<p>If your kid stays on campus after freshman years, the likelihood is high that room costs will go up since upper class dorms and apartments are more expensive than typical freshman doubles. It there is a kitchen involved, s/he might make it up by cooking some meals in house. Partial board plans get priciey as the cost per meal goes up the fewer meals you buy </p>
<p>Once your kid starts in advanced courses towards his/her major, some schools become restrcitive about taking the course elsewhere. You might be able to take Account 1 or Calc 1 at a local state school over the summer, but junior and senor level courses may not be transferable and if your student swithches majors or fall behind for any reason and you don’t want an extra semester at the school, might necessitate taking on site summer school courses which are expensive.</p>
<p>Things happen. Glasses get broken, contact lenses get lost, prescriptions might be outdated for replacement and rush replacements are crazy expensive. My son found out that you need an annual eye exam to buy contact lense a month after his last date to do so without renewal. </p>
<p>It is also wise to find places that are better insurance wise for your student to viist when medical care is needed. When s/he needs the care is not a good time to be shopping and checking what works best with your insurance. The same with dental emergencies. </p>
<p>Booking tickets can boomerang when schedules and circumstance change. I had to pay the $100 change fee a few times when that happened. </p>
<p>Have some idea what your student’s best options are if he has cell phone, computer failure. </p>
<p>Some courses do not use text books that one can find on line perhaps or other places at discounts but use unbound paper collections priced even higher than text books Ridiculous. Also beware if your student is not using the same version of texts or any books since page numbers may be given for certain assignments, quotes, etc, and if you have the type of student who is not careful about these things, it can be easy to have a misudnerstanding. Clearing it up, not so easy.</p>
<p>For kids on conditional scholarships, make sure you and the student are aware of the conditions and have some ideas as to what to do if things don’t work out. My cousin’s son was much better off going to an instate school even with his ROTC scholarship. He didn’t get it until some of his friends had to leave the school when they dropped or were dropped from the award. It’s precarious balance, having back up plans yet not letting a student get to complacent about efforts to make it work, for some students, that is. But as a parent, you don’t want it to be the end of the world to your kid if things don’t work out These are stressful times for our kids and you never know what issues that they are fighting mentally and emotionally. </p>
<p>For those on financial aid if you are experineing an upward tick in income or assets, be aware that it could affect your student’s next year awards. Too easy for the extra to be absorbed. Sometimes it isn’t even extra in the pocket but if it shows up as such on the fin aid forms, so it is considered. Dont’ get surprised. </p>
<p>Thinking of remarrying, or your ex spouse is? Understand that regardless of any prenups or contracts, FAFSA and PROFILE both firmly expect the step parents’ financials to be in the picture. FAFSA only for the custodial parent, but PROFILE and some schools that ask for this info , will be looking at both sets of parents steps AND sibling accounts. You can’t stash money in a siblings account and think it is not so reported. PROFILE wants to know and uses the info.</p>
<p>Dont’ make the budget too tight. If you can barely afford a school, you probably can’t. Roofs need to be replaced, as do hot water heaters, and air conditioners. Insurance goes up. Stuff happens. You do need some breathing room for college expenses. The costs tend to go up about 5% a year as well. If you’ve budgeted every single cent and looked at it all optimistically, it won’t take much to tank that budget. We got hit very hard this year, both the student and the family. Double Whammy. It’s all good and well to insist the kid have skin in the game, but if he can’t function with job and classes, it may not be such a hot idea for him to be working. My son had a great job, relatively, for a college student, that he really liked. But he ran into some academic trouble and the job had to go. These things happen.</p>