The Outrageous Hidden Costs of College

THE NON-TUITION COSTS OF EDUCATION High school grads often look at the bill for their upcoming 4 years of college in disbelief. Thankfully, student loans often cover the cost of actually getting them into the classroom, but what about all the additional expenses that come along with their four years away from home? Living on their own for the first time is costly, especially in the fast-paced world the college social scene. ACTIVITY/ DORM SOCIAL ENTER- $300 CELL GREEK $750 $600 SPORTING EVENTS $1,800 $23,010 #1 PER YEAR CALCULATED ASSUMING A 2 SEMESTER SCHOOL YEAR ROOM BOOKS SUPPLIES BREAK $1,137 COMPUTING COSTS $120 %24 BOARD FOOD $7,999 $750 Additionally, college students are not the savviest at money management. The presence of these costs often causes students to rack up between $2700 and $7000 in credit card debt. ACTIVITY/DORM SOCIAL FEES to join a fraternity or sorority ALCOHOL Don't let their schedules fool you, college kids always find time to party. In fact, partying is such a staple of the college like that the average student spends $2,600/year on beer. Many students deci to take advantage of the social life. Greek life isn't free however - dues can cost about $600/year. wHY MAME s CELL PHONE COFFEE A cell phone is a survival tool in college. The average cell phone bill is around $63/month. Between exciting social life, class projects, studying, and part time work, a daily dose of caffeine is nearly required to function. All those morning Starbucks lattés can add up to $1,800/year. |ΣΔΩ GREEK DUES Many students decide to join a fraternity or sorority to take advantage of the social life. Greek life isn't free however - dues can cost about $600/year. CLOTHING College is a chance to redefine oneself, to transform one's image, and of course, to get dates with style. To that end, college students spend around $750/year on new clothes. SPORTING EVENTS Each year, college students throw on their face paint, don big foam fingers, and support their school at at least one sports game. The average cost of a college football game is around $50. ENTERTAINMENT And where do they take all the new dates you meet at college? To the movies, concerts, plays, resturants, and on and on. In fact, the average college student spends around $4,000 per year on entertainment. FOOD Of course, not every meal can be eaten on campus, especially with all those late nights exploring the new city. Assuming the student eats the majority of their meals on campus, extra food costs typically run around $750 per year. BOOKS AND SUPPLIES The national average cost of books and class supplies for the 2010 - 2011 school year was $1,137. COMPUTING COSTS LAB FEES The average retail price of a new laptop for college is around $170O. This works out to about $425/year in computing costs. Most degrees require students to take at least one science class and/or art class. Lab fees for such classes typically run around $60/semester per class. SPRING BREAK If ever there was a reason to crack open beers at 9 AM on a beach, spring break at college is it. The average cost of a trip to any of the popular spring break destinations is $500. ROOM AND BOARD Room and board fees cover the cost of on-campus housing and a meal plan for food served in the school cafeteria. In 2008 these costs stood around $7999/year average. MUSIC ROOM TRANSPORATION Between exploring their new city and traveling home on the holidays, students living on-campus from the 2010 - 2011 school year spent an average of $1,073 on transportation. Students who take music classes need to rent practice rooms to rehearse. This generally costs about $75 per semester, depending on the school. Sources: www.collegeboard.com | abcnews.go.com | walletpop.com | college.lovetoknow.com | collegeboard.com | youngadults.about.com | mainstreet.com | degreecentral.com | icsellinghope.com | campuscalm.com | blog.oregonlive.com HMY NANE FEES PHONE TAINMENT $4,000 $756 DUES CLOTHING COFFEE $50 ALCOHOL 009 MUSIC $150 PORTATION SPRING Oos$ $1,073 AND LAB FEES $425 ROOM AND