “He was super ambitious and was always trying to go above and beyond to make sure he could be as successful as possible.” 
   
   Martin set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Owen’s tuition, hoping to “make the impossible possible,” and she succeeded. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fundraising page raised over $50,000 — more than double its initial $20,000 goal. 
   
   “AWKWARD CONVERSION THERAPY” 
   
   Trouble at home began for Owen during his sophomore year of high school, when his Southern Baptist parents discovered he was gay. 
   
   “I was writing a paper, and my dad decided to check my phone late in the evening,” Owen recalled. “He found a damning photograph of me and another guy. Nothing inappropriate, but it clearly indicated that I was gay.” 
   
   Owen said his dad informed his mother of the discovery, and the two questioned him about his sexuality until 4:30 a.m. 
   
   “Soon after, they sent me to a Christian counselor,” he said. “It was clear that their intent was for me to walk out of therapy straight.” 
   
   “It was not like a conversion camp, but it was definitely awkward conversion therapy where they tried encouraging stereotypical masculine tasks and things like that,” Owen added. He said he participated in the Christian therapy program for a “few months” before eventually convincing his parents to let him stop. 
   
   Conversion therapy, also known as "reparative therapy" or "ex-gay therapy," aims to change one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Despite widespread opposition from health associations, like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, approximately 700,000 LGBTQ Americans between the ages of 18 and 59 have been subjected to this practice at some point in their lives, according to a 2018 report from UCLA’s Williams Institute. The report also estimates tens of thousands of LGBTQ youth currently between the ages of 13 and 17 will undergo “gay conversion therapy" before they turn 18. 
   
   Seth Owen, left, was on the swim team at First Coast High School in Jacksonville, Florida. Courtesy Seth Owen 
   
   On February 11, two-thirds of the way through his senior year, Owen said he left his parents’ home for his own well-being. 
   
   “I started bringing up my disagreements with the church that they attend. I mean, there was just incident after incident,” Owen said. “They talked very negatively about the LGBTQ+ community. They said that gay people would not serve in the church. Then they were talking about transgender people as though they weren't human, and that really, really bothered me.” 
   
   Owens said he tried to convince his parents to let him attend a different church, but they refused. They then gave him an ultimatum: attend their church or move out. 
   
   “The worst part was I was packing my bags, and I was walking out the door, and I was hoping that my mom would stand in my way. I was hoping that she would say ‘I love my child more than I love my religion.’” 
   
   Just a few weeks after leaving his parents’ home — when he was sleeping on friends’ couches and thought things couldn’t get any worse — Owen received his financial aid package and tuition total from Georgetown. 
   
   “I was just devastated once again,” he said of realizing his college dream was in jeopardy. 
   
   “YOU ARE NOT ALONE” 
   
   When Jane Martin, who taught Owen freshman biology and served as his mentor throughout high school, found out about his situation, she met with other teachers and students to figure out a way they could help him. 
   
   “We know that he's not the type of person to always say, ‘I need help.’ He tries to be very solution-oriented and deal with things on his own,” Martin said about Owen. “We just got to the point where we came together and said, ‘This is something where we need to take the lead, and make sure that he gets what he needs” 
   
   Seth Owen Courtesy Seth Owen 
   
   Martin set up a fundraising page for Owen’s tuition on GoFundMe, with a goal of raising $20,000. 
   
   “I know the goal seems unrealistic and the circumstances aren’t ideal, but I also know communities can make the impossible possible,” Martin wrote in her GoFundMe plea. 
   
   Six weeks and more than 750 donations later, the fundraising page surpassed $50,000. 
   
   “After we had hit $2,000, Seth was just like, ‘I'm so surprised that people, like, actually care about me,’” Martin recalled. 
   
   “He has had so much support and so many people reach out and say ‘You're not alone,’ and ‘It gets better,’ all of the things that we all need to hear when we're queer teenagers and are suffering,” Martin, who is also gay, added. “I'm just excited for him to have this community literally come around and put all of our arms together and bring him up and raise him up for the first time.” 
   
   If Georgetown does end up readjusting Owen’s financial aid package, which Owen and Martin are still hoping for, they plan on using the donations to create a scholarship fund for other teens facing a situation similar to Owen’s. 
   
   A spokesperson from Georgetown told NBC News the university “admits and enrolls students without regard to their financial circumstances and is committed to meeting the demonstrated financial need of eligible students.” 
   
   "While we cannot comment on any individual case, we work closely with students whose financial circumstances change after admission to modify financial aid assistance and ensure they can still enroll regardless of their ability to pay,” the spokesperson added. 
   
   CLASS OF 2022 
   
   Owen said he hopes his story inspires others to talk more openly and honestly about the adversity they’re facing. 
   
   “I remember growing up and saying I had really strict religious parents, and people would brush it off,” Owen explained. “If someone were to say that to me today, I would sit down, and I would ask them, ‘What's going on? What's going on at home? What's happening? What kind of messages are being preached in your church?’” 
   
   When asked what he would say to his sophomore self or other teens facing similar issues at home, he said, “I would tell that sophomore kid to hold their head high, roll their shoulders back and be exactly who they are.” 
   
   “It’s difficult to be who you genuinely are when you have all this pressure around you from all these different people in your life,” he added, “but if you become comfortable with who you are, you're that much more equipped to face these difficult times.” 
   
   Owen plans to move to Washington, D.C., next month to join Georgetown University's Class of 2022. 
   
   Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Owen's GPA was 4.16: It was 4.61. 
   
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target: – Seth Owen was over the moon when he received what appeared to be the path to his "life goal" of going to college: an acceptance letter from Georgetown University. But the Florida 18-year-old, who was the co-valedictorian of his senior class, had his hopes dashed when he later received his financial aid package from Georgetown, which had been based on the expected contribution from his family. The problem: He's estranged from his Southern Baptist parents, and was essentially forced out of his home, because he's gay, NBC News reports. Owen says his parents found out he was gay when he was a sophomore, made him go to Christian-based conversion therapy, and eventually told him he had to keep going to their church—which Owen says bashed the LGBT community—or leave. And so in February, he did, crashing with friends instead. He says he was "devastated" when he realized he couldn't afford the tuition for his first year at Georgetown—annual tuition and fees comes to around $70,000, and Owen would have to pay about $22,000 of that, per the Advocate—let alone for all four years. Enter Jane Martin, Owen's former bio teacher, who says Owen always "stood out to me." Martin, who's also gay, set up a GoFundMe for her ex-student, who also served as the ring bearer in her wedding. She explained she wanted to "help … bring a rainbow in the midst of Seth's storm" and "make the impossible possible." The GoFundMe has so far raised more than $82,000—and if Georgetown eventually acquiesces and adjusts Owen's financial aid package, Martin and Owen say they'll use leftover donations to set up a scholarship fund for other gay teens. Owen plans on studying to become a criminal defense lawyer for teens, per WJXT.