<p>Hi
I have a high school junior and have been thinking a lot about paying for school.
I am wondering about the actual details of paying for college.
Do you pay by the semester? Do colleges take credit cards? Can you pay monthly?
Did you start using the 529 right away or wait?
I would love to hear how you do it and what works for you, and if you wished you had done something different.
Thanks</p>
<p>We pay monthly. Many colleges offer that kind of payment plan. I’m sure many colleges also take payment by credit card. </p>
<p>We didn’t do a 529.</p>
<p>We received monthly bills, where two of them were the “big ones,” that included tuition and room and board for the semester. The other bills included only small, miscellaneous charges, such as co-pays at the student health center.</p>
<p>We paid all bills by check, and we paid the big ones when they arrived (we planned in advance to have enough money in the checking account). I believe, though, that there were plans available that would allow you to spread out the payments somewhat rather than writing enormous checks twice a year.</p>
<p>You usually have the choice of whether to pay monthly, the entire quarter/semester, or sometimes other terms. Some schools accept credit cards but some of these, probably most nowadays, will charge an extra fee to use a CC since they don’t want to be stuck with the fee the CC charges them. Their preferred method seems to be a bank transfer or e-check.</p>
<p>Be prepared for paying big bills at the beginning of each semester (or quarter). I have looked at various college websites and noticed some require payments before school starts and others at the beginning of the semester. Public schools may not offer monthly payment plans like private colleges do. Schools do have a clause for financial aid payments (eg scholarships) to be due when the granting institution pays, often directly to the school. This means moving money from accounts to the one you can write checks to the school from. You decide if it works best for you to write the checks to the school or deposit money in your child’s checking account and have them walk to the school/dorm payment office. Some public schools have separated the dorms from the school. This means communications with one don’t reach the other. Be aware of how your child’s college does this- is the bill from housing part of the college’s or independent?</p>
<p>We paid the bills- even if it meant incurring small online payment charges when we couldn’t mail in a check by a due date. Remember, it is the student, not you, who gets the bill. Usually there is a mechanism by which the student can allow you (or anyone else- an aunt/uncle wishing to help, perhaps) to make payments- be sure they do the online “paperwork” for this. They can allow you access only to the finances without giving you access to everything else. Please allow them to keep their school record and other data private even if you expect them to show you their semester grades. There is a switch from in charge/control parenting to realizing your child is an adult and needs to start taking charge of their life. Of course, if you are paying the bills you want them paid before late fees cost you more money. Also be sure they are aware of you making payments for them. They should know you are meeting their financial obligations and be aware of them and the due dates.</p>
<p>Be prepared to pay 1/2 of the semester’s housing bill before your child enters the dorm. The second half may be due halfway into the semester. This info can be found on the school’s housing website- look for info for parents of students to see how they do things at various schools of interest.</p>
<p>Use the 529 plan first. This money can only be used for qualified college expenses. You can’t retroactively reimburse yourself for expenses you paid with other funds later on. If your child drops out of college before using up those funds s/he needs to wait to use them until back in a college/qualified education setting. Look up what counts as a qualified expense. This may mean forcing your child to get receipts for textbooks et al as documentation unless you know you are using up the funds through tuition, etc. We had the 529 plan reimburse us in the calendar year we paid the tuition et al. Remember you are dealing with calendar years and school years depending on the situation. The government goes by the tax year, evenif the school goes by its clendar one.</p>
<p>Usually you need to use the checkbook or electronic withdrawals from a checking account. Be aware of any fees- it could be a mere $2 or so but more to use the convenience of online payments. If credit cards are accepted watch out for fees imposed by the school. The fee may be a percentage of the payment- far more than any rewards or point values accrued using your credit card in addition to any charges form the credit card company for a balance.</p>
<p>ps- multiple spelling corrections and added thoughts.</p>
<p>We have 2 in college right now, at two different schools. Both universities offer payment plans that are pretty flexible. We spread out the payments for the school year into monthly payments. The first payment is due in the summer, the last is due the month before summer break. The schools send a planner to let you figure out your particulars, depending on the student’s meal plan, housing plan, etc. At the end of each semester we usually have additional money to be paid… Charges from student health services, for example. This fall we miscalculated, assuming that one son was going to take a work study job, which he didn’t have time for, so we had an extra payment to make towards the end of the fall semester. He wasn’t able to register for spring classes until we cleared up the account. Our payments are automatically deducted from a checking account. We can pay extra payments online with a credit card.</p>
