Tuition is Only the Beginning
The other costs of a higher education can add up fast.
By Elizabeth Kountze
September 2004
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Cheryl and Rick Snyder of Jacksonville Beach were thrilled when their daughter Jessica, 19, earned a Florida Academic Scholars Award based on her 4.0 high school GPA and excellent standardized test scores. The scholarship covers 100% of her tuition at the University of Florida and up to $300 a semester for books and other expenses.
"A full-ride scholarship sounds great until you realize how much it doesn't cover," says Cheryl, a dental hygienist. Rick, a Navy commander, estimates that although the state covered the $2,770 in tuition, the family spent about $7,000 for Jessica's first year of college, including room, meals, allowance and incidentals such as laundry and dorm-room supplies.
Although soaring tuition -- which now averages $19,710 a year at private schools and $4,694 at public schools -- is responsible for broad-based sticker shock, it's the extras that often catch parents by surprise. The College Board estimates that student expenses beyond tuition, room and board averaged $2,687 last year at private schools and $3,197 at public institutions. But Seppy Basili, co-author of Broke! A College Student's Guide to Getting By on Less, says those estimates are low and can vary significantly by major. Some students shell out a small fortune for lab fees, for example, or art supplies.
Books and supplies. The biggest shock is usually the price of textbooks, says Basili, as college-budget guidelines often fall short of reality. The University of Florida suggested students budget $790 a year for books and supplies -- in line with College Board estimates. Jessica Snyder spent closer to $900. Urge your student to treat the campus used-book sale like a hot concert ticket and to visit BestBookBuys.com, a Web site that compares the most popular online booksellers. You can search by ISBN so your student can be sure to get the right edition and save about 30% on average. Shipping times typically vary from two days to two weeks. For everyday supplies, such as notebooks, pens and paper, skip the student bookstore and head to office-supply discounters such as Staples and Office Depot.
But don't avoid the campus bookstore altogether. When shopping for a computer, be sure to check the university's online store. Thanks to bulk deals with computer makers, it could offer the best price. Often you can also find discounts on Apple computers and on software at Apple.com's education store (800-692-7753). For example, students can buy the popular 12-inch iBook for just under $1,000, or $100 less than the price nonstudents pay.
Even furnishing a dorm room with essential linens like extra-long twin bedding can run from $120 (www.alldorm.com) to several hundred dollars for name-brand, all-cotton bedding.
Phones. Avoid pricey long-distance bills on dorm phones by shopping for an inexpensive national cell-phone plan. A family plan that allows you to share a pool of minutes can be a good value with one simple bill. Cingular, Verizon and T-Mobile offer multiple-line national plans that start as low as $50 a month and allow unlimited calling between plan members.
Or, if you don't like the idea of your student burning up all your shared minutes by yakking with friends, consider getting a toll-free number for your home, says Matt Coffin of LowerMyBills.com. PowerNet Global offers a toll-free number for as low as 3.9 cents a minute. (Compare rates at www.billsaver.com/tollfree.html.) It's convenient enough that your student might actually phone home more often -- and not just to ask for money.
Banking. For many students, balancing a checkbook can be a real juggling act, and a costly one, too, if they're hit with $25 penalties for bounced checks. Have your student sign up for overdraft protection, or you can link his bank account to your credit card to cover overdrafts.
Or consider a stored-value card, such as Visa Buxx, to dispense a monthly allowance. You can set up a regular deposit schedule or add money to the card as needed either online or over the phone. Your student can charge purchases and use it to get cash from an ATM -- but never in excess of the card's value. You can also track transactions online and turn off the ATM function if you choose.
College campuses are virtual hunting grounds for credit-card companies eager to sign students up for high-interest cards. It's a costly temptation, with the average card-carrying college student racking up more than $2,300 in charges. If you think your student needs a credit card, help him choose one before he goes off to school. A good pick is Wells Fargo's student Visa, which charges 10% interest and no annual fee. Select a modest credit limit -- say, $500 or $1,000 -- and set rules for the card's use (for instance, requiring that your child get approval from you before using it and only in an emergency). And be sure to define your terms, warns Dara Duguay, author of Please Send Money! A Financial Survival Guide for Young Adults on Their Own. Make it clear to your student that if he can eat it, drink it, wear it or listen to it, it's not an emergency, she advises.
Extras. Leaving the car at home could save a bundle. Jessica Snyder says the $47 per semester that she paid for a parking permit at the University of Florida was really a "hunting pass" because it didn't guarantee a parking space -- only the right to look for one. As a result, she racked up quite a few tickets at $20 apiece. Her mother says it costs the family about $2,000 a year to insure Jessica's car, too.
Campus-life essentials -- laundry, toiletries and pizza -- add up, taking a sizable chunk out of a student's budget. Although every family's situation is different, discuss with your student the costs that you are willing to cover -- say, tuition, room, meal plan and allowance -- and make it clear that the student will have to cover any extras with summer earnings or part-time jobs during the school year. One mother put her foot down when her son, a freshman at Ohio State, wanted a $200 tattoo on his shoulder. She insisted that he pay for it himself.
Social life. It's not cheap to go Greek, especially the first year. For example, sorority pledges at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, paid, on average, more than $1,500 in initiation fees and dues last year. Those costs cover membership and social events, but not housing and meals.
Being a good sport can add up, too. Although official sports teams are usually subsidized by universities, club teams often aren't. When Cassie Vinograd joined Northwestern University's club sailing team as a freshman, she spent $600 the first year on quarterly dues and new gear, including a dry suit, boots and gloves to brave Lake Michigan's frigid waters.
--Reporter: Amy Esbenshade