<p>123mama, your comments don’t sound argumentative at all. While the tuition and mandatory fees in every school should really cover all the mandatory costs, I know they don’t. The items you mentioned are typically not covered. I think books and supplies are less of a concern now with the Internet being the savor, where you can find cheaper books. The laundry is somewhere between mandatory and “lifestyle” cost. If one chooses to use the machines on campus (most of the schools still have them I think), the cost is minimal. </p>
<p>Travel is indeed the biggest variable and should be considered, but it’s also an upfront cost one is aware of long before they see the BS bills. No school tuition fees cover travel, so you don’t need to dig into the fees and try to figure out if a high tuition fee has any “travel benefit”.</p>