The current cost of on-campus college living seems to hover at between 18k and 19k at both public and private colleges and universities throughout the country, no matter the tier or affiliation. Is this number expected to increase by more than the cost of inflation over the next decade? What is the current thinking regarding increasing these costs by those who make those decisions or meet directly with those people?
For those following, I did find one in-state public college that rang in at 17k/year for this year.
I’m finding that planning tuition costs separately from cost of living is helping me to make this plan as the date comes closer for DS24. Doing the math before sending in the applications will help prevent a lot of frustration later.
Edited x2 to add that I consider mandatory fees and associated required costs to be part of the cost of living and am factoring those into the total bill as they also need to be paid in full.
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I’ll bite. I don’t think anyone has a crystal ball to predict what cost increases will look like.
In addition, some of the cost increases are related to things like utility costs…which the colleges do not set.
When our kids were in college, the total cost of attendance (tuition, fees, room, board) increased about 4% each year.
Our kids both moved off campus as juniors. At some college locations, this can really save you some money…so perhaps start researching those options when you are vetting colleges.
Thanks for at least trying.
It’s not so much about psychics as it is about planning. Some of us have to plan ahead.
Those who fail to plan ahead plan to fail, as the saying goes.
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I would suggest planning a 4% overall increase in cost of attendance per year. If you do that, you could likely be close…one way or the other.
Also, if you are chasing merit, look for awards that pay full tuition, half tuition, etc…because those awards will take onto account any tuition increases that happen.
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A family member paid $10,666 for room (double) and meal plan (14 meals/week plus $200 in dining dollars) for the just concluded academic year. This was for a state school (for this state, there is no difference between in-state and out-of-state room and board charges). There are schools that charge substantially less than $18k to $19k a year for room and board. That being said, I have no idea what the costs will be in the coming years.
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I think this is very variable. Room and Board at my D’s school (Purdue) was closer to $12K and that was only for freshman year. She dropped to a lower meal plan as a sophomore so saved us about $2K and then it was closer to $7K-8K/yr when she moved off campus. R&B has been frozen for the last 12 years along with tuition. I realize that’s an anomaly though.
I think a 4% increase in COA is reasonable for budgeting purposes but you may want to do a deeper dive in off campus housing costs for the schools on your child’s list. In some markets, that can drive up the costs, and in others bring them way down.
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The virginia publics (UVA, VT, JMU, William and Mary) are more like $12-15K. That is for room and board. I don’t count the stuff like books, personal, etc.
I do think it’s a good idea to plan for a 4% increase every year. With inflation the way it is now, it will go up. Also, you might want to check how expensive apartments are. In VA this varies a lot. UVA is pretty pricey, while we were thrilled with the prices around JMU. S paid almost half of what his UVA friends paid for a much nicer place.
I also think your estimates are high. But rather budget higher then lower. Off campus is usually lower also and lots of schools allow that Sophomore year. Getting off the meal plan is key as kids just don’t seem to use it all. This was actually a large surprise to us. Sure the first month of two but then they use it as needed and not three meals a day as you would think. My daughter would have cereal in her dorm and both sometimes just didn’t eat breakfast or /and ate elsewhere for dinner. Once they cooked for themselves it became much cheaper.
If you qualify for financial aid awards are often adjusted for increases (assuming your income didn’t increase accordingly in the interim). That said, I think budgeting for 3-4% increases each year is wise.
Just to be clear…I’m suggesting 4% as an estimated annual increase on the TOTAL cost of attendance…not just room and board.
Pricing probably depends mostly on campus-specific factors rather than public versus private status of the college. A campus with increasing residential enrollment in an already-crowded urban area may find it very expensive to build the additional on-campus housing it needs, and off-campus housing is also likely to be highly competitive and expensive. But a campus with declining residential enrollment in an area with lots of cheap land (or unused land that the campus already owns) may find the opposite.
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There are easily differences of $4K-$5K in room costs (not so much in board) between expensive cities like LA and NY vs cheap cities like Salt Lake City and Tucson. That carries over to private rental rates, for example we paid $1350 in LA vs $850 per person per month in SLC for a one bed apartment.
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The cost of room and board at UMass Amherst, where S22 is finishing up his freshman year, was around $15k this year - looks like it will be a few hundred more next year. That is several thousand less than the figures you cite. I don’t think the $18-19k figure is representative of all schools.
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Amherst college is about $17,500 R&B, no difference in different dorm prices and students live in them all 4 years. And definitely not the good rating of food @Thorsmom66 that your son has!
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Some Ohio publics offer cohort pricing for room and board, a fixed dollar amount for four years/8 semesters that can sometimes be extended.
“The program covers tuition (instructional and general fee), housing and meals, special purpose fees, and course fees.”
(Miami's Tuition Promise | Cost of Attendance | Miami University)
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The numbers I cited are from the 10+ schools that my DS24 is considering right now. They are a mix of public and private colleges of different US News ratings, heavily skewed towards the East Coast, in a mix of urban, suburban, and more rural areas, but two in the midwest and one in the southwest. I was surprised at the consistency given the breadth of schools both geographically and otherwise, but just want to make sure that I don’t need to plan for outrageous increases in expenses relative to inflation and general cost-of-living in each area.
Of course, he has preferences regarding factors other than expenses, but planning and considering expenses before committing or setting priorities is key.
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Plan for the worst and hope for the best.
I think 4% increase on the total cost of attendance is a reasonable expectation.
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I’ve had kids at publics in NJ, DE and SC, r/b was around $15,000. I have one off campus at a private in Boston, I think the most expensive on campus option is around $18,000 for nicer on campus apartments (but I think the meal plan can be removed).
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Just an FYI. If tuition increases 4% that will be a much larger increase than the room and board increase of 4%.
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I also think the $18-19k is high. For my kids’ public, on-campus is more in the $12-13k range. And off-campus can vary WIDELY!
apartments:
- sexy, new apartment with own bedroom and bath across from campus? $1,500/month
- older apartment with sharing bus ride away? $500/month
- and everything in-between.
food:
- cook in, pack lunches, grocery shopping?
- eat out, order out?
also, will he have a car after 1st year? Those fees can add up significantly per month if in an urban area.