<p>For the purposes of financial aid, the cost for books and supplies is estimated to be roughly $1300-$1500 per year. It sounds like a big number for books and supplies to me, so I just wonder if some parents or b.s. students can shed light on this issue. Also, is there any way to reduce the cost (take advantage of Amazon or used books, for example)?</p>
<p>Thank you for all your insights.</p>
<p>the library!</p>
<p>many schools have books just for FA students (like a private library/section of the library for them), that they can borrow for free (like, for the semester, not just the week). And Amazon/Half.com/Varsity Books (?) are ridiculousy cheap.. I'm sure $800 (Exeter's retail estimate) on Amazon could be about $250 easily.</p>
<p>say you take 5 classes per TRImester.. that's about 15 books (more or less), and you can get textbooks for under 20 bucks online.. so that's under 300.. and then you can give them away/resell them afterwards.</p>
<p>If you get all of your books and supplies from the school bookstore, $1500 is a conservative estimate. We use Half.com and Amazon, and save up to 90% on textbooks. Supplies, especially reltng to sports, we don't have too much control over.</p>
<p>what supplies? they're not talking about pencils and binders, right? what else do you need for an english/history/physics class? software? lab coat?? (lol.) a $200 calculator is the ony thing I can think of that is a significant academic cost.</p>
<p>"supplies" is a nebulous term..... when it comes to a boarding school, are you including things like soap, shampoo, that sweatshirt from the bookstore with the school logo that " I just had to have". Parents need to be careful, most schools give the kids a card that they can use to "charge" things at the school book store and cafe, and those things can add up, be sure to have a talk with your student before they go off in September.</p>
<p>wait... so if you were to get a full ride, the school pays for your shampoo and coffee, in addition to textbooks? lol.. or would there be a set amount (prob their official estimate), and you pay everything else?</p>
<p>any experience? anybody?</p>
<p>does anyone know how much an 11th grade female is likely to spend (rough estimate) at BS? one who drinks a lot of coffee and will prob be living off of "The Grill" (relatively cheap snack bar)....</p>
<p>any ideas?</p>
<p>I thought the way the OP was wording the question, was that the number they were given was something that they would be expected to cover, hence the question about being able to do it more cheaply. I don't think the any school is going to cover your personal living expenses, but, nevertheless, it is still a topic for parents to consider when calculating the cost of school.</p>
<p>yeah, i'm just trying to figure out the TOTAL cost.</p>
<p>It is all the (not so) little extras that really add up! You would be surprised how fast those Smoothies and bags of potato chips can add up!!</p>
<p>i know, lol. that's why i'm trying to figure out what i should expect.</p>
<p>FA packages vary. We know of an Andover student whose single mother was provided with airfare and accomodations to come out from CA for the parent weekend and they provided airfare for her daughter to return home for the major vacations. We also know a Hil student who is on partial FA (50%) and had to pay 50% for his books, sports extras and laptop. Haven't heard of any FA students who got a blank check to the extra pay "Grill"/campus Starbucks, but definitely the food in the cafeteria was covered under the boarding agreement. Maybe some schools give a small monthly allowance/stipend. Optional sports equipment and trips (spring lax camp) etc. may be funded by donations from other team parents if not covered by the school, but the mandatory costs seem to be covered.</p>
<p>Supplies: team pictures, team shirts, sweats, jackets (for fun, but do you want to be the only one without one?), mandatory theater dancing shoes that match the rest of the cast, mandatory lacrosse goggles, mandatory brand hockey stick, mouthguards, violin strings, bus fare for field trips, CD of music you are performing, mandatory brand of paint and sketchbook, anyone else want to chime in? No offense Blair, but you're a little bit of a "know it all"- I have lived at PEA for several years in the past, and I would try to lose that attitude before you get there.</p>
<p>Oh man, you are hitting me where I live with this one.... I just got the lastest bill from my son's school..... his Grill bill was over $250!! BUT..... he is a PIG!!! ( and I mean that in the nicest way ;) ) the amount of Snapple, scones, and grilled cheese sandwiches that kid goes through is amazing!!! (SCONES!!??)Oh, I forgot the "sushi" at $7 a pop! HOWEVER.... he could be eating at the dining hall and we would not have to pay extra for the food. He is a senior and we only have a few months left to go, so basically we have given up!! I do think it would be very wise for parents of freshman and first time students to do better than I have, and set some limits.
