Don’t Forget To Save for These Hidden College Expenses
Written by
Jami Farkas
Edited by
Ashleigh Ray
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If you’re about to enter college or about to start paying for someone to go to college, you’ve probably already budgeted for tuition and housing, but there are quite a few hidden college costs that are easy to miss.
The average cost to attend college each year in the United States varies depending on if you choose a public or private college, as well as your state of residence. According to U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges survey, students will pay an average of $10,423 for tuition and fees at in-state public college in the 2022-23 school year. If you attend a public college outside your state of residence, the number climbs to $22,953. For private colleges, the tuition and fees total an average of $39,723.
And that doesn’t include housing, or all the extras college students require — books and supplies, a computer, transportation, food and more. If you or a loved one are heading to college this fall, take a look at what you can expect to spend on all the added costs.
Textbooks
Students can expect to pay about $1,225 a year for books, according to a 2022 report from the Education Data Initiative. The average cost of a college textbook is about $105 — all part of a $3.1 billion industry. If you can find the book available digitally, you’ll pay about 32% less than for the physical book, per the report.
Savings Tip: Despite the high costs of books, there are ways to save. Renting the digital version of your book is one of them. Perhaps the required reading for your course is, “Molecular Biology of The Cell.” That seventh-edition book, in hardback, costs $200 to buy through Amazon. Purchasing the digital version for your Kindle will run $141. Renting it? It’s $112 — just 56% of the cost of buying the book.
Read online course reviews as students will tell you how often the book was used. If not very often, see if a classmate or friend wants to share the book, and the cost, with you. Check your library to see if the book is available, and also apply for book scholarships or buy previous editions for less.
Transportation
Transportation is an everyday expense that might not be obvious when thinking about college. Will you be taking public transit? Look up how much the average commuter spends in the city of the college to figure out how much to budget for. If you’ll mostly be using a car to get around, add gas and insurance to your college expenses. Is there a parking fee on campus or in the dormitory parking lot? Plan for that, too.
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Is your campus a plane ride away from home? Instead of costs for driving, you’ll need to budget for airfare for round trips at the start and end of the school years, as well as for holiday breaks if you plan to return home. Add in costs for rideshare or public transit to help you get to and from the airport, as well as around town during the semester.
Savings Tip: If you won’t be using your personal car or sharing the family car while at college, but you’re still on an insurance policy, get in touch with the agent. Some insurance companies offer discounts for students who go away to college without a car — and they’re still covered when they come home for breaks.
Food
It seems obvious, but college students need to eat. Whether you opt for a meal plan, groceries or eating out, you’ll need to have a food budget.
For off-campus dining, students spend about $410 a month on average, with an additional $257 to make meals at home, per statistics from the Education Data Initiative. The average campus meal plan costs $563 a month.
Savings Tip: If you have a campus meal plan, don’t forget to use the allocation for off-campus meals. Most semester meal plans include a set amount of money to use outside the campus dining halls, allowing students to order pizza, subs or other favorites