Where Does All My Money Go?

Many people wonder why college costs so much. I'm sure that my parents did not have to pay $25,000 in taxes or more to pay my way through public school. Well, if you went to private school, then that's a whole new land for me. I don't really know how much private schools' cost, but I'd estimate it to be around $12,000? Don't quote me on this.

Anyway, tuition is broken down into about five categories. According to a UC, it lays out as follows.

Cost of Attendance:

Fees 9141

Room and Board 10900

Books and Supplies 1750

Transportation 1300

Personal Costs 1750

This totals up to be a little over $24,000, which is a lot of money. However, if you go to a private school, through some calculations you can multiply these costs by two, and it'll be about how much you're spending on everything.

Room and Board tends to be the most expensive because while Room is your room and Board is your food costs, this category includes utilities, mailbox, a gym, and other facilities. REMEMBER: A mistake that many students make their first time at college involves the meal plan. Everyone thinks they're going to eat a lot at college, but that's not true. For example, I knew that I wouldn't be able to make it for breakfast which is from 6am - 9am. I have a class at 8am, and I am probably going to get up at 7:30am for it. Another thing is that when you have classes during the day, you might just not have time to make it for lunch either. It just depends on your schedule, but be realistic. When you choose a meal plan like 7 meals a week, it comes with a couple hundred dollars to buy food from the student center.

Fees are your tuition. It's usually some solid amount of your overall cost. This is the money charged to pay for the classroom, maintenance of the school, and paying the teachers. Sometimes this can be a lot and sometimes it's not so much. Just remember that this fee is paid quarterly, so even though it might be $10,000 or $20,000, it's only paid 1/3 at a time.

Books and Supplies may seem like a lot but if you buy all of your books from the bookstore, it won't be long before you have spent $1,750 on books. That's why it's highly suggested that you scout out the used book sales on the Internet. Some people choose to use:

Amazon.com

Half.com

Textbooks.com

CampusBooks.com

There are many options. Sometimes it's possible to buy from upperclassmen because they won't need the books anymore, and might as well make some cash from them. Not only that but REMEMBER to sell your books at the end of the quarter unless the book relates to your major. Then it might be beneficial to keep them for reviewing later.

Transportation is pretty nice. It usually includes free shuttle service around campus, free bus use, cheaper taxi service, escort service, and a safe ride service, for those times that you know you can't get home safely. I recommend using the escort service for those times when you have to stay late somewhere, because campuses are open, and anyone can walk through. At night, especially, it can be dangerous because strangers might mug or assault you. It's better to just not take the risk of walking back to your dorm late at night, alone.

Personal Costs are usually things like deodorant, shampoo, and all those other accessories that you could possible need. Just remember that it might be smart to buy a load of the supplies you need so that you don't have to worry about having to buy them during the year.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to leave a comment, and i'll get back to you as soon as possible. :)