But the thread is about the Personal Expenses the university includes in their estimates, and I do agree with dyiu13 that while some parents may cover medical, dental, gifts, and bikes, not all parents do and the student should consider all his expenses. Maybe gifts are not going to be part of the budget, maybe the student does want a hamburger at midnight 6 nights a week. If the meal plan includes enough points for snacks, the student can exclude those from the personal expenses.
First year expenses are probably going to be higher than subsequent years. The extra long sheets, storage bins, box fan, various dorm furnishings (desk light, shower caddy, rug for the cold floor), etc. are going to add up. Maybe you need a new suitcase, backpack, or a laptop. Maybe you’re moving to a place with colder weather and need a new winter coat, etc. A lot of this stuff you can reuse for all four years of school, but in the beginning it adds up.
If you’re required to live on campus freshman year and then move off campus as a sophomore or upperclassman, there will be first-apartment startup costs as well (probably split with roommates) at a later time.
But 4k seems high and some posters attributed that to toiletries, haircuts, dates, and a host of “discretionary” expenses (as if they were now earning on their own.) It’s true some kids will be responsible for everything, their parents send them off and no longer provide that. But enough kids are so on their own that the college puts in 4k? Surprises me. Do these same kids get a hamburger as a snack every night when they visit home? Or is this some crazy part of the newfound “freedom?”
I like to look at the line item of “personal expenses” as a simple acknowledgement from the school that a student has more expenses than the defined fixed costs. Exactly what it covers is going to be (as stated in the name) personal. If it’s more than a student spends, well, then good for the student…
I think many kids do spend $100/week on eating out, coffees, entertainment. Do they have to? No. Others spend $4000 over the year if they have to pay all those expenses themselves - travel, dorm supplies, medical care and incidentals (OTC drugs, contact solution, vitamins), haircuts, a birthday gift for granny.
As stated above, if a school is generous in estimating the personal expenses, the student may qualify for more FA. Why not do that, since it is just an estimate? No one is forcing students to spend the entire estimate.
I don’t think the majority of the 4K is little things, though those do add up.
Transportation (plane tickets, or gas/insurance/parking) and books and those on-line access cards for courses are probably the bulk of it.
100 per class is a low-end estimate for books, access codes, and supplies per class. 10 classes per year is 1000 right there.
400 per round trip plane tickets for Sept arrival, Christmas break, spring break, and going home in June is 1200.
Say 25 per week pocket money for 30 weeks. That’s 750 a year on movies, shampoo, campus T shirts, etc.
I’ve just spent 3000 without being very extravagant.
Then add in the first year start up costs noted above, a parent flying out for move-in day, and it’s not very hard to hit 4000 in expenses for the first year.
Yeah, but books and required educational supplies are usually a separate COA line item. Same with travel expenses.
They are never going to include the parents’ costs to travel for move in for visits. They are real costs to the family and should be considered, but they aren’t going to be the student’s costs.
Well, in the world of YMMV, I looked up where my kids went, which shows up under Fin Aid:
“Estimated costs for books, personal and travel: $2,050”
“When determining financial aid eligibility, we estimate costs of $2,050 to $2,950 for books, personal and travel expenses, depending on where you live — the actual amount may be more or less, depending upon individual preference.”
Just saying. Not a cheap college, btw. But there is lots available on campus and a great dining set up.
Are laptops considered part of the personal expenses? My son needed a laptop and printer for college. That was probably $400+ right there. Paper and ink aren’t cheap either.
Books and fees can run up the costs too. Last year, many of my son’s classes required online access codes so books had to be bought new. Next semester he has an extra ~$300 fee for a theater class (to cover travel expenses for a show in Manhattan). My niece had to pay for prints when she took photography, and some of her classes required copying pages from books that couldn’t be checked out of the library. It seemed like she was always putting money on her copying card.
If a student is changing climates, that’s an added expense. One of my nephews had to buy a winter coat, boots, hats, and gloves when he came north. My niece had to buy warm weather clothes and sandals before she went south. If the college requires phys ed, they may need sneakers or a bathing suit. And they have to budget for laundry and detergent costs too.
I don’t think it takes long for things to add up.
@twoinanddone I agree that parent’s travel is not part of the typical expenses budget for students, but I thought the point was to compare what a student’s family might actually end up spending to the costs listed on college web sites.
My daughter’s school shows tuition/fees and room/board in the obivous location, but only has “books and supplies,” “travel,” and “personal,” if you really dig in to the website. Once you find the hidden location, there are ranges given for these numbers, but on the common data set (I checked on Big Future), only the lowest number in each range is used, making expenses seem lower or best-case scenario.
I expect we will spend at or even above the higher part of the range this year, but as I said above, a chunk of it is stuff like a rug or laptop that will be used over multiple years and hopefully after freshman year expecting my daughter’s campus job to cover most expenses will be reasonable.
I just found out the S2’s school charges $1.50 each for a wash and a dry so at an average of 2 loads a week that will run about $200 for the year. Ugh, that was a surprise since there is no laundry charge for S1.
S1’s book expense last year was minimal, with a couple of classes not requiring books at all.
It really is vastly variable depending on the school and the student.
I would be thrilled if my daughter (a slob) spent $200 on laundry. When she lived in the dorm, I think she did laundry maybe once a month (the benefit of having 50+ pairs of undies), and often did it at her friend’s home (he lived about an hour away) or when she came to her grandmother’s for holidays or weekends. Really, if they can buy a Starbucks, they can afford $3 to wash and dry a load of clothes. I really doubt many students wash two loads a week$200/yr on laundry.
@AroundHere, I was just pointing out that the ‘personal expenses’ quoted by a college are never going to include parent travel costs or meals if/when they visit campus. I don’t think schools include a lot of travel costs for the student, maybe just one or two trips per year, probably averaged to $200 or so per trip when some kids spend nothing and other spend $500. The OP asked what would be included in the $4000 her school quoted. I think if a student has the $4000, it will be spent. If a student is on a tighter budget, that’s a place to save. My daughters do not have rugs. They each have a laptop that cost about $500. No printers, no dorm decor. They shopped right in the linen closet at home and found plenty of blankets, sheets, towels. One bought a coffee maker and a used fridge at the student sale. Other bought nothing (but had suitemates who bought lamps and shelves and TVs and toasters and and and…
I won’t pay for Starbucks, but I feel inclined to pay for wash, lol.
I am estimating 2 loads a week…I mean how long can an athlete let work out clothes pile up?
Are you sure that you really want to know the answer to that question?
Sometimes the athletes have their clothes washed for them. My daughter’s uniforms are washed by the team manager after games (yes, I’ve seen them strip down on the field to hand in their uniforms). One program we looked at the coach showed us the washer and dryer in their locker room and she said the girls did their laundry (all of it, not just uniforms) while they hung out. There was a lounge area with TV and couches, snacks, etc. I wasn’t that impressed but I guess the team liked it.
My daughter has so many work out shirts, lifting shirts, uniforms, shorts, jackets, etc that she’s been given in her two years of playing that I think she could go a long time without doing laundry. She wears what she’s told to wear (she had many more choices for her wardrobe when she went to a catholic grade school and wore uniforms!), and I assume the captain telling them what to wear picks whatever is clean! This year my daughter is a captain and I know that’s the system she’ll use to decide the uniform of the day. Clean? Yep, wear that shirt.