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<p>When I ran the net price calculators in the examples for UCLA and USC, they listed net cost as everything not covered by grant aid.</p>
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<p>This takes the cake. And since a student can give their clicker to someone else if they’ll be out partying^H^H^H^H^H^Hstudying the next step would be RFID 
(“Welcome to Doodah U, here’s your schedule, your student ID, and if you could turn your arm this way we’ll add a device that…”)</p>
<p>Other unanticipated costs - some architecture schools or other majors require a **specific **$2-3k+ laptop… Mandatory health insurance that you can’t wiggle out of… mandatory field trips (DD1 had a Chicago trip that was $500 for 4 days) and so on… Prof ‘notes’ for $90 (sigh, without the notes no way to pass the class)… Supply lists (they want a $1k DSLR camera and similar for tools and supplies)…</p>
<p>The OOS numbers are relevant for U Del because 2/3rds of the undergrads are out of state.</p>
<p>My daughter was offered 50% off the tuition as merit aid at several private colleges. Her numbers were in the top 25% of the applicant pool at those colleges, but her scores were not amazing. In our case, it brings the private tuition down below Penn State and Pitt’s in-state cost, particularly considering those universities offer almost no merit or need-based aid to in-state students.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that if you are eligible for substantial merit and/or need based aid from a private college, it may be cheaper to go to that private college for all 4 years. Instead, many students look for a college with a cheap list price for their first two years, and then plan to transfer to a more expensive private college. However, many private colleges do not offer much aid to transfers - because they are not counted in US News stats.</p>
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<p>What attracts OOS students to University of Delaware?</p>
<p>Yes, it has a well known chemical engineering degree program, but so does Minnesota, which is significantly less expensive OOS.</p>
<p>OTOH, many Pitt and PSU students will also end up taking classes over the summer (one of the expenses OP mentioned)to ease up schedules in a difficult major, change majors or add on a second major or minor, prepare to take more advanced classes in their major (or in other areas) than they could otherwise qualify to take, or take advantage of smaller summer school classes. I think that a student who can budget for extra classes, no matter where they go, is at a distinct advantage these days. Also, some students at these schools mention spending extra on food or moving off campus.</p>
<p>I don’t know about UDel but students who qualify for honors classes at either Pitt or Penn State will find that they can take small sections of many classes that are more expensive for the university to run than the regular classes. Or, they can take a regular class but ask for extra assignments for honors or graduate credit. If a student takes advantage of these opportunities, they are getting a bargain.</p>
<p>From what we could see, the honors sections of many large intro classes even offer “amenities” not always found in similar classes at private schools, from much smaller student numbers to carefully vetted professors and TA’s and lots of problem sets and frequent writing assignments that are thoughtfully hand-graded by professors or advanced graduate students.</p>
<p>Often, top students from our PA public high school will apply to several nearby state schools and compare when they find out whether they get merit money or get into an honors programs. Also, students sometimes get substantial merit money from top private schools such as Emory or Rice that will make them comparable to Penn State Schreyer.</p>
<p>Biggest was “course fees”. Extra fees for costly classes. Might also be called lab fees in science courses, might cover background check fees for education majors, might cover the cost of music for ensemble or performance classes.</p>
<p>And yes, “technology fees” for two years really just cover the cost of the required tablet, which would be cheaper to buy out of pocket.</p>
<p>Our older two needed clickers. Many of their profs used them for attendance. Don’t trust those for attendance. Our #2 almost had to repay a school scholarship because it showed he wasn’t in class, ever. I’m guessing the A he got in the class means he went at least to take tests :D. The prof did something wrong with the registration on that or something. It was fixed in the end but that letter home wasn’t pleasant :D.</p>
<p>LAPTOPS - Sometimes when engineering schools require a specific laptop purchase it include expensive extras. My son’s laptop was $2k, paid over the 1st two semesters. That included includes typical software (windows, linux, office) as well as specialized/pricey techie software. </p>
<p>It also includes 4 years of tech support (incl repair and replacement as needed). No regrets here… the school IT dept fixed a display last month and gave him a loaner in the meantime. </p>
<p>Luckily the laptop cost was well covered on the admissions/cost web info, so we were not surprised.</p>
<h2>Yes, also look at higher tuition rates and fees for certain majors. Often, those costs are hidden - you have to dig deep into the college’s website to find them. For instance, Penn State charges 4K more a year for the last 2 years of their nursing program. Many colleges charge extra fees or tuition for engineering.</h2>
<p>In answer to UCBalum’s question above: </p>
<p>U. Del has a very attractive campus in a great college town. However, they are starting to price themselves out of the market, for out of state students. Fortunately, they do offer a moderate amount of need-based aid for out of state students (most public universities do not), and they do offer a moderate amount of merit aid. </p>
<p>U. Del is also well-located to attract students from all of the surrounding states - including NJ, which exports a huge percentage of their college students. U. Del also is competing against Penn State and U. Pitt, which have the no. 1 and no. 2 highest in-state tuition rates in the country among public universities. In addition, some PA. residents don’t like 40K size of Penn State-Main and prefer a more moderately sized university. Moreover, many students from the Phila. area don’t want to drive 4 hours each way to State College.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that OOS credits a-la-carte can get very expensive very quickly. The OOS flagship state that DD1 attends charges a reasonable all-you-can-eat tuition for 12 or more credits per semester. The a-la-carte OOS (or IS) tuition, however, is calculated at the hourly rate which is quite expensive. I’m looking at 8 credit hours worth of summer classes and the cost is nearly that of 15 hours… Not to mention that summer is 2 terms, and you get to pay the same fees EACH term :). There is plenty of scholarship money at least (guaranteed for kids with existing scholarships) but it’s a lot of money either way.</p>
<p>The alternative is 18 hours a semester which is not very good for GPA :)</p>
<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>
<p>Thursday bar night
15 weeks x $20</p>
<p>Friday F.A.C.
