Im a new poster to this board and a novice soon to be college parent. So excuse any of my questions. While my son is researching colleges, I see costs broken down as this:
Tuition
Fees
Room and Board
Books
Other
What the heck is “other”? And it is a considerable amount depending on the college, anywhere from 4500 to 6800. Does this really mean that you will spend this per year or is it an estimate? Does this number need to be configured into the loan calculation?
These are the factors that go into the overall Cost of Attendance that is part of various financial aid formulas. It includes local transportation, transportation to & from home several times each year, personal expense, etc. Some families will find that their kids don’t spend anywhere near that much money, other families will find that their kids spend more.
Other…can be:
Transportation…airfare, airport shuttles, gas, etc.
Course fees (different from university fees) Nearly all classes have “course fees” these days.
health insurance…some parents find that their insurance doesn’t work in their child’s college’s state except for emergency hospitalizations.
toiletries
clothing
entertainment
hmmm…interesting about the health insurance, hadn’t thought of that. and interesting about the toiletries, clothing, entertainment, etc.
Do you “have” to use this when determining the amount of aid/loan you wish to apply for? Meaning…if I plan on sending down Mommy care packages for toiletries and clothes…lol…and putting money into his debit cardanyway for transportation and entertainment like I do anyway now…do I really need to figure this number into the amount of aid I may need?
It probably won’t matter to the schools what you think you need.
Almost all colleges omit health insurance from the COA. If you have comprehensive coverage you can usually get a waiver.
Most schools include transportation and personal expenses estimate but some just lump that into Other. It is in the COA so students can get aid for that. It is not money you pay to the school, you only pay the direct costs. But your kid may need something in his pocket for unplanned expense, something for his dorm, an extra night/meal out with friends.
Sure if you don’t think you will need to borrow for these allocations, don’t. And when comparing colleges you may just want to look at direct expense plus your own transportation expense from your home. But I think pocket money needs in nyc could be very different that some rural town.
But if you don’t have comprehensive coverage at the school location, schools have gotten tougher on giving waivers in recent years.
many people have comprehensive insurance…like BC/BS…but then find out that their insurance won’t cover a regular doctor’s visit in another state! It has to be a serious emergency…like a broken limb.
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hmmm…interesting about the health insurance, hadn’t thought of that. and interesting about the toiletries, clothing, entertainment, etc.
Do you “have” to use this when determining the amount of aid/loan you wish to apply for? Meaning…if I plan on sending down Mommy care packages for toiletries and clothes…lol…and putting money into his debit cardanyway for transportation and entertainment like I do anyway now…do I really need to figure this number into the amount of aid I may need?
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No, you don’t.
It’s just something to keep in mind. Some people figure their payment to the school by stretching every dollar, but then forget that they’ll have to pay for an airfare and shuttle or insurance or course fees.
If you want to…you can just figure how much you have to pay directly to the school…room, board, fees, and course fees…and then figure books and the rest however you want.
“when determining the amount of aid/loan you wish to apply for”
When you apply for financial aid, you don’t tell the college/university “Hey, I think I need $X in aid in order to attend.” The college/university looks at your financial information and decides how much aid (if any) to give you.
When you get the aid package, if student loans and/or work-study are included in that package you can take a look at your projected expenses and decide whether or not you want to borrow that loan or commit to that work-study offer. If no student loans are included in the package, you can consider whether or not you want to borrow them to cover any gaps. If there still is a ginormous gap between the estimated COA and the aid package you are offered, and you can’t cover that gap out of pocket and start to think that private loans and/or parent loans might be needed, then that is a good time to go through potential expenses with a fine-toothed comb and get realistic about the student’s ability to live within a tight budget and to consider whether that particular college/university is worth the cost to the family.
thanks for all of the responses to my question. The insurance was something that I did not realize…we do have a very good comprehensive plan, but I will need to see what is covered in another state. I was concerned about “other” because I have heard people talk of taking out “extra money” in their loans to pay for clothing, daily living expenses, and even cars. To me, that is just ridiculous and I really only want to know the number for tuition, fees, books, room, and board. I feel that the “other” expenses are normal expenses that I pay for him every day anyway out of my normal household budget…unless I am understanding this wrong?
@Madison85 your response: " It probably won’t matter to the schools what you think you need." what do you mean by this?
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because I have heard people talk of taking out “extra money” in their loans to pay for clothing, daily living expenses, and even cars. To me, that is just ridiculous and I really only want to know the number for tuition, fees, books, room, and board. I feel that the “other” expenses are normal expenses that I pay for him every day anyway out of my normal household budget…unless I am understanding this wrong?
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I agree that it’s bad to borrow for clothes, entertainment, living expenses, etc. Parents or a child’s job should pay for those things…but some kids are LAZY and short-sighted so they impulsively borrow for those costs (some won’t even accept WS!!)
The school can only charge you its direct costs…tuition, fees, course fees, room and board. The rest (books, toiletries, clothes and the rest) is up to you, your child…and y’alls thriftiness.
You can include or exclude any expense you want in your own calculation of what aid you think you might need but your own personal calculations won’t matter to the school since it has its own Cost of Attendance figure and its own way to determine your financial need and how much of that need it will meet and how it will meet (or not meet) it with a combination of student loans, Parent Plus loans, work study, federal and/or state grants, institutional scholarships, etc.
You and your student are free to accept or decline the various forms of financial aid offered.