Can one rely on the total cost of attendance calculated by the colleges?

[plansrme]

Especially if you have or have had children in college, have you found those "total cost of attendance" figures the colleges post to be accurate? With my oldest ready to go in 2 or 3 years (she may graduate early--not really looking for opinions on that right now), I am belatedly trying to figure out exactly what kind of $$ we're looking at here. If she goes a year early, we will only have one child in college at a time, but for TWELVE straight years. Ack. Anyhow, it would certainly be nice if others have found the total cost figures to be accurate.

 

Terri

[In The Great White North]

They usually include some amount of travel home expense but not enough. Or any "travel to visit them" expenses. Or "in and around" bus, taxi, car expenses.

 

Ds, who is theoretically fed three times a day, spends an incredible amount on food.

[lisabees]

Or any "travel to visit them" expenses.

 

Very true!

 

OP, I just looked at the total expenses for my son. His school says books should total $930. We didn't go over $200 for both semesters. I search for the best, used deals.

 

For personal expenses, they say $978. That is more accurate, if not on the low side, especially when considering "travel to them" expenses. My son attends a school that is 7 1/2 hours away. An overnight stay in a hotel is necessary. His travel expenses are usually inexpensive, because he finds rides home for $30 or so. He doesn't spend much on food, because he is part of a food co-op and has 24 hour access to food. In fact, it saves us over $5,000/year. He does like to treat himself to green smoothies or vegan burritos though! :)

 

My son's school is fairly rural and there is plenty to do on campus. If one attends a school in a city, I would add thousands and thousands of dollars for personal expenses.

[Gwen in VA]

My kids found the personal spending, books, and travel amounts to be outrageously generous -- but that depends on your location and personal habits.

[Jane in NC]

So much of this is dependent on the individual, I think.

 

One of the advantages of attending a small LAC is that the comprehensive fee is, for the most part, comprehensive. Most activities are free. My son does not have to pay for copies or laundry--granted, that is small stuff. His required meal plan comes with college dollars that he can use for snacks or toiletries.

 

He has noted that friends who are addicted to expensive coffee drinks tend to use their college dollars up before the semester is over. His former roommate had that problem, but then his former roommate also seemed to require lots of techno toys. His college experience is certainly going to be more expensive in the final analysis than my son's.

 

I think the hardest thing to predict is what tuition and general fees will be in five or ten years. The cost of college has been rising at a rate some feel is unsustainable. Will colleges consider reining in those costs?

[Storm Bay]

I think that some schools are better than others about letting you know the exact costs. We're happy that dd will get a discount at the book store because she'll be in the honours college, but naturally I'll look to see if I can get better deals as even their used texts & rentals aren't necessarily the cheapest (I think this school has rentals--we looked at so many! We're going down next week so she can sit in a couple of classes & we'll check that out then.)

[plansrme]

Thanks for the responses everyone. College expenses are crazy. I know, I know, what an original observation!

 

Terri

[SkateLeft]

I agree that it's really going to depend on the school.

 

My daughter created a spreadsheet to evaluate her college options. She included separate rows for traveling by air, bus, train and car, using arbitrary dates as the control. She also looked at a variety of other factors also, including engineering class fees, activity fees, laundry, medical costs, etc. Those things aren't always included in the college costs information provided by the schools, so she had to hunt the information down.

 

In the end, it was pretty clear which schools had given us reasonably accurate information. We discovered some hidden costs or potential for hidden costs. Some schools calculated tuition per credit hour, and some were flat rate per semester. Some schools had unlimited meal plans with in and out access to the dining commons all day, and some maxed out at 18 meals a week. Some schools offered free laundry, while others charged. One school added loads of fees to each course, and had a mandatory laptop program fee, so the actual tuition costs were significantly higher than we'd originally been led to believe. Ironically, the two schools that offered her the largest scholarships, including her one full tuition offer, would have had the greatest number of outside costs (room/board and travel).

[JFSinIL]

Pretty much. Watch out, though - some scholarships for a set amount may look good - but as the school raises its cost to attend, etc. and the scholarship does not increase....I've heard, too, that some public schools look good, with low tuition compared to private schools - BUT then the mandatory FEES for everything under the sun end up being more than the tuition!

[Storm Bay]

Pretty much. Watch out, though - some scholarships for a set amount may look good - but as the school raises its cost to attend, etc. and the scholarship does not increase....I've heard, too, that some public schools look good, with low tuition compared to private schools - BUT then the mandatory FEES for everything under the sun end up being more than the tuition!

 

 

That's why if you opt for a state school you need merit aid that also covers fees. My daughter has a scholarship for a state school that covers tuition (very small), fees (much larger), room & board. Not all state schools have this type of scholarship, of course. We applied to several state schools & two private schools and this is the only place so far where all of that can be covered with scholarships. She has a scholarship offer for the same dollar amount at a private college, but it also costs more than twice the scholarship.

 

Also, private schools charge more with their hefty price tags.

 

We did find one state school that offered her a scholarship for tuition & fees that would have covered all of that at the school she'll probably go to, but then there is about $4700 in other fees & costs. You have to do your homework.