Category — College Finances

College is expensive.  There is no way around it, and no argument about it.  Tuition and fees are high, the cost of textbooks has skyrocketed, and there are more unexpected expenses than you anticipated.  Sometimes parents pay all costs, sometimes students pay costs, and often parents and students together share the burden.  Some costs are fixed and some are flexible.  Although most parents and students have no control over the price of tuition and fees, there are some living expenses over which your student may have some control.

Hopefully, you’ve discussed costs and expenses with your college student and helped him to create a budget.  Whether you will be sending him spending money or he will be responsible for his own finances, there are some things that your student can do to keep expenses in check.  Depending on his situation, he may want to include a few of these suggestions or as many as possible.  Whenever you have your financial chat with your student, you may want to help him think through some ways in which he can shave a few of his expenses.  Ask him to consider implementing a few of the following suggestions.

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The reality these days is that most college students will work while they are going to school.  The cost of tuition is high – and climbing.  In some families, parents may bear all, or a majority of the costs of college, but the majority of students are expected to contribute to expenses.  Students may contribute to tuition and fees, or they may be responsible for earning their own spending money.

Most college students have summer jobs which help them to earn some of their income, but many students know that they will need to work while going to school.  If your student will be working during the school year, he will first need to decide whether to try to find a job on campus or off campus.  There are advantages on both sides.  Your student may have been offered Federal Work Study as part of his financial aid package.  If so, he will be looking for a qualifying job on campus.  Not all campus jobs qualify for work-study funding, so he should be sure to ask.

If your student decides to look for a campus job, she may feel that she will have few options.  Of course, the number of options will depend on the size of the school, but there may be more choices available than your student realizes.  Encourage her to start her search early – possibly checking listings on-line over the summer.  Campus jobs may be in high demand, and priority often goes to upperclass students.

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One of the “hidden” costs of a college education, which parents and students sometimes forget about, or underestimate, when calculating expenses, is the cost of textbooks and course materials.  Students, and their parents, are often taken by surprise at the high cost of these tools of the education trade.  Students are sometimes able to purchase used textbooks, either from the college bookstore or online, but that often requires that students plan ahead.  Unfortunately, students do not always have the information that they need early enough.

In August of 2008, Congress made changes to the Higher Education Act; renaming it the Higher Education Opportunity Act and reauthorizing it.  The new Act has several changes, but one which goes into effect in July 2010, and which immediately impacts students, concerns providing textbook information to students earlier. 

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For many college parents, the moment when your college student comes to you and says that he wants to move off campus is a nervous moment.  For other college parents, the moment comes as a natural next step.  For still others, the move off campus may actually be a relief.  The decision of whether or not to live off campus rather than in a campus residence hall is a big decision, and a very individual one.

The time when your college student decides to live off campus, whether that moment comes in the first year of college or in senior year, is another moment when you, as a parent, are confronted with, and reminded of, your student’s growing independence. You may feel that the decision is the right one for your student, or you may feel that your student is not yet ready for the increased responsibility.  Your job as a parent is to help your student think through the realities and consequences of this decision, and to ask the right questions.  Help your student explore the advantages and disadvantages of this move.

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High school seniors wait anxiously for that all important college acceptance letter.  Parents of those high school seniors wait just as anxiously for that all important financial aid letter.  Everyone agrees that college is expensive these days, and most of us need financial help to be able to afford it.  The financial aid letter which your student receives from his college may include several different types of aid.  Although understanding the finer points of these different types of aid and loans may at times seem like a full time job, it is important to have a general understanding of the different types of help your student’s school may offer.

How do schools determine aid?

Most schools use the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form to determine your financial need.  The FAFSA is filled out and filed with the federal government and the information is sent to the schools that you request.  The FAFSA is available in January of each year and can be completed on-line.  The federal government is working to make the FAFSA a bit simpler each year.

