How Much Does College REALLY Cost
How to calculate a budget based on what you really need to pay and earn while in college
College is expensive. There’s no doubt about that—there’s the cost of tuition, housing, books, and so much more. So how do you know how to balance your budget? Especially if you haven’t previously had to worry about bills, this area can be extremely anxiety-inducing. It can be really useful to have savings and to create a budget for college.
Consider how long it can take to pay off student debt: It can follow you into your 40s! And the way we traditionally think about the cost of college doesn’t really represent the amount of money you’ll regularly be spending. A great way to work on a budget is through this student budget calculator, which will help you see the REAL cost of college.
Let’s walk through an example of how to use this tool. These numbers are calculated from a real student going to a small liberal arts college in Connecticut, Trinity College.
The first section to fill out is labeled “school expenses” and it involves tuition, textbooks, library fees, and lab fees. Textbooks can be extremely expensive, especially depending on your major. STEM majors may have to purchase four books at $250+ each from the campus bookstore. Doing some research into alternate options can save you some money, but you should still be aware of what the costs might be. While not all of these will always be listed directly on your bill, you can usually estimate how much books will cost. The library and lab fees are subjective, and may also be listed as ‘Student Activities Fees.’ If you have to print a lot, see if you’ll have access to free printing or if you might need to invest in a printer, which will include paper and ink costs.
This next session relates to living expenses and will be different if you live off campus. Residence can be counted as room & board fees if you are living on campus. And if that’s the case, you shouldn’t have to worry about electricity, utilities, or internet. If not, there are some ways you can estimate this. Asking an older student at the school or a potential landlord can give you a clear idea before you arrive. If you’re responsible for your phone plan or if you have a child, then you’ll have to take phone and childcare into consideration here.
Clothing Expenses and Loan Payments are very different areas, but both need to be considered in your overall budget. Clothing expenses may seem self-explanatory, but if you’re going to school in a place with a significantly different climate, you may want to invest in some adequate clothes. Additionally, if you end up joining Greek life, you might need to buy specific clothing, which can add up. Loan payments may only be a factor if you have unsubsidized loans and/or credit cards.
Miscellaneous expenses here include things like gifts and various costs related to certain memberships, like to gyms or national organizations.
If you join Greek life, there are dues that are owed each semester. These vary significantly based on the chapter you join, but can range from $550-$13,000 a semester. Be sure to ask during the rush process.
At college, you’ll be making a lot of new friends, so set some money aside for birthday gifts! These costs can include subscriptions like Spotify and can add up, so this category can be useful for you.
Another miscellaneous expense is food. Even if you have a meal plan at school, you’re going to go out to restaurants for special occasions, dates, and birthdays.
If you find yourself studying better at cafes, you’ll probably have to have a coffee budget.
Ordering in can also add to these expenses! Grubhub and DoorDash have student accounts that can help you save, but it will still add up, so add this into your budget.
Transportation is a critical category to consider whether or not you have a car. Your campus might be a plane ride away, and airline costs change frequently. Move-in costs related to how you’re getting to campus should also be considered – you may drive for a day and have to stay in a hotel. If your campus is in or near a city, a bus or train pass would be a good investment. Consider also that your campus might cover these fees or provide a city pass. If you’re more rurally located, gas will be important, as might Uber or Lyft costs. A quick google search can tell you what these prices are for the specific location. Those who own cars will have payments, maintenance, and insurance to keep in consideration while trips home might be a factor for most students.
The Contributions and Income category is where you should add scholarships/grants, any family contributions or savings plans, loans, and money you earn from working. All of these work to counteract the other costs incurred by going to college.
In all of these categories, you have the possibility to set the repetition of the cost/payment to monthly for the school year, at the beginning of the school year, during both semesters, or during just one semester. This highly customizable tool will allow you to make a rough budget for your first year of school—after that, the numbers and experience available should give you a decent idea of what your budget should look like.
The results of the categories are pictured above, showing a net +$5,316 for the factors inputted. This student has grants and scholarships enough so that what they earn in work over the two semesters is income that they can save. They don’t have car payments or medical expenses, which makes this possible with their monthly salary.
It can change the game to have financial support from your family - being on your parents’ health insurance or having them help pay for college is great. But if you don’t have this privilege, don’t worry - you just need to make sure you’ve budgeted ahead of time!
Your best bet, while in college, is to track your expenses so that you have a good sense of what you’ll need next year. The more information you have, the better you will be able to plan and thus head off a tight budget in the future. You can also see where you’re spending a lot and set a tight budget for yourself:
You can set monthly limits for yourself and track expenses in specific categories.
Some people use envelopes: They take out the cash they will spend in a given month, and divide it into envelopes for different categories of expenditure. Then when the envelope is empty, they stop spending in that category.
Remember knowledge is power: The better you know yourself, the better you can plan for the future - and the better you plan, the better it all turns out!
