<p>Almost no one had a car at my college. We walked into town, and took school or public transportation into Boston. (The people who did have cars tended to have ancient heaps that were, in some cases, older than we were! ) At breaks, I took the train from CT to Boston and public transportation from there.</p>
<p>The cost of insuring a young male driver alone would pay an awful lot of airfare, not to mention maintenance and gas...assuming that the school has parking available. I gather from this and other threads that the rural midwestern colleges and universities are places where having a car is more desirable and more practical.</p>
<p>I'm increasingly glad that our S chose a school 3 hours drive away, although I'd be even happier if there were good public transportation between here and there.</p>
<p>singersmom, just checked. Some of the schools we are interested in, are doable through Southwest, although, not nearly the closest airport for us. Still it is doable, and would save about $100 RT (still the cost is $350 with a stop over and a long drive to an airport for us, but that might be better than 450+).</p>
<p>My D will be a senior in college this fall, and DS will be a senior in high school.
She is in college 1300 miles away, at relatively remote school, and we live in a city with poor air service - no low fare carriers at all. Our costs have doubled to get her back and forth.</p>
<p>DS has looked at some far away out of state schools, and we are still encouraging him to apply, but he is leaning toward one in easy driving distance and I am secretly glad for that. I do worry about the driving, it is standard here for freshmen to have cars, and the drive is a little scary.</p>
<p>cangel, as a consumer, I see this as a big issue in school selection. I think that many parents will be "secretly wishing", or will steer their children away from 3k in airfare if FA/merit aid does not allow for this change in transportation cost.</p>
<p>D2 (class of '09) has committed to a school that is 4 hours away from home. Driveable! However she will be playing a sport and if we want to watch her play we will need to fly to away games. I had hoped that the cost we saved from the athletic scholarship would allow us to pay for flights. We will be in a holding pattern and wait to see how high the fares will go.</p>
<p>D's college is 1676 miles from home. Car gets 35+ mpg x $4/gal = ~ $192.
Split between two people = $96 per person. Plans trip so can "overnight" with friends/family most of the time, otherwise it's Motel 6. Latest airfare check = $163.50 one way. Sometimes you have to get creative. I like the idea of ride boards if your kid has a car and doesn't know anyone going their direction (at least for day long rides w/o overnights). I try to encourage both kids to get to know others who come from their area so rides can be arranged.</p>
<p>DadII: Thanks for the info about showing travel receipts to Stanford if the total goes over the travel allowance in the COA. Chances are that he won't go over, because our S will not be coming home for Thanksgiving, and maybe not for spring break either. Stanford's dorm stays open for their two-week spring break (not for meals, though). Also we have relatives not too far away from campus who could take him for all or part of those breaks.</p>
<p>From the Northeast - Maine to Virginia - to Florida or reverse - the autotrain is the best for longer breaks. Not practical for Thanksgiving but beginning and ending the academic year, as well as Christmas and Spring Break - cheaper than some of the flights I have been checking on...</p>
<p>Northeastmom, when you looked up plane fares (and nearly fainted) were you trying out dates from within the next 14 days, or more in advance such as late August or early September? </p>
<p>With break dates published a year or more in advance, you have many weeks or months notice to book discount fares. I've gotten good at hawking expedia. com and looking for bargains.</p>
<p>I realize it is all heading north too fast due to gas prices. But I also made the mistake, early on, of dialing up "next week's prices" rather than far in advance. As well, if a distant college offers a good financial aid deal, it can certainly offset plane costs. </p>
<p>So many variables! It's hard. I am just glad we kept 2 California places on S-2's list, since one of them had a great program for him AND gave the best financial consideration. </p>
<p>Best wishes; I know it's hard but don't give up. Kayak.com or orbitz.com or expedia.com can help you do the math. Plug in Sept or August dates, however.</p>
<p>I plugged in several different dates, in August and in October. I also plugged in different days of the week just to see what prices came up, and I used several sites. Southwests rates were the best for the locations I put in, but on our end the airport is really quite a bit out of the way. I really don't know if I would bother them. The savings would need to be significant because of tolls, gas prices, and the out of the way airport location for us.</p>
<p>We looked at one school where Amtrak is possible (6 hour train ride). I am happy that we have that school on our list.</p>
No way. I can't see it possibly going over $800 for 2 round trips -- we usually pay $350 or less. My son just booked a one-way ticket to go to upstate NY for his new job for $235, but it was short notice -- he was booking a flight only 6 days out. During my d's freshman year she had to fly home on short notice ( a 3rd trip) because of the death of a close friend, but even then I was able to get round trip tickets for well under $300 using a "last minute deal" finder on one of the travel sites.
