First time parent here, kid finally applying and assuming we’ve chosen our schools wisely, there should be a few acceptances and the comparison of financial offers begins this spring. I’m learning as much as I can about the details so that I can set up a spreadsheet and compare.
I know I need to call our insurance company to understand any details regarding out of state/out of network so I’ll know if college insurance is needed
College’s estimates on books - think they’re accurate, or should I add a cushion? Any tips on the frugal approach?
I’ll calculate travel based on estimates that I create looking at buses/planes
Any fee surprises or savings tips that you’ve experienced, or lessons learned?
I also wonder about car insurance - kid will not have a car, and wonder if that’s a savings to be had.
For scholarships look to make sure they are for all four years not just the first year, look closely at the wording are they per semester or per year? Know the conditions of the scholarships, many require a minimum course load and a minimum GPA, check to see if they have a grace period if the GPA drops one semester. Will the scholarship cover increases in tutition each year? Understand how any outside scholarships will effect the FA awarded by the school. Look to see how much of the FA is loans and work study vs. grants.
Understand that scholarship money not paid for tuition, books and certain fees is not only taxable to the student but is taxed at the parental tax rate due to the curent to kidee tax laws. If you are using scholarship money for room and board there will be taxes especially starting the second year when you have two semesters in the same tax year.
We had an HMO, and kids were covered for emergencies - just not routine stuff. They were covered for things like a strep test by their student health centers, though. D had a medical issue while in school many miles away, and I was able to work with the HMO’s student liaison to get coverage for testing she needed. Call your insurer & ask to speak to someone about specifics of your policy.
No, the estimates never seem to be quite right. We ordered as much as possible used, online (lots of great sites) - had to buy at bookstore at times, but we were able to keep costs down with careful shopping.
Good idea.
We didn’t have fee surprises, but your child might … fraternity/sorority, clubs, etc. Maybe trips.
You may get a savings on your insurance if your insurer offers student-away coverage at a reduced rate (ours did).
My advice in comparing offers is to take just the “real” costs … tuition, fees, room board … and just the “free” money (grants and scholarships). Subtract the latter from the former. THIS is what you need to compare. Do not compare COA to COA, because that really is not a good comparison.
They’re an average and can vary widely. Oldest (nursing) always spent more. Youngest (CS-Math) always spends less
yep, some courses have fees and they can add up. Lots and lots in nursing (testing fees, background checks, lab fess) and they would typically add $100 to $200 per course. Fine arts classes can also have substantial fees.
Probably minimal unless kid now has access to an extra vehicle that will sit idle during the school year
The fee surprises can include lab charges, dance/theater, books books books (much more expensive than I thought). My daughter in STEM pays an extra $2000 in tuition, but lab fees are included - how kind of them.
Scholarships can require 8 consecutive semesters, a certain gpa, a certain major. In one daughter’s case, several of her scholarships are for tuition ONLY - not fees, room and board, insurance, etc. I have to work with the FA office to make sure things are applied in the right order. Do the scholarships increase with tuition over the years?
If your child is considering schools in a big city (NY, Boston) I think some of the incidentals are going to be a lot cheaper than at a school in a small town. Movie tickets and pizzas are going to cost less in the small town. Sometime there just isn’t a place to spend money in a small town, but there always is in a city.
My D had $40 chem lab fee, $70 bio lab fee, $96 ochem lab fee.
My D spent about $400-600 for books per year her first two years. Chem and Bio and foreign language books were good for both semesters, she rented some from Amazon and Barnes and Noble and bought others new/used depending on what was cheaper.
Yes, we save money by my D not having a car on campus, parking is very expensive (several hundred $ a semester) and she gets a free bus pass from her urban school so she doesn’t need a car.
Also we save on our car insurance because she is more than 100 miles away from home.
Meal plan are often required for freshmen. My DS has a modest 15 meal plan but enjoys a variety of international foods and eats out more than I did as a student, dinner vs lite lunch. He needs additional more money for the additional meals.
DS hasn’t bought many hard cover books, so the book estimate was high for him. He prefers on-line access.
Consider wardrobe needs. DS had no winter clothes and his school has heavy snow. We asked for a bump up in the award for travel and winter gear.
