Monday, June 9, 2008

The true cost of college.

When you apply for college, you might think that the price tag listed on your university's website is the real sticker price. However, this estimate could be significantly less than the true amount you will be spending. 

In order to figure out the true cost of college, consider the following expenditures:

1. Tuition (this is a no-brainer).

2. Fees. Fees are a lot like taxes for college kids, they include things like lab fees, student activities fees, etc.

3. Room and Board. (where you live and what you eat)

4. Travel. All those weekend trips are going to cost money. And, you have to go home every once in a while.

5. Textbooks. Please see my previous post on how to save on textbooks, but this can be a big expense!

6. Extra supplies. Are you going to buy a computer? How about study abroad?

7. Health insurance. You are most likely covered by your parents if they have an insurance plan. However, some schools require you to purchase health insurance if you don't have it. 

When all these expenses are totaled up, you should have a pretty good idea how much you'll be spending. (Don't forget to add in about 5% for miscellaneous expenses.)

If you want to get an estimate on how much you'll be spending for college, goto the government's free college cost estimator here

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