Hey, everyone! This question doesn’t apply to me yet as I have just begun the college search process, but I figured it can help not only me out in the future but others as well! To give some background, I, like most of the frequenters of this site, do a lot of research on schools from academics to campus life to, most importantly, financial aid. Across the board, a lot of these schools have cost of attendances ranging from $40-$60K. Due to my financial situation, financial aid should cover tuition costs, but room and board, personal expenses, and books create a hefty price for me to pay. Thus, my question is this: Are there cheaper room and board options available at all colleges, especially top tier schools, that can help substantially reduce the cost of attendance? If not, are there other ways to reduce tuition costs (besides scholarships of course), allowing a more debt-free college experience? Thank you, and have a nice day!
My understanding is that there isn’t really that many options. For many colleges though, after freshman year you can move off campus to live and that’s when your COA drops dramatically.
Can you commute to a local school?
@bodangles I can commute to only one of the schools that I’m applying to.
@Syrxis Thank you!
Many students apply to be RA’s (“resident advisors”) and get free room, not sure about board or pay, may vary by college. Obviously not everyone who wants to be an RA will be able to, but it can be one possibility.
At University of Michigan you can live “off campus” every year if you want, including your freshman year, and it won’t effect your aid. You can rent a room or an apartment from a private party that is closer to campus than university housing. Takes some looking, but it’s possible. It’s a good way to cut expenses. My kiddo will live in an apartment very close to campus this fall (12 minute walk, bus stop also available). Rent is about $650 a month with a room mate and utilities. Using university housing for the same arrangement, she was paying about $1000 per month last year, and lived much farther from central campus. There are several bookstores that compete, which keeps book costs down, Used books are widely available. My kiddo bought one of her books used on Amazon for under $50. Another cost saving perk about UMich, is that you really don’t need a car. In fact, it’s better not to have one, because parking is impossible. You can ride both the university buses and city buses for free at Umich, and get where you need to go. There are massive neighborhoods all around central campus with tons of housing. My kiddo also cuts her bill by doing her own shopping and cooking. The meal plan is expensive and going to dining halls eats up your time. She much prefers to share cooking meals with her room mate, and packs lunches and snacks. The lab where she works on campus also has a fridge for lunch supplies to share, and people bring things in.
For travel, Amtrak is about six blocks from campus. You can take it to Chicago Union Station, walk two blocks and take the subway right into O’Hare if you need to fly to get home. You can probably do Detroit Metro, too. I tend to use O’Hare.
Tips:
- Get an apartment near a grocery store and cook/pack your own food.
- Live with roommates...but have your own room. It's saner.
- Go cheap. It doesn't have to be beautiful. If the water works, and it has a stove, fridge, laundry facility, and the heat mostly works...it's fine. You can often find oddball basement apartments or apartments in odd shapes that rent cheap to college kids. Places that are perfectly functional, but oddly laid out....can be a great way to save cash.
Good Luck!
Two ways to avoid debt:
- More money in.
- Less money out.
Number two is hugely overlooked by college kids. You’re smart to be thinking ahead.
Also…consider working 10 hours a week during the school year, and full time in the summer. My kiddo does this and keeps her debt minimal.
@alooknac Thank you for the advice, but can you be an RA as a freshman?
@MaryGJ Thank you for the very insightful tips! This helped me so much, and it’s good to know that there are ways to keep costs down!
No, you cannot be an RA as a freshman. At many schools, the process for becoming one is very selective so I wouldn’t count on that.
Books: Amazon, rent, or local social media-ran “exchange” (i.e. UC Berkeley’s Free & For Sale on Facebook - hooks up students with books - amongst other things - to sell with students who need them). Make sure to send back rented books back within the prescribed time.
Housing: get off campus as soon as you can. On-campus housing is a nice safety net and a great way to meet people your freshman year, but once you meet people that first year, you’ve got potential roommates for that off-campus apartment.
Food: be smart about feeding yourself. A trip to the dining hall is probably subsidized, so eat heartily when there - a “to go” box (if the school dining does this) means another meal; ditto if you eat out - you can often stretch a meal into two. Don’t do breakfast out as a rule - stock your room with easy breakfast stuff like granola bars, cereal and yogurt. Seek out free food - dorms, clubs and the school in general will have events with some sort of free food. You can often do 2 meals a day, especially if you’re a late riser on the weekend. Also, junk food can get EXPENSIVE.
^^^^Before moving off campus talk to the financial aid office. A portion of your current aid may be allocated to housing costs and you could lose it if you move out of university sponsored housing to an off campus apartment.
At most colleges, the room and board options only vary by a couple thousand dollars a year. Usually the cheapest option is a double-occupancy room in a dorm-style building (corridors with one bathroom shared amongst 10-30 students, depending). But it might not be substantially cheaper than more expensive options like suite-style or apartment-style living.
At some colleges, living off-campus doesn’t actually reduce costs that much. For example, at Columbia, it is way cheaper for students to live on-campus than it is for them to rent an apartment in the surrounding area - or even really area within commuting distance of Columbia. Even at Penn State, which is a pretty low-cost area of living, the difference between living on-campus (generally about $6-8K a year, not including board) and living off-campus (probably around $5,000 a year, also not including board) is only a few thousand dollars a year.
The most substantial way to decrease the cost of college is to live at home and commute.
There are generally no other ways to reduce tuition besides scholarships and grants. So you should look for colleges where you are in the top 25% of applicants by your grades and test scores and the rest of your package; those are the places you are most likely to be awarded a scholarship.
Also, as someone who was an RA and also used to hire and supervise RAs, I would strongly advise against applying to be an RA for the free room and board. First of all, it’s really easy to identify those students during the application process. But secondly, in the uncommon case that you actually make it through application and are selected, you will be miserable. I have had a couple of RAs who grew tired of the position and were only doing it for the room and board, and they were universally miserable. It’s a lot of work and takes a certain kind of energy/interest.
How are you so certain about the amount of financial aid you will get?
Also make sure to apply to your in-state public schools…or do 2 years at a CC and then transfer to your state flagship school.