Good morning,
I was hoping to gain some insight into the full cost of attending Boarding School…beyond the tuition contract that we sign. As we decide if we can truly afford to send our son, we need to evaluate the full costs. Anyone with information into the costs that they incur, would be much appreciated.
Travel expenses…parents travel also (if possible)
Summer storage
I disagree about the laundry service, but this will be school dependent. DS has always done his own laundry and it is MUCH cheaper than the service, plus he’s never had anything lost. Kids at his school who used the service for the first year, quickly switched over to either doing their own at school or taking it home for long weekends (there are a lot of local boarders). He says the service usually loses clothes or damages them and takes a week to get clothes back, so you need much more in quantity.
If you are not from the area that your kid goes to Bs, you’ll need winter clothes…we purchased second hand and from outlet stores to save money.
We’ve given DS $500 for the year ( on his school card) for spending money and he has had plenty left over.
Ways we have saved-I switched to an airlines credit card and he has his own frequent flyer number. I pay for everything with that card and pay it off every month…the points go to a few free flights per year.
We have a tradition at home of pizza night each week. We’ve switched to Dominos and every time we buy a pizza, we earn points. He logs into the account and uses the free pizzas we’ve earned.
We save all our quarters we get back in change. Every time he comes home, he goes back with a ziplock bag full of quarters for laundry.
Where I’ve wasted money - buying the kid pants. It was in the single digits last week and he still was in shorts. The pants I bought for winter before he even left for BS are still in a bin under his bed with the tags on them…he’s a IV former.
We really don’t see too much in additional expenses…required pre-season sports trips do cost about $1000 extra, but the school subsidizes if you are on FA, so that helps. Otherwise, the tuition covers most. But then, you can also tell we are pretty frugal and aren’t the ones with the helicopter asking permission to land on campus to pick DS up for break.
Books
Health fee (and possibly also health insurance)
Art fees (if he/she takes art)
Spending money (for snacks, occasional eating out/ordering in, taxi/Uber if necessary; depends on the child how much but I’d budget at least $100/month)
Laundry service is more important if the achool has a formal dress code. My son does some of his laundry (you know, the important stuff — his favorite athletic stuff), but the laundry service is indispensable.
Clothes are a cost but you can definitely economize (outlets, sales, consignment stores). We bought winter stuff that should last 4 years (LL Bean not Canada Goose). DS doesn’t care what he’s wearing and could get through HS with 2 ties. Bedding and other dorm stuff is a one-time expense and similarly can be pretty cheap.
Other costs: music lessons if applicable; meals out on parents weekend and other visits; spending money (mainly for food/snacks); rental of a fridge for the dorm room; occasional health center fees; laptop. A biggie is the spring break preseason training trip for spring varsity athletes, but generally there aren’t athletic costs (other than your own gear and footwear).
I feel like we spend a lot of money but at the same time don’t feel like we’re being nickel-and-dimed.
Laptop computer. Whether they need a Macbook or Windows based laptop will depend on the school IT support it and your child’s computer science skills. Your child will definitely need a computer, but you may not have to run out and get a new one.
Depends on the schools, but sports equipment outside of uniforms - skates/helmets/clubs, etc. Also sports like skiing and golf may have surcharges to cover lift tickets/greens fees.
I could not really tell from your post whether you would be getting /hoping to receive a FA package.
For MX at least, FA (depending on the package you receive, but I think this is for full FA) covers books, laptop, and other things (I think it even covers one trip, like an international trip or like EC competition trip).
But in regards to general cost spending (for me personally at MX):
I did not use the laundry service (and frankly kids who said they did not have time to do their own laundry were just not managing their time right) and it was .75 cents for washing and another .75 for drying, so a total of $1.50 per load. I did my laundry once a week but that’s just me. I know a lot of kids who switched from laundry service to doing their own laundry the next year.