SOOOOOO, after all my venting, the answer to you question..."what to expect?" it really depends on the student. Actual "school" supplies really aren't that bad, I was pleasantly surprised that most of his books were relatively inexpensive, and load them up with notebooks and pens and pencils when they come home. Other than that I would suggest you find a local blood bank that pays cash for blood ;)</p>
<p>sabooks hit the nail on the head. The schools will determine what is "mandatory" to supply for the FA kids. Sometimes athletic/musical/drama coaches work behind the scenes to get non-FA families to contribute to cover the FA students they know are in real need. I think the snack bar and grocery store (within walking distance of the dorm) bills ran about $100-200 per month last year. Like college this year, the first term book bill was expensive ($800 - no time to use Amazon - the book list was given out the first day of enrollment and class began the next day) -- but many of the most expensive texts were used for the full year (math, science, etc.) The term courses usually had paperbacks which were much less expensive. The school rents things like cameras for the photo classes so you don't have to purchase them.</p>
<p>Creasemonkey- sabooks has lived at boarding school since 1989! Now sabooks is a parent who lives at one in the South, and has a child at a big one in New England and another one applying next year! By the way, I always enjoy your posts. Everything that you have wriiten has been accurate (and kind!)</p>
<p>Also, I have eaten at both "The Grill" (NOT cheap! and somewhat gross) and the "Snug" LOL Creasemonkey.</p>
<p>As to the cost of books. I believe the estimate they give you is for new as they cannot guarantee that their supplier will have enough used. Typical new math/foreign language/history book costs about $70 new. Language classes typically have a workbook at another $25. English classes generally have a large hard cover plus about 6 novels (fortunately usually found at a discount at Amazon). IIRC this year our books ran about $700 with a mix of new and used (whereever possible) for 5 academic classes and one required arts.</p>
<p>I guess that I am fortunate that my D hasn't developed the expensive snack bar habit. She will have maybe 2 or 3 items a week and never more than $1.50. The prices were actually reasonable.</p>
<p>Other fees you will see are activity fees (for special weekend activities like campouts, museum tours, etc.) and yearbook and team photos.</p>
<p>And don't forget laundry. Typically about $3 per load for wash and dry. Figure on 3 loads per week to cover clothes and linens.</p>
<p>And for us whose kids have to fly, they charge $90 round trip to take you to Logan for your trips home which is much cheaper than a cab considering the mileage.</p>
<p>And for those of you with computers, just wait till you find out how many $30 ink cartridges you go through in a year.</p>
<p>I just figure that I should be paying for things like coffee and bookstore/snack bar runs. My mother will pay for everything (is fine w/ paying for all additional expenses), but I just figure that all of the little "extras" should be on me (including new linens and things for the dorm, etc.. things that aren't absolutely necessary but really are.. sort of..). I'm just trying to get a rough estimate of how much it will cost, before I sign any papers. I'm sure that whatever comes of it, I can afford it, but I would still like to know.. keeps my quiet and at peace!</p>
<p>regular expenses.. things you can expect to need each month</p>
<p>so some things to look out for (please tell me if i'm missing anything): toiletries, printing cartridges, extra food and snack runs, basic school supplies, laundry...any more ideas?</p>
<p>i'm burned out right now and i can't think straight and i'm trying to figure out all of the things i buy regularly .. the things you forget about</p>
<p>so, could anyone tell me what the monthly bill for "extras" is for a BS student.. pref. female (i'm sure we buy more toiletries, but not such a heavy Grill bill!)..?</p>
<p>I have major back problems. Always have, always will. My doctor suggested that we order an extra set of textbooks each year so I don't need to carry them home every day. </p>
<p>For the past 5 years, we have been using <a href="http://www.cheapesttextbooks.com%5B/url%5D">www.cheapesttextbooks.com</a> to find the books. </p>
<p>It's a great search engine so the book prices range from 1$-90$ for the typical HIGH school textbook.</p>
<p>They give you a synopsis of it's condition. Fair ones usually serve the purpose, but if you REALLY want perfectly new ones, idk what to tell ya...</p>
<p>blair,</p>
<p>You should receive somewhere in your packets, a pretty thorough list of things that you will need. </p>
<p>Being from California, I would ask the school for a parent contact to get the low-down on what you REALLY need.</p>
<p>The first thing you will need will be real winter clothing. Not ski stuff. You are probably best off (if this is your taste) to catalog order the stuff from one of the big names. The parent contact should be able to give you an idea of what people at your school REALLY wear.</p>
<p>Being from California and probably flying out to the east coast, you will probably spend a day or 2 shopping for most of the stuff you will need. Walmart or Target suffices for much of the daily needs of boarding school students. Having that list ready will help a lot.</p>
<p>We drove (1000+ miles in each direction) and had the van loaded to the gills. with 3 people on board. Of course, my D has 2 sets of hockey equipment (goalie and player), so that did expand things, but we still ended up spending a day shopping for the stuff you don't pack (food/drinks, fans, trash cans). I had my D bring her skater's stuff home on the plane this trip, so we can fit it all back in the van for the trip home. Next year we thin things out!</p>