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Reducing Out-Of-Pocket Costs for College

© ML Arthur

The cost of raising a child from birth to age eighteen is about $200,000 to $250,000 (US) for the average middle class family in the United States (see http://www.thirdage.com/cgi-bin/calcs/BU... for a cool calculator). Sending a child to a top private college can cost $120,000 (US) or more for four years, and that only counts dormitory housing, a campus meal plan, and tuition. The mandatory health insurance, books, summer housing, transportation home for breaks and summer, supplies, computer equipment, and other such expenses can make each year cost up to $7,000 (US) more. While school-based, federal, and private scholarship and loan aid can make school a little bit more affordable, these sources often do not help with additional expenses. Students must turn to working part time during the year and full time during the summers, but high paying jobs are often not career related. There are other ways to reduce the cost of attending college that rely on making extra expenses cheaper.

One of the highest costs for many students is transportation home for breaks and the summer for themselves and their stuff. To reduce transportation costs, here are some tips:

• Rent a self-storage place near your school with a few friends. This can cost as little as $45 for the summer and give you a safe and reliable place to store your stuff. Just make sure to visit the location and talk to the staff before signing any contracts, and try to find other students who have used the location in the past to make sure they are reliable.
• For those goods which you do need to ship, take advantage of special shipping rates like the UPS book rate. Also think about posting an add for a student who will be driving to somewhere near you home and paying them a sum of money to drive your belongings.
• If you live far from school, you will most likely want to fly home, especially for short breaks. Research plain fares carefully and take advantage of frequent flier miles. A good travel agent that specializes in student travel or careful in-depth research online can help. Start with http://www.hotwire.com, but be sure to check a number of sites. You may also wish to consider driving home with others who live near you in a U-Haul truck or taking the train or the bus.

Another set of items that can really scrape your pockets clean are books and school supplies. Fortunately, these are some of the easiest items to reduce costs on:

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