Consider location and local travel costs, distance from necessities. DS has free access to city buses through his school. DH’s pays his Uber. Costs to get back and forth from the airport to travel home.
There is a campus health center fee, not just the health insurance.
Laptop - DS’s school requires one and offers a package deal with on-site maintenance and loaners. (Asked and given in award.)
70 Read up on how the schools apply outside scholarships. Do they reduce school aid dollar for dollar or let the student keep a certain amount?
We found out valuable information right here on CC and on Reddit.
Good point. My son’s school is serious about job placement (career/co-op/internships) and had a career fair in September. Even as a freshman, he had to bring a suit and dress shoes.
I think college students get Amazon prime and discount/free software.
Having transcripts (AP/dual enrollment) evaluated by an academic advisor and a plan for coursework to complete a degree brought to light that a full tuition offer from one school was actually more expensive than a partial tuition offer from another school because of more semesters needed to graduate.
Room and board 15,0003yr = 45,000
Partial tuition, room and board 20,0002yr = 40,000
Add to that the potential for an additional year of salary and the final decision was a no brainer.
Book costs depend on whether you need access codes. No cheap way around access codes. Fortunately for us access codes are not the norm so books are quite cheap buying them on the internet or renting. We do this in advance before book prices go up. Also my child buys books or swaps with friends which is even cheaper. Books are neglible for us.
If your child is going to a school with Greek life that is an additional expense. Even if they are not Greek they can be invited to events which require more formal attire.
The interview for the internship and the job require proper business attire and in many cases transportation.
While many freshman live on campus at the majority of schools, upperclass on-campus housing can be limited, raising the need for a set of wheels to get to class.
Membership fees to clubs is another expense.
Renters Insurance.
Some colleges have preprograms for orientation that incurs a charge especially for state schools.
When comparing offers, I ignored books as I figured that the cost would be similar regardless of school and if the cost of books was going to “make or break us” then we were cutting it too close.
That said, we rent and sell back books to save money. Students also sell to each other.
The schools my kids were comparing were all local, so this was not a concern for us. However, I have heard others talk about the unexpected expense of YOUR travel to visit. So you may want to think about that too.
Yes, talk to your insurance company. For our company I believe the student has to be at least 100 miles from home.
I agree with the advice above about scholarships. It’s important to know any restrictions of school provided scholarships and to understand how outside scholarships are applied.
Books–we went to a Half Price Bookstore in our area that is nestled between three colleges. We found all of Ds textbooks for $10.00 each except for one. $10.00!! They were one edition off but that didn’t matter at all since she did not need the online access key. Total costs for textbooks was near $100.00 for the semester and three of those will be used next semester also. For the remaining textbook, she joined a student “buy/sell” Facebook page and hustled on there to find a used one from another student her first week of classes.
If flying, try if possible to use Southwest Airlines. You can change flights easily and without the massive ticket change penalty other airlines enforce.
Dorm insurance is great. Your kids belongings will be insured under your homeowners policy but your current deductible will apply…and that could be painfully high. We have a $25.00 deductible and that covers water damage/dropped/cracked/stolen phones, laptop, textbooks and clothes.
Tuition insurance-- for about $140 a semester you are covered if your student has to withdraw for medical or psych reasons (read the fine print on the psych part, they are all different). We know of at least one friend who had to withdraw due to an injury and they lost it ALL.
@TQfromtheU Curious…did asking for a bump in the award for travel and winter gear work? If so, how much did you ask for and what were they willing to give? Thanks!
But don’t overinsure. Check the fine print on your credit card… you may already get “buyer protection” for a cracked screen or stolen camera if you bought with a card!
Most people are over-insured for the small stuff ($800 computer, $500 bicycle) and WAY under-insured for the big stuff (your ability to earn a living, i.e. disability insurance) or your ability to educate your kids if you die suddenly. That doesn’t change just because your kid is in college. LOTS of college kids have to drop out if the breadwinner is injured or dies and it can take a decade for that kid to make it back to college.
That’s way more expensive than replacing the occasional gadget and not something most people think about when they worry about college expenses.
The best way to keep book costs down is to put your student in charge of it with their own money. It is amazing what frugal options they can find on their own dime.