<p>So I got my financial aid letter today. Under the other costs portion, 2200 is budgeted for books, travel, living expenses etc. Is this an accurate reflection of it? And are there any other hidden costs like activity fees etc.?</p>
<p>Does that include your travel to/from school at the end of the semester? I assume not? </p>
<p>2200 may or may not be enough for all of that, depending on how expensive your books are and how much travel/living expenses you have, but I think that’s pretty reasonable. When you’re not paying rent on an apartment or buying your own food, you can get by with a small amount of living expenses. I remember at Smith having $100 could easily cover my expenses (including laundry) for over a month. There is a student activity fee, but I thought that might be otherwise factored into your financial aid? Maybe someone else here who is more familiar can say if the $2200 is meant to include that fee.</p>
<p>If I’m not mistaken, student activity fee is in your aid.</p>
<p>But, as far as 2200, I think that’s a fair representation. I’m from about 10 hours away by car, so travel to Smith by car and home by car, as well as flights home for Thanksgiving (hitched a ride over christmas break) and Spring break will probably be in the neighborhood of like 1000. </p>
<p>Books depends on your classes. I’m a math person, but first semester I spent about 300 on books, this semester I spent only 86 because of Amazon, borrowing, and spliting a book with a friend. It really depends on how careful you are about your book costs. </p>
<p>Also, day to day, smith is pretty cheap. I don’t go out, so per month I maybe spend 50 bucks, but that comes out of my work study</p>
<p>I definitely spent the most on books my first semester as well (around $400 I think). But after that you get more savvy about what books you need vs. what you can borrow from the library, and also in upper level classes at least in the humanities you don’t often need as many expensive compendiums or official textbooks. You work a lot from primary sources posted online or from cheap paperback versions of your primary source material. Science majors I know spend much more, but can also cut back by looking online.</p>
<p>I DEFINITELY agree with S&P as far as it depends on majors. Even if you look online, math and science ones are much harder to find cheaply, so that is my word of warning</p>
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<p>Herrell’s…</p>
<p>LOL at “Herrell’s.” 'twould be too true if it were me.</p>
<p>Well, if you’re going to add Herrell’s, factor in another 1000. Definitely 
Maybe 1500 if you count your Haymarket and assorted late night pizza/chinese needs.</p>
<p>Actually, there are hidden costs, depending on what you study. We were surprised to discover that, despite charging about $50,000 per year, Smith tacks on extra fees for labs ($75 per lab, IIRC) and private music lessons (~$700 per two credits/semester, but two semesters are required), even though private lessons are included on the transcript and count as a regular class. </p>
<p>By far the most expensive books are in the sciences and math, although second-hand books are readily available in the bookstore, provided that your professors haven’t adopted a new textbook. Reselling books at the end of the semester is common. Sometimes you can find cheaper prices online, although my D did have a problem one semester because her cheaper textbook ordered online didn’t arrive until after the first week of classes. She had to do all her work/reading out of a textbook on reserve in the library until it arrived.</p>
<p>$2200 is about right, though, unless you have to fly to get home. My D was responsible for using her own earnings to buy books, entertainment, personal items, etc. and that probably was about how much she used per year – except perhaps for her senior year, when she made enough money the previous summer to burn a larger hole in her pocket. Remember that all your food is included in those fees – except Herrell’s, of course! My D was able to go to the occasional off-campus eating place and buy a few concert tickets and make a bus trip to Boston with her own money. You just have to be able to pace yourself.</p>
<p>I’d forgotten about the cost for music lessons. It irked me that those were outside of FinAid consideration. It seems to my cloudy memory that I actually once got an ex-post-facto adjustment; I think their rationale was they wouldn’t count the expense in up front because they didn’t know what classes you would be registering for and sticking with.</p>
<p>I think I saw some addit fees for studio supplies - - but I suspect that most schools charge for these “extras.”</p>
<p>I’ve found that while math books are expensive, I’ve had to spend very little on books overall because of being a math major. A huge number of math classes at Smith don’t use text books - 5 or 6 out of the 9 I’ve taken haven’t had a text book. Lessons are costly, but if you are a music major or minor you get them for free (and many people declare for exactly that reason), and I think if you are on financial aid you also get some of the cost cut.</p>
<p>Also, if you want to take equestrian classes, I think those are an extra $400, outside of the cost of riding equipment (boots, helmet, plus whatever duds you want). </p>
<p>Keep in mind though that for a lot of these extra class fees, there are often departmental funding options available to help cover the cost. I don’t know about the music lessons, but I know there is a fund through the art department for the supplies that students need (photo paper, etc.) Art students often go in together on supplies as well, so they can share costs of what they need.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the helpful replies! My parents were quite skeptical that 2200 was going to last the whole academic year as the cost of living is higher in US. But of course, I’ll have additional expenses like plane tickets and winter wear since I don’t have any. Also, is it advisable for me to purchase textbooks before I go? I’ve heard that international editions of textbooks are cheaper ;)</p>
<p>While it’s true that the cost of living is high in the US, your package covers the big expenses, housing and food. You won’t have to pay for a car and all the expenses that go with it. Bus transportation around the Pioneer Valley is free for students. Your biggest expenses beyond textbooks will be entertainment (incl. eating off campus) and personal items/cosmetics.</p>
<p>You can check textbook requirements and prices at the Gr</p>
<p>I don’t know how course registration works these days. Back when I was a first year (waaaay back) we didn’t register for courses until we arrived on campus, so you didn’t know for sure until you got there what classes you would be in, which means it’s not a good idea to buy textbooks online ahead of time for classes you may not even take. However, the system may be different now, and a more recent student may be able to shed some light on that.</p>
<p>You do a fake preregistering thing, but don’t actually register til you’re there. My preregister schedule had NONE of the same classes of my real schedule (as the fake one let you register for closed courses).</p>
<p>Plus, with shopping period, it’s so easy to change your mind a great deal. So unless you are 100% certain, wait</p>
<p>but surely that doesn’t apply to intro/intermediate classes as well? i’m quite sure i want to do economics.</p>
<p>It depends. Not all of the economics classes use the same book, and you won’t know which professor you’ll have until you register, so you won’t know what book you’ll need. And many of the intermediate classes have caps on them, so you would need to wait for that too. Also, have you decided if you’re going to take macroeconomics or microeconomics? They’re quite different and you might want to sit in on the classes before you decide which to do first.</p>