<p>The other alternative that the OP might want to consider if s/he wants to go away to school in future years, is to see about the costs living off campus. My son went to a SUNY and his off campus housing rent was dirt cheap. Yes, he lived in a dump, but so did a lot of kids there. His food bill remained high, but had he worked on that as well (ramen as a mainstay), he could have cut costs even more. SUNY room and board charges are quite high, in my opinion, and for schools that are not in NYC, most students can do better off campus.</p>
<p>Cpt, you may be right. A friend of mine’s D goes to Buffalo, and there are very cheap rentals available there.</p>