15 weeks x $20</p>
<p>Saturday bar night
15 weeks x $25</p>
<p>Saturday Game Days
7 weeks x $25</p>
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- So true!</p>
<p>My D noticed when visiting colleges overnight that some schools social cultures are a lot more expensive than others. Go o a big u in rural area things are cheap. Go to a suburb or city school kids take cabs , go to dinner t cheesecake factory or even a deli sandwich costs a pretty penny . She wanted school that you walk across campus to Greek life parties. </p>
<p>Greek life costs at least $500 a year which I think is worth it.</p>
<p>Good advice CPT.</p>
<p>Yes, consider the local cost of living, and check into the cost of off-campus housing. One public university my daughter looked at had reasonably priced freshman housing, but all of the upper class housing on the campus was owned by a private developer who charged $9,000 per student - just for for 9 months of housing, and without even providing a kitchen. In that case, off-campus housing was also expensive and limited in supply. She instead choose a private college with a large supply of high quality and very reasonably priced housing.</p>
<p>As noted above, there are some private colleges where the students throw around money, and a middle income student may not be able to keep up, and may feel left out. </p>
<p>There was a study that found that, when it came to money, happiness was affected by your social group. If a person had similar disposable income to people around them, they were more likely to be happy. However, if the person with the same income instead spent most of their time around people with much higher incomes, they typically felt much more unhappy on the average.</p>
<p>Individual student characteristics can also affect the costs. Is the student naturally frugal, or is s/he sloppy in terms of spending habits?</p>
<p>Definitely factor in the cost of taking advantage of the reason that your student chose the school.</p>
<p>If your student wanted the rah-rah experience of a large school, the cost of the rah-rah experience should be factored in for consideration…what will game tickets cost, team garb, maybe a weekend or two on trips to rival schools for games, etc. If your kid chose NY for the theater scene, I would expect to factor in the cost of (discounted) theater tickets, transportation costs, maybe food while away from campus and out with friends, etc.</p>
<p>My kids all chose schools with real campuses but in or adjacent to large cities. For example, my youngest is a senior at American U in DC. It would make no sense to have him at school in DC without him being able to partake of what makes up the DC experience. For example, he and his friends often go to the free concerts at the Kennedy Center. Or they go to exhibits at the Smithsonian–again, free. But the fare for the Metro to get there, and back to campus, is not cheap. And once he is out with his friends, they will often stop for a bite to eat…they generally go for (relatively) inexpensive ethnic food, but still, it is an expense. Also, my son in earlier years worked some unpaid internships. It COST us money because he had to pay to get there and back. Luckily, his earlier slave labor has lead him to some excellent paid internships…but again, he is not going to get rich off of them.</p>
<p>There is also the cost of clothes for those internships. Professional dress, and proper maintenance of it, can add to the budget. For example, my middle son had an internship which required full professional dress ( suit and tie, dress shoes)…it was located about two miles from campus, and he walked both ways, because public transportation didn’t save him any time. He wore sneakers to and from, leaving dress shoes at his office…Once at work, he often went elsewhere in DC, such as the Hill, government agencies, embassies, etc… the heat and humidity of the Washington summer necessitated more dry cleaning than we expected.</p>
<p>One other thing my boys have spent some money on is club and/or intramural sports and other student groups. Teams generally split the fee for the intramural sport among the team members…and they generally try to balance decreasing the fee per person by having more players, with the fact that too many players decreases playing time. Then there is often the cost of a team t-shirt. And some other gear–for example, my son’s soccer boots from high school recently fell apart to the point they could no longer be held together by duct tape. But soccer is what restores my son’s sanity. And the club team my son plays on generally goes out together with the players on the opposing team for a bite to eat after the game. And there is also the cost of traveling to other schools, and tournaments.</p>
<p>My sons generally have come up with their own money for most of the things they become involved in. We, the parents, have sometimes chosen to supplement their discretionary funds because we want them to have a certain kind of college experience. We certainly want them to have to weigh, and pick, and choose among opportunities–but we didn’t want their choice to be always missing out on everything, either. </p>
<p>That being said, we realize that other families might make other choices. One of my son’s best friends is at a State U instead of the same school as my son, because even though FA made the overt costs of the two schools about equal, his family did not think they could swing the extra costs he would incur in DC–and they did not want him to feel as the odd one out all the time.</p>
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<p>Might be less of an issue for CS majors doing internships in Silicon Valley…</p>
<p>But another issue with dressy business clothes is that young men can be hard to find properly fitting suits and dress shirts for, since the main market is older (i.e. obese) men.</p>
<p>ucb–exactly----that’s why I noted that why a school’s location can lead to expectations of certain expenses. </p>
<p>As far as proper fit, my sons have done well at Macy’s and at Men’s Wearhouse. My youngest is about 6’3" and 160 lbs…he looks great in the European cut suits and athletic cut shirts.</p>
<p>Or worse yet, outgrowing the suits you bought them a year ago. Our son is 6’ 1" and a whopping 125 lbs. I am going to assume he will fill out some over the next 4 years :D. </p>
<p>The campuses our kids looked at had free pretty much everything on campus (sporting events, concerts, movies, dances, etc.) which was a big plus in my book.</p>