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While college basketball teams anxiously waited on Sunday night to hear if they had made the “Big Dance”, high school seniors are waiting for one of the biggest announcements in their lives – it’s college acceptance letter time! They’ve been waiting for months for the day to arrive. Upon receiving their acceptances, the final decision on which college to attend is often financial. Students and parents need to understand the full financial costs of a college education. Tuition costs are readily available and loans can cover much of that expense, but what about the “other” costs of college? As you can see below, with non-tuition costs averaging more than $23,000/year they frequently end up being more than tuition.
Terrific page, We are checking back usually to hunt for refreshes.
I’m a 21-year-old college student at a mid-ranger public university. I’m probably better than most (Lake Wobegon effect much?) at spending my money but here’s my budget.
Activity/Dorm/Social Fees: $0
Cell Phone: parent’s plan, so free. Costs them ~180 per year for me on their family plan
Greek Dues: $0. (they are expensive, but shouldn’t be included, as a majority of students don’t participate in greek life)
Sporting Events: $80. (price of football + basketball season tickets, fees included)
Food: $250 (snacks estimate) + $300 (eating out estimate) = $550
Lab fees: $0. (computer science labs. again this should not be included as very few people are in lab based sciences)
Spring Break: $0 (stay home.)
Music Room: $100 (vinyl collection)
Room & Board: $6,100 for almost cheapest living (400 more than cheapest) + $5,000 (mandatory meal plan, no stove in dorms. 500 more than cheapest. unlimited swipes into dining halls) = $11,100
Computing Costs: 0. or 1200. so let’s say $400.
Books and Supplies: 1000 was a max for me. ~$600 on average.
Transportation: $120 in gas (usually split a couple ways)
Alcohol: NOT 50 dollars a week, that’s for damn sure. At 10 per week, let’s say $520
Coffee: 0. Tea on the other hand: $120
Clothing: $200, TOPS.
Entertainment. $1000. I can’t imagine spending almost 11 dollars a day on entertainment.
Total: 3870 (calculated once). Didn’t include room and board because that is not a hidden cost in any sense. Much less 23k.
Interesting idea for an infographic, but by taking the maximum for each, lost some credibility.
neither does taking the minimum.
It’s easy to discredit when your parents admittedly pay. I went through undergrad and a masters program without the luxury of a parent pocktbook lol.
$50 on alcohol is the very least I spend.
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love the chart — but really — do you think the average college student spends $50 a week on beer? Really?
Coming from someone who is from Florida and worked full-time throughout college I’d say I spent more than $50/week on alcohol (I attribute it to the stress of work and school). Drinks in Miami can easily run anywhere from $7-$10/drink, so if you’re going out twice a week and ordering 4 drinks you’re easily spending over $50.
Seems like many of these costs would be incurred whether you were in college or not. Where is the analysis taking this into account?
Most of this stuff (transportation, cell phones, alcohol, food, entertainment, clothing, Starbucks coffee, fraternity fees, Spring Break vacations) are things we want and pay for that has nothing to do with education. What difference does it matter if you’re in school or not for any of this stuff? And when we want something, school or not, we pay for it like everyone else… by getting a friggin’ job.
Very little about this has to do with anything about education. Waste of time infographic. Just sayin’.
From another perspective, you can think of these costs as the opportunity costs of education, specifically attending a post secondary institution.
Many of these expenses aren’t college-related. Parents provided cell phones, clothing, meals out, entertainment, took kids on vacation, etc. before they were in college. And people working, instead of attending college, still spend money on those types of expenses, too.
Other than lab fees, Greek dues, etc. it’s disingenuous to categorize most of these as “costs of education.” They’re simply costs of life.
If my problem was a Death Star, this article is a poohtn torpedo.
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$23K is over 2/3rds what I earn now, post-tax. I definitely did not spend near $23K / year while in college.
Mid-10′s maybe.
I don’t go to undergraduate school in the US, but I plan to attend for graduate school. I find that I definitely spend a lot more on transportation and clothing that annotated on the chart. The cost of supplies is absolutely higher for art and design students. Supplies like pencils, paints, sketchpads, canvases, concrete, wood — basically any artistic medium or material — costs me about $3000 per semester. I spend $150-$200 dollars a week at the art supply store. I think it varies greatly depending on one’s major but also on the student’s maturity when it comes to spending.
Great article guys! Really highlights the importance of being prepared for such a huge expense. Save your pennies kids…and parents.
Hello there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.
Hey Kristopher,
We sure, do-follow us @coursehero!
Thanks!
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Great article, mate. Just discovered your website. Please keep up the good work!
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Quite Useful!
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I believe that schools must find a way to finance themselves. It ‘a problem that has long tormented the educational institution.
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