<p>Okay, I am calling this the “jinx” thread from now on.</p>
<p>I was sitting here, minding my own business, laughing quietly to myself at the many expenses you are all listing (and thinking, from time to time, that I’d kill my kid if he ever tried to get me to pay for that :D) . . . until last night, 9 pm, when I got the phone call:</p>
<p>“Mom? My roommate just sat on my laptop . . .”</p>
<p>ROFL!!! 
Welcome to the club. Consider that your initiation!</p>
<p>Misery loves company. So that second laptop is probably not looking quite so outrageous anymore. ;)</p>
<p>Anyone notice if more $ is needed as the student moves up to upperclassman? It seems Freshman year was relatively cheap and parents got by unscathed. Sophomore year is proving more expensive…</p>
<p>As the parent of a freshman and a junior in two very different schools, I find that while the expenses are different, it all adds up to about the same cost. The freshman is in a town and loves to go out for pizza, while the other eschews social expenses but is a Junior with things like class ring expenses. What is different is their expectations. One child expects us to pay for everything and the other is thinking about how to make their own spending money. I have more or less surrendered to being totally cash poor now, but college looms, and THAT scares me more. And every effort I make to scrimp and save is countered with an unexpected expense (changing plane tickets to accommodate sporting events, getting a taxi because the van schedule doesn’t work, oh and “everyone is getting a finals week package.”) The thought of a second computer sends chills up my spine!!!</p>
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<p>Lol! That was probably just to give you a false sense of hope and to reel you in. We started at Sophomore year so we got hit with the full throttle costs right off the bat. If I’d known Freshman year was the financial break-in period, I’d have made her apply as a repeat. :)</p>
<p>Surely costs escalate in their senior year. Parties in the ‘city’, summer invites overseas, catered senior party receptions around school; the list goes on.</p>
<p>^^^Yes, but those are discretionary costs. You can say no to those. I think the OP is trying to understand budget busters that you can’t avoid that aren’t included in the sticker price.</p>
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<p>Thank you for the voice of reason!</p>
<p>In our case, the unexpected expense has been school-organized outings that are not paid for by the school . . . and are not technically “mandatory” . . . but when every other kid in the dorm is going, how do you say “no”? This cost has already exceeded the cost of airfare to get the kid back and forth to school . . . and it was not something I had planned on.</p>
<p>Obviously, though, this kind of expense varies from school to school. Some schools wouldn’t have such trips; at others, they’d be covered by the school. Once you get to the much smaller schools, I think these kinds of expenses can vary dramatically from one school to another.</p>
<p>Standardized test fees for sure but the big one I didn’t realize ahead of time was ART fees.<br>
My daughter is currently taking photography and it is costing a small fortune in film and other supplies. My son took wood shop and again, a few hundred dollars in materials. </p>
<p>Otherwise, student activities. DEFINATELY ASK.<br>
My son’s school had an activities fee - at the time is was $400 and included everything except the prom and graduation I think. (oh yes, graduation is another fee!). (I think ski trips were not included) It was not optional but so worth it. He went to the movies pretty much every weekend. Transportation and tickets included. Fan buses to sports toruneys - transportation and tickets included. Local semi-pro sports, he even went to Mohegan-Sun to see Brooks and Dunn once. All included. Any time there was a dance at another school, the cover charge was paid. Laser tag, bowling, you name it, they did it and it was paid for.</p>
<p>My daughter’s school does not have the activities fee. Now granted they are in the middle of nowhere and if they did a movie run, they would take up the entire movie theater. But, it feels at times like it’s $10 for this, $5 for that, another $7 for something else…</p>
<p>We can put limits on how much she can spend monthly in certain categories - like the snack bar, athletic store etc.</p>
<p>This thread is a good taste of reality but how about the the infamous cell phone. Years ago I said “No” but they have become an expected component of any teenager’s lifestyle. I think some are born with them. One son appears to go through at least one cell phone a year due to multiple excuses. Strongly recommend purchasing the extra insurance fee which constantly pays itself off. Cell phones have become a loosing battle for me. Get the family plan, lowest minutes and “unlimited texting”. Good luck.</p>
