<p>For one school I was accepted to the COA goes up by a ridiculous $4,500 once they factor in transportation and personal expenses. There's no way it will cost that much for me per year. Why can't I just actually owe the school tuition, fees, room, and board?</p>
<p>You will ONLY pay the school itself for direct billed expenses…tuition, fees, room, board. Any personal costs (books, transportation, etc) will not be billed by the school and many students DO economize by spending less on these items. Just remember, you WILL have some personal costs so don’t totally ignore those when you are setting your college budget.</p>
<p>Thanks! Sorry if my question sounded dumb, I didn’t really know how to word it.
And yeah, I know I’ll have personal costs but it doesn’t come out to $4.5k right now and I’m not going to let it get that high in the near future.</p>
<p>Soph, better to ask now, thats what this forum is for. Only you know what transportation will cost.</p>
<p>The $4500 is an estimate of an average, so don’t think of it as being cast in stone. You have a large degree of control over this number, but it won’t be zero.</p>
<p>A big chunk of it is transportation, which will vary wildly from student to student. Someone who flies across the country 3 times during the year is obviously going to spend much more than someone who takes the bus home to the next county 3 times during the year. You can also plan on spending up to $1000 on books.</p>
<p>The number also includes: personal supplies (deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, laundry), school supplies (notebooks, computer paper, flash drives), fun stuff (pizza, Starbucks, movies, tickets to the football game), fees for labs or supplies required in a class. It adds up.</p>
<p>I agree with LasMa. I am a parent and our college estimated ‘budget’ for miscellaneous is $75 a week (roughly $300 per month for 10 months) NOT including transportation. I assumed 5 round trips home (us dropping at school, Tday, Winter Break, Spring Break, us picking up to bring back home for summer) and, with the current gas price for cheapest being $3.37 in our Virgina area, I allowed $1500 for that. Comes to an average of $4500 for the year. So, while you could spend less, it seems a fair estimate. :-)</p>
<p>*The number also includes: personal supplies (deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, laundry), school supplies (notebooks, computer paper, flash drives), fun stuff (pizza, Starbucks, movies, tickets to the football game), fees for labs or supplies required in a class. It adds up. *</p>
<p>Very true. I think one reason why kids don’t realize how much all of this costs is because their parents have been paying for much of this stuff in the past (shampoo, deodorant, meals out, clothing, school supplies, etc). </p>
<p>And, it’s not unusual for college kids to go to some off-campus hangout a couple of times per week…it all adds up.</p>
<p>And, yes, transportation costs can be a lot if you have to fly a few times per year (beginning of the school year, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, and Year-end), drive long distances, and/or pay for any local transportation costs.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. But for this school it’s just a two hour drive.
Although yeah, I guess personal expenses can be a lot.</p>
<p>Then if you’re smart, you’ll spend quite a bit less than the $4500. Your transportation costs will be almost zero (offer to pay for gas if someone gives you a ride home). Buy the cheap brands of toothpaste & shampoo, not the glamorous brands – store brand toothpaste gets your teeth just as clean as the pricey national brands. Give yourself a weekly allowance for pizza & Starbucks, and don’t go over it. Plan ahead and don’t buy routine school supplies at the school bookstore; get them at Office Depot or Walmart. This is as good a time as any to learn about spending discipline and smart shopping. :)</p>