I agree that living off campus can certainly offer savings (at any college). I also agree that the cost of attendance on the website often overestimates other living expenses (at any college). However, I do not see anything about Greek dues on the UGA COA page (unless buried in the fine print I’m not taking time to read). That is a personal decision and I would not expect that on the COA page.
Regardless, and I may have misread the previous posts, I thought the comment I was responding to was specifically about the fees line item. And I have no skin in the game. I was simply curious since it was brought up. You’ve had a student on campus in recent years so I trust you know a realistic COA better than anyone. But I did not think that was the topic at hand.
Yes. Specialized programs like engineering often have an additional fee. I believe at Bama, for example, it is another $2k or more.
I also agree that Greek life is a personal choice and while it should be considered by families interested, I’ve never seen that as a line item on a COA page (in all my vast experience going through college admissions one cycle! Ha!) The only school I’ve seen it mentioned is Washington & Lee (75% Greek) had a link to their Greek Life page with a chart of costs there.
You also need to compare what the fees include. My daughter went to Wyoming, a D1 school, and her fees (about $800/sem) included the gym, football and basketball (and all sports) admissions, a ‘Friday night activity’ which could be a concert, a guest speaker (one of her favorites was a hypnotist), many many many events that included FOOD, ice skating, festivals. She really spent very little money during the semester.
Greek life can cost a lot or very little. Her sorority fees/room/board were actually cheaper than living in the dorm and having a meal plan, and the sorority house was a block closer to the classroom buildings than her dorm.
I think the best thing about Zell/Hope or Florida Bright futures is that there will be a school the student can afford. It might not be UGA or UF, but the merit programs do help a lot of students go to community college or one of the non-flagships every inexpensively.
And sorry, I should have been clearer in my initial post. It’s the free or partial tuition that seems like a great benefit to Georgia residents, even if you have to pay fees. At UVA, for instance, you’re paying tuition AND fees, even if you’re a top instate student, if you don’t show need.
Absolutely. That is how I understood your point about VA. I just wanted to make clear that the GA resident benefits do not include Room + Board either… since that is the bulk of the expense left after the tuition grant. I wish it were only fees of $3k left to be paid!!