Keep in mind that book cost sort of decreases after the first year, or even the first semester. By that I mean is that tell your kid to make friends with upperclassmen. He can buy off the books they don’t need anymore. The first year I spend upwards of $600 I think (math books are a killer) and this semester I only spent $160. Most upperclassmen gave their books for free cause I was friends with them, but even if they don’t they ask for like $20 which is still much cheaper. Also, may I stress buying used books, even if you need an access code for a course, the school usually provides one. And something I have notices, which I can’t be sure of but might be a trend is that after the rush of buying books ends, like after semester had started, the used books options goes way up and becomes cheaper.
Okay, let me lay it out in regards to spending money. The amount you use is entirely dependent on what you do on weekends. If your friends go out every weekend, you spend every weekend. And also what types of friends, is your friend going out to the mall every weekend or to town to the local pizza/cafe place. At MX there are always trips on the weekend and the school provides transport. For long weekends and the such the school pays for anything at the destination. Then there is the school grill/cafe, another place to spend money. Honestly, give your kid a budget you are comfortable with and he will work with it. I got $20 a week and honestly, I am not a big spender so it went unused a lot of times. My parents upped my allowance during the year and it was absolutely unnecessary. The only time I actively spent more than $20 ever was to buy a dress for a dance and to buy formal wear for a MUN competition. The amount of money you give to your kid depends on his spending habits and your expectations.
If you live relatively close by, don’t waste money on summer storage. Also if your kid has day student friends, they usually are pretty cool with storing some stuff. I personally had a close family friend who stored my stuff AND my roommates stuff. As a day student this year I’ll store some of my friend’s stuff again.
Health insurance is not really an add on unless your Health insurance doesn’t cover the area where your kid is going, check and confirm. The school sometimes offers its own supported insurance plan.
I do a lot of art but I haven’t encountered a fee yet.
As for sports equipment, yea expect some cost. I decided to become a goalie, so while I had to obtain my own cleats and shin guards, the school gave me gloves and I think when I slowly lost all my socks, more socks. I don’t know about partial FA, but in full FA, the school provides aid in regards to sports supplies.
Personally, think a printer is unnecessary since there are multiple places on campus to print, but some kids insist its a good investment. Also at the end of the year senior dump out a lot of stuff they don’t want to take to college, and that the story of how I got a printer.
Also, all I have said is from my experience at MX…
Straight from our contract:
Health Fee
Publication Fee
Technology Fee
Science Fee ($xx per term/per class)
Arts Program Fee ($xx per term/per class)
In some schools, these may be rolled into the tuition rather than listed separately.
Thank you all for this GREAT info!
There is an entire thread on laundry that is both informative and humorous. It’s clearly an optional expense and an opportunity to cut costs, but we’ve found it very useful. That being said, the most basic plan is perfectly fine. If you think that a teenage boy is going to wash their comforter…well, you’ve never been a teenage boy. At a school with a casual dress code, our son has never used dry cleaning.
If your child has to study hard and is involved with varsity sports, music, or theater get the laundry package. Our son is up at 7am and in classes and sports until 6pm, and not in his dorm after dinner until 7pm. Homework and study until 10pm. Never mind Wednesday away games for up to 8 hours RT. We do not have a lot of money and he is on aid, but the laundry service out of pocket was worth it, IMO.
As others said it really depends on the school. I was very happy that our school was really 100% covered in tuition. No charges here and there. Pending the school and tech your already own, outside of books, it could cost nothing in addition. We had to do a “real” laptop vs the Chromebook he owned.
Or their sheets for that matter. 
Laundry is free at our kid’s school. Detergent provided.
At our school, kids need camping supplies for 2-3 weeklong camping trips a year.
They also need riding and mucking boots, helmet, and, depending on their horse’s temperament, spurs.
Remember to factor in your own travel expenses to visit.
If your child plays a sport, often they go to "spring training " this time of year; parents pay air and part of the lodging
Grammarly subscription - really useful online grammar checker that my kids used
Some schools have a Winterim term (called many different things) where they take different courses for a week or two. These often involve travel or supplies that are an additional expense.
Let’s not forget the annual fund (i.e. donating to the school). Clearly it’s not a fixed (or even existent) cost, but parents are asked to contribute (what they can).
Look at the contract. We are full pay but i was surprised at the additional fees ( various) that added another 2k. Fine for us but if you were on a strict budget could be tough.