<p>Just clicked the submission buttom of the CSS profile. DD made the comment that it must be over $1000 we have spent in the application process. </p>
<p>If you include the school visits, test fees, sending test results fees, application fees, CSS filling fees etc, it is at least $2000 for us. And DD only applied to 8 schools!!</p>
<p>yep! it adds up. And although you think the major expenses won't come until next August or so, as soon as she makes a decision, you will need to send in a deposit to hold her spot. Then another deposit for housing. And if the school offers a monthly payment plan, they often begin in June (give or take a month).</p>
<p>No kidding! Mine applied to 8 schools, too (2 free apps - yipee!- feels like 15 cents off coupon in this massive college shopping), visited all 8 (drove to some), did overnighters at two, etc. etc. $2-3K or so, I think, not counting test prep and fees.</p>
<p>And wait, there will be prom expenses that will blow your socks off!</p>
<p>Yep, wholeheartedly agree. DH flipped when I hit the CSS Profile button for 11 schools. Yikes! This our first one off to college, and nobody told us to save for the "College Application/Visit/Financial Aid Form Fund". UGH.</p>
<p>We have not even done all the college visits - D was away in France on a student exchange last April and couldn't do them then, so we scheduled them for February vacation. </p>
<p>DH came home today to tell me he was presented with a unique opportunity - he was laid off. This is going to be interesting.</p>
<p>Last year our local paper published a story on senior year expenses:</p>
<p>
[quote]
High-school senior year, that rite of passage to adulthood, once marked by crossing a high-school stage and shaking hands with the principal, is now often a costly yearlong crush of deadlines and activities.</p>
<p>Between SAT prep tests and exams, college visits and application fees, senior portraits, homecoming and prom that night of glamour and limousines that now often includes ending the night in a Seattle hotel the year's expenses can add up to several thousand dollars.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>arjgn... sorry to hear that! But be sure to amend your FAFSA form immediately to reflect this. Hopefully that will help take some of the worry off your shoulders.</p>
<p>Don't worry - that $2K will seem like nothing compared to the tuition/housing payments.</p>
<p>This is my second go around so I knew it would be a couple grand before all said and done. I think of it as an investment though since a lot of the money spent is because we are scholarship hunting. That strategy worked out very well with the oldest. Hopefully it will work in our favor this time also.</p>
<p>I think I did 8 CSS apps for S. Only until I got on CC, did I discover that not all the schools required the CSS Profile.</p>
<p>Be thankful she's not a music performance major. You can add instrument costs, continued private instruction, and numerous summer program/festival costs to the bottom line. And help with audition travel expenses once graduated.</p>
<p>violadad, not to mention the financial support she will need for the rest of her life as a music perfornace major :-)</p>
<p>SBDad, in guess that would be in contrast to the history, dance, philosophy, literature and biology majors who graduate and immediately get good jobs and support themselves.</p>
<p>College visits are especially expensive, when all the schools are out of state and too far to drive. We just went from here (Oregon) to Madison, Wisconsin. Didn't rent a car, but the air + hotel + food was well over $1000. I guess we'd all better get used to opening our wallets!</p>
<p>It doesn't stop there. After they are in college - parents weekend, holiday travels, sorority dues, completely new wardrobe, car... Oh, we are saving about $100/week on grocery.</p>
<p>DadII, those are typical expenses for regular college applicants. If your child applies to certain specialized programs, the expenses are much higher. For instance, I have a child who applied to BFA programs in Musical Theater. To be admitted, it involves auditioning and so she attended 8 college auditions. Also, most applicants will have had coaches to prepare for auditions and so add in the private voice teacher, private acting coach and the dance classes to prepare for admission (I'm not counting all the extracurricular activities but simply the costs to prepare for the admissions audition). It is quite expensive. </p>
<p>I also have a child applying to grad school for architecture (though this could apply to an undergrad applying for arch programs as well) and the cost is well beyond the application and test fees, etc., as she had to prepare and get professionally copied her portfolio and that was quite expensive to get printed multiple copies, and of course the mailings of these and so forth (that had to be tracked, etc.).</p>
<p>Well, I'm going to put a little spin on this. Yes, sounds like it was very expensive for you and your family! My comments apply to not just you, but many families. Those are choices you made. To seek to apply to many schools. To travel often far to visit many schools when there may be wonderful options and gems right in your area. I am a believer that there are many good options for most students (as opposed to that "one" perfect school). I realize that there are all sorts of "levels" of talented students and yes, the opportunities are endless. But choices have to always be made.</p>
<p>My D who graduated last year was/is talented. Could we have spent 2K to send out several apps, travel, etc. NO. Not an option. We need that 2K to cover tuition, expenses, etc. For our family, it's just not a reasonable decision. </p>
<p>It's wonderful that you could jump in to that degree with your college prep. But it's not a necessity - it's a choice.</p>
<p>Sometimes, if you have visited a school, the app fee is waived (this can save $50/app waived). If you cannot afford it, you don't need to say yes to extras like frat/sorority dues. The student can also work a bit more to pay for that. You can look for schools where cars are not a necessity. I have read about some small schools offering zip cars. Also, school options near or in a city often won't require a car. The car issue was a consideration for us. My son does not have one. If I had to dig into my wallet to buy a car, and pay for a male under 25's car insurance, plus repairs and for a new set of tires along the way, the no car option schools look appealing. We cut costs there. If your kid needs that car, you might want to add that to the cost of attendance. Oh, and don't forget to add textbook costs to the bill too. Also, for some, there is the study abroad bill.</p>
<p>To add on to what abasket said, attending college where plane fare is involved is a choice. We only looked at schools within 6 hours of our home. We don't have regrets. There were a few times that we wanted to visit him and help him. One example was when he had a dorm problem. This was not a roommate problem, but housing needed to move those living in his dorm. We drove to help him pack and move. It wasn't necessary, but we felt good about him not being so burdened doing it himself in a short amount of time, and we wanted to see him set up in his new dorm. Housing did compensate us a bit, but it did not cover all of the costs (ie: day off from work). If we needed to add plane fare and car rental onto that, it would have cost hundreds more. The school was reimbursing voluntarily, the same sum, whether parents live 1000 miles away, or within an hour's drive.</p>
<p>Yep...it's costly...but the whole senior year is costly. If you think the applications are expensive, wait until you get the bills for prom related things!</p>
<p>The application process was definitely an eye-opener all around. However, our eyes are really popping now! When the financial aid letter came last year, we figured we could nicely manage the year. We did wonder how the school could estimate the costs for personal expenses and travel, but we thought, oh well. Anyway, at this point and extrapolating until the end of the school year we will have spent about $5000 more than the school estimated for the year. Yes, a chunk of it was start-up cost (Target, IKEA, computer, etc.) and might not have to be spent again (<em>fingers crossed</em>), but it still was a lot more than we originally thought. On the other hand, we are spending less for food and electricity here at home! :)</p>
<p>Also when a school figures out travel costs, it seems that the student is estimated to spend x dollars, whether they need to buy a plane ticket, or they have a 45 minute bus ride. My son has 2 friends who live within 15 minutes of the school he attends. We pay $180/RT each time our son comes home. Someone else who lives further away will need to spend much more. That student will need to get to the airport (2 hours away from the school and there is no direct busing, or transit provided through the school), and then more money on the airfare.</p>