[quote]
I just bought D's Thanksgiving travel and paid a lot (chose direct flights).
[/quote]
As Dad II and I have both pointed out, the COA is usually based on the idea that the student will make TWO round trips -- Thanksgiving is an option, not part of the cost of attendance. Fine if you want and can afford it, but not something the colleges would expect as the norm. In my mind it is silly to bring a kid home in late November when the term will end 3 weeks later; I think most kids attending distant colleges have Thanksgiving with friends, and most parents whose kids attend nearby colleges are happy to invite their kid's roommates or friends as Thanksgiving guests.
[quote]
Good thing I did - the prices went up from there (they might go down if there will be no takers, but I'm not going to gamble).
[/quote]
Thanksgiving is tough in terms of travel -- one more reason NOT to have the kid come home -- but in general you are not ever going to get good air fares booking more than 4 months out for the departure. The best fares usually show up if you book 3-8 weeks out.</p>
<p>Unless you are booking through southwest, and then the "web only specials" run out quick. I booked flights for our family in February for our vacation to Denver in June and paid about $225 round trip but the same flight a few weeks ago was over $300 and is now over $400.</p>
<p>calmom, we are one of those "lucky" families that do not qualify for fin. aid, so I have no clue how fin. aid offices treat travel. I should have stated that those estimates were the personal budget I have set aside for travel (a bit on the high end, but there is a possibility D could end up going abroad, too). I'd rather have some leftovers in the bank account than scramble for cash when the need arises. Of course, some of the expense will be offset by the drop in our auto insurance rate and the gas use. Sorry I was not clear, and I did not mean to imply that everyone's costs will be as high.</p>
<p>Train is a very good way to attend college. No'st'MOm, your "six hours by train"
is ideal. At that distance, a train can be preferable to flying. Counting ground transpo to the airport, security waits, and possible weather delays, you can sometimes get there faster by train. There are fewer weather problems with train, as well.</p>
<p>p3t, I know that's true, but I am still hoping that he'll like the other schools. I am hoping that the costs of flying are not going to be too unreasonable two years from now. If it is, we do need options like one near the train.</p>
<p>I guess the "Cost of Attendance" and "budget" questions are two different issues-- and something that each family should think about in advance, including a family discussion about whether the kid expects to come home more frequently and over shorter breaks, and/or whether the parents want their kids to make frequent visits. It's definitely something to consider -- but at the same time, for parents expecting to pay for multiple trips throughout the year, it is an area of the budget where there can be trimming if needed. It is also an area where costs can be split between parent & kid -- for example, my d. has mentioned that she might want to come home mid-semester next fall to spend time with a friend who will be visiting from overseas. That's fine, but she'll have to pay for that on her own.</p>
<p>Even those who can drive (kid is 6 hours away by car) have had our budgets stretched, with insane gas prices. The COA of many schools hasn't increased to reflect those increased costs, either.</p>
<p>Chedva, that is correct. That is what I was trying to bring to light. I think that next year, and more so the year after, when parents realize that travel costs can add significantly to the cost of college, schools will need to include more realistic numbers. They can choose not to, but I do think that it will effect the number of less wealthy students schools can get from different areas of the country.</p>
<p>My son is going to a college that is 60-75 minutes away by car. I can't tell you how many times my husband and I said how helpful that is to our family budget. If we want to visit our son, we don't have to pay for a hotel. And even with the cost of gas and tolls, visits home don't break the bank. The distance to college is a bigger factor now than it was even one year ago when our son was deciding where to go. We are so happy he didn't decide to go to a college in Boston.</p>
<p>So kids from low- and middle-income families will be the ones without a parent accompanying them for move-in, without parents attending Parents Weekend, and at school over Thanksgiving and spring breaks.</p>
<p>Also, higher gas costs, airfares, and new baggage policies will impact low- and middle-income kids' ability to get their stuff to school. Airlines are now charging for baggage, in addition to higher fares. And if a parent cannot afford to accompany the student for move-in (and take stuff for the kid in his/her bags), the student will have probably have to pay for more bags or shipping costs.</p>