<p>^^^Agreed. No smart phone necessary. Family plan and unlimited texting work for us.</p>
<p>A suggestion about warranties. Some cards such as the Visa Signature offer free extended warranty for 1 additional year after the manufacturer warranty expires. We can also purchase additional warranty. I generally found the prices to be lower than Best Buy’s.</p>
<p>Would your child not have a cell phone at home? Just not sure that all the things posters are listing are truly BS-induced.</p>
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<p>I totally agree, but I feel that way whether DC is home or at school. For us, transportation, books, and care packages/shipping are the only significant costs that would not be incurred if DC were home. Let’s not scare new/potential BS parents. Many of the costs listed so far are controllable, optional, or not a result of boarding.</p>
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<p>Heck no - land line works just fine!</p>
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<p>At some schools, some FA might be available to cover at least a portion of the cost of some activities. This varies by school. If your child might need music lessons, and you qualify for financial aid, it’s worth asking if FA is available for lessons. I recommend making a list, as every student will have a different list. Ask the business office, and the coach or director of that activity.</p>
<p>Most of school expense is controllable. It’s not very significent amount after tuition, books, fee and room and board. With budget cut at our local public school, I can not believe they charge everything they can.
Travel expense also is controllable if you book trip in advantage.</p>
<p>However, don’t forget peer pressure. Evetually, more than half of students probably don’t care or counting every dollar he/she spent.
Per my experience, Student himself/herself is the key to spend the money.
Here is some example i saw in the past 2 years.
buy drink/coffee/snack during class break.
skip breakfast/dinner and buy those from cafeteria.
buy expensive school T-shirts, hoodies.
decorate his/her room.</p>
<p>If your kids live in rich boy/girl dorm or hang out with peers that they don’t care about money. You can see something like below to meet peer pressure.
ask for fancy phone and data plan.
buy cloth/accessory online regularly.
shopping/dinner out at town during weekend.
top line computer and games.</p>
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<p>True. But at home, she would have to ASK before spending $5 on a granola bar. Which we would say no to. Or $2 for a bottle of water. Stuff like that. Also, every club etc sells t-shirts. Every sports team and “class” gets a sweatshirt or something. $15 here, $40 there…It’s hard to not get them. </p>
<p>Yes, the social activities she would have to pay for at home, I guess I was just pointing out that some schools have a one fee covers all and some have pay as you go. Just know up front. </p>
<p>Care packages…yup, forgot about those! I send quarters quite often! They fit perfectly in old perscription bottles and when you send a flat rate box and load it up, it works out great. </p>
<p>Cell phones - son’s school did not have phones in the rooms. Daughers does and we can call there and she has voice mail on it. However, we did not buy the long distance plan for it so she can not call us. She can make local calls (which she uses mostly to order pizze and chinese delivery!). Cell service is sketchy there (is that a prep school thing?) but we can reach her. She has “lost” her cell phone three times since september (which is why we are such mean parents and she did not get one until she was 15!). Only has unlimited texting and shared minutes with us. No smart phone for a while.</p>
<p>I applied for the following fall, any advice for me and my parents? Specifically andover information would be great, but I’ve got to keep in mind that admission letters come in 10 days… Lord :p</p>
<p>One tip - depending on the card, if you have an American Express, put the electronics on it. We usually by the Apple Warranty for macs because it extends the life for 2 years, but for everything else we let the American Express kick in the extra year of warranty for free. Can save a lot of money and it will also cover loss and theft for 90 days. Most stores use extended warranties as a profit center anyway so why do it if you have an alternative? There are other cards starting to offer the same service.</p>
<p>Also - We put names in inconspicuous places on things like calculators (sharpy or engraver), and keep serial numbers for more expensive electronics since everyone’s equipment looks the same or similar and sometimes an item “goes home” with the wrong owner (accidentally or intentionally). We lost a “splurge” calculator that way and learned that lesson. It was stolen one month after the Amex theft grace period ran out. When we sent D an iPod we ordered it online and had Apple engrave it (free) with a personal note and her name.</p>