I know what Financial Aid reports as the cost, but I’d like to get some insight into the “Other” costs that students will likely incur to attend Yale so that we can accurately account for those in financial planning. I’d like some idea of a low, average and high end of “Other” expenses we need to be prepared for on a monthly basis.
I expect that there are certain typical things that students need extra money for, such as club dues or fees for other extracurricular activities; school supplies other than books; tickets to campus shows, concerts, exhibits, games, etc.; travel into DC, New York or other popular destinations for students; nights out at TOADS or other local establishments; the occasional shopping trip; purchase of Yale gear and spirit-wear; etc.
I know Yale students come from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and interests, so this can vary greatly. But I’d appreciate any input parents can give me from their experience with a Yale freshman.
The only hidden cost was a $75 Student Activity Fee paid the first semester of every year, which was not included in the financial aid letter. Yale really does a good job of identifying expenses and contributions, but for first time parents it’s a bit of a challenge to understand the financial aid letter.
Most financial aid packages, including those from Yale, have a self-help portion, which includes student income from a summer job and term-time employment during the school year.
When looking at your financial aid letter, it’s best to just subtract the free money, often called a scholarship (as in GIFT AID Yale Scholarship) from the cost of tuition, room and board. The balance (divided by 2) is what you owe the university each semester. For example, here was my son’s award letter from last year.
= $18,633, divided by 2 = $9,316.50* per semester. That’s what we paid to Yale per semester last year (plus the $75 Student Activity Fee mentioned earlier for the fall semester).
That amount DID NOT include the cost of Yale's optional Student Health Insurance, which we waived as our son was covered under our family's private health insurance. If we had not waived the Student Health Insurance, it would have been an additional $2,100 per year. See: http://yalehealth.yale.edu/student-rates
FWIW: My son used the money he made during the summer (about $3,000) and the money he earned during the school year (about $4,000 working in Yale’s technology office) to pay for books, toiletries, beer, pizza, club baseball dues, entertainment (Toad’s, ZipCar trips, dates) and a spring break trip to New Orleans. If he had not used his money to pay for those items, we would have had to make up the difference. However, Yale’s financial aid letter did budget $3,800 for those expenses – they however, did not estimate or consider a spring break trip in their estimates. Many Yale parents pay for their student’s expenses on campus, but our family wanted our son to have “skin in the game” so he paid for those items.
Thank you gibby, for your insight and transparency. My DD was/is a recruited athlete, that was deciding between H & Y. She committed to Y. I’d like to thank you for all of the wisdom, that you share on the Y & H boards. I had my daughter read your post about your kids views of H & Y.
Best of luck to your daughter! I hope she is as happy at Yale as my son was.
FWIW: I’m not sure what a recruited athlete’s financial aid package looks like, but I imagine recruited athletes don’t have as much time to work during the school year as they are practicing, so Yale may not have the same self-help requirements for recruited athletes.
Thanks again, our financial aid pre read is very similar to yours, except our final price is $66,525. Our daughter, anticipates committing 20+ hours a week to her sport, however, she wants to have “skin in the game”. We agreed to give it a shot, but if it takes away from partaking in all that Yale has to offer, her “skin in the game”, will become our increased “skin in the game”.
@gibby thanks for your insight here. I too was wondering what real expenses were. As an aside my son who is recruited athlete has the exact same term time job allotment so I don’t think FA dept makes special allowances for athletes. They are probably, rightly so, expected to pull their weight like everyone else.
Thanks again!
I can speak to travel expenses from the Midwest. It costs us about $350 a trip at best, and $500 at worst to travel from St. Louis to New Haven.That’s booking way ahead of time, and looking at several different airports.
We live in New York City, which off-peak is $17 one-way from New Haven to Harlem/125th Street. If you fly into New Haven with your child to help them move into their dorm, and then fly in to help them move-out at the end of the year, those parental flight expenses are not covered by Yale’s financial aid. So, yes that’s an additional expense. But, Yale’s travel allowance for the student should cover their individual costs.Did you not find that to be true @ElMimino?
@gibby Yale covers $700
I budget $200 o/w for arriving in August and returning in May, then $500 r/t for winter break.
I include flight, train or bus fare.
The best flights from STL to EWR/LGA/JFK are 120 o/w, averaging $175 Train/bus is $20-$45
He will fly west for Thanksgiving ($400?), and I may fly east at year’s end to help him move out.
I buy all tickets far in advance, and try to fly out of Newark, taking the train directly to New Haven. The M60 to the Metro North is a chore with suitcases.
I’m new to this. Almost everyone I know studied within a four-hour drive from home. It takes us around seven hours flying, 18 hour driving. But, he’s never been happier!
Cost of travel is high. Dd comes from the left coast. Flights are high. Yale is not near any convenient, reliable airport so shuttle costs are another $116 round trip with each flight.
We had to pay $400 for my daughter to be a cheerleader because she had to purchase her own uniform and warm up gear. Books were more expensive than I had anticipated because a few of her classes required 2015 edition texts and those were not available used. There were a few other school supplies that were required but she had kept scholarship money aside for that. Things like Toads and travel will just be something you have to decide on as you go. She is not really into the Toads scene so if she goes its for a short time and she doesn’t spend much if anything. Insomnia cookies on the other hand… ha ha ha.
She attended a field trip to NYC for a class and she didn’t have to pay for any of it. It was included in her tuition. She is involved in an A Capella group that travels and she does not have to pay for that either. So far the expenses have been more on care packages and junk food than anything truly hidden.