<p>Our school bills twice, so we opted to utilize Tuition Management which allows to make 10 monthly payments,cost for signup is 60 bucks±, we get to keep the cash in the bank and cash flow works well…interest from account is almost same as fee we pay</p>
<p>The school my son attends has a payment program that is divided into 6 payments.</p>
<p>Each school will be different, and offer different options. We have paid each semester in full prior to the start of the term. Using a credit card incurs a fee so we pay online with an e-check. My neighbor has the option to pay monthly with no additional fee for her son’s school so they have chosen that option.</p>
<p>Of course, there is the end of semester catch all “bursar bill” which your kid had charged all of their incidentals on.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter to schools whether your child is a minor or over age 18 for applications or anything once enrolled at the school. All students are treated alike with regard to parental involvement- except for any health care privacy/mandatory parental permission. This means your child can apply to any schools without your knowledge/permisson before they turn 18. Of course, needing access to your credit card for online application fees can clue you in (we learned which grad schools were applied to, or not, this way).</p>
<p>Our son was under 18 the first few semesters at his public U. We had no access to any information unless he chose to allow it. He was treated no differently than any student over the age of 18 in the public dorms or by the university. He, of course, readily granted us priveleges to make online payments and let his bills be sent to us. This did not allow access to how the money was spent via his student card. You have to figure if your minor child is old enough/mature enough to go away to college s/he is likewise able to handle life as a college student like older students.</p>
<p>Private schools may involve parents more. This does not apply to the application process, however.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone.
I know that this has been discussed before. Did/does your child need more spending money than you thought they would?</p>
<p>Our son earns his pocket money on his own. I did need to have a conversation today about money. He worked every day over his winter break, so he did earn more than I expected him to earn. He also had 2 jobs last summer and I thought that would be his only earned money for the year besides a few hours of on campus employement. All of that said, he decided that he wanted to spend money that he earned for a few bigger ticket items. This is only okay with me IF he does not come to us asking for several hundred dollars between now and May to “see him through”. He told me he is prioritizing what he spends his money on, and I do not need to worry. I do feel I need to worry because when he came home, his checking account might have had 35 cents in it!!! He went to an airport and flew home without a dime in his pocket! He does have a student credit card that has a zero balance, but STILL!</p>
<p>Thanks again</p>
<p>
If you take the approach that this is what student savings, summer job, campus job money is for then the question becomes irrelevant with respect to you. </p>
<p>To answer the question - the amount of spending money needed varies a lot according to the particular interests and spending habits of the student. Some students will eat in restaurants for lots of meals (skipping the dining hall food) and some won’t, some will want to shop for expensive clothes all the time and some won’t, etc.</p>
<p>Both my sons had plans that divided the payments into 4 for each semester. The first payment was due the Friday before classes started and subsequent payments were due on the 15th. You could set up auto withdrawals or payments from checking, debit or credit cards. My kids work for their spending money. We cover books, tuition, housing, food.</p>
<p>Ten months out of the year through Tuition Management Systems for 3 kids’ schools. </p>
<p>The 4th child’s school had their own ten month plan online from the school called “CashNet” (you go in & put in tuition, the meal plan your student chose and you put in the financial aid award, set up your budget for ten months.) Every month school emails me the monthly bill and I pay online. </p>
<p>Tuition Management Systems sends us snail mail bills, our choice, but we can pay online and not bother with a check. It can vary school to school with TMS, I have seen 8 month plans, 10 month plans & even 12 month plans.</p>
<p>We use Tuition Management also,10 month plan, it is electronically debited each month</p>
<p>We are using the 529 first and then will pay from savings. We pay for books, laundry in addition to room and board and travel to/from home. Spending money comes from DS’s earnings and savings. He is quite conservative with money - especially his own! - and has not spent much at all. One benefit is he likes the food in the dining hall (lots of variety) which keeps down the spending on pizzas, etc!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone
I am off to look at tuition management</p>
<p>How accurate did you find the net price calculators? Have you spent much more that expected?</p>