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As a college parent, one of your concerns may be where your college student will be living while away at college.  Yes, you are certainly anxious that his classroom experiences are strong, but you want to be sure that your student is comfortable, safe, and happy in his living arrangements.  Some of this concern may have to do with a compatible roommate, but you are also concerned about the physical facilities in which your student will live.

College residences are not what many of us remember from our college days.  If you’ve spent much time visiting campuses, you’ve seen the changes.  Students today, and their parents, expect a different living environment.  Services which were yesterday’s luxuries are today’s required amenities.  Today’s students may expect private rooms and bathrooms, suites or apartment style housing, internet, cable, kitchen facilities, parking and easy access to laundry facilities.  They are sophisticated consumers, and colleges and universities are using housing options as tools to recruit and retain students.  Housing that offers fitness facilities, spas, pools, movie theaters, convenience stores, and cafes are more and more common.  As college tuition rises, colleges feel that they need to offer students more for their money.  Campus housing is one area in which they are offering more.

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College is expensive.  Both parents and students know that they are investing a lot of money in a college education.  Some families have pieced together significant scholarships, grants and loans in order to pay for a college education.  This post is not about those bigger financial issues that make a college education possible.  It is about helping your student create and live by a daily budget for his living expenses.  Whether your student must pay for his own expenses, or whether you partially or fully fund his expenses, college is the ideal time for your student to learn to manage his money carefully.

Working together with your student to help her establish a budget may provide an opportunity for you to talk with her about her priorities, her needs and wants, her interests, and her goals.  You will get to know your student even better.  You will be helping her to establish an important skill for after graduation, as well as helping her to understand where her money goes now.  She may already understand, or she may be surprised to discover, how quickly little expenses add up.  Your student’s budget will be more and more realistic each semester that she spends at college as she learns what true costs are and what opportunities she may have to save.  If she is just starting college, her budget may be only an estimate and she will need to be flexible.

Thinking About Budgeting

Hopefully, your college student will be interested and willing to work at setting up a budget.  If he resists, try to insist.  Help him understand the importance of understanding where his money goes.  Convince him that if he wants or needs more money, or more independence, later, then he will have a more solid argument if he can demonstrate his spending responsibility.  Creating a daily budget is another step toward the responsible independence that both you and your student seek.

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For many college parents, January means the time has come to sit down and face financial aid forms.  The FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid – is the place where most parents begin.  For years, filling out the FAFSA application has been a long and arduous process. This year, the process may be simpler.  Whether you fill out the FAFSA or your student does, many families will find the process easier this year.  For the nearly 20 million families that file the FAFSA each year, this is good news.

The FAFSA is required for any student applying for financial aid.  It determines the family’s expected contribution according to a congressionally determined formula, and most colleges use this information to determine the amount of aid they will offer.

This month the federal government is releasing a new form, and urging families to file their FAFSA on line.  The paper form contains approximately 107 questions, but the on-line form will skip certain questions based on answers given to previous questions.  In other words, the form will skip questions that don’t apply to you.

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Having a job while in college is a common experience for many students.  This is the second of two posts examining some factors that students might consider as they seek college employment.  In the first post, we looked at some general, but important, questions your student might think about. In this post, we look more carefully at some of the differences between on-campus and off-campus jobs.

Once your student has decided that he needs a job and has time to commit to a job, the next decision will be whether to look for an on-campus or off-campus job.  This is a complex question.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both situations.  You can help your student explore which type of job may be best for her by considering some of the following factors:

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Having a job while in college is a common experience for many students.  This is the first of two posts examining some factors that students might consider as they seek college employment.  In this post, we look at some general, but important, questions your student might think about. In our next post, we’ll look more carefully at some of the differences between on-campus and off-campus jobs.

Many college students today have a job while they are in college.  As we all know, the costs of attending college are high.  In addition to tuition and room and board, there are extra fees, expensive textbooks, and living expenses.  Many students head off to college knowing that, in addition to their academic work – and possibly their sports or other activities – they will need to have a job.  As college parents, we can help our students think through some factors to consider as they decide what kind of job they may want – and a major question of whether to work on campus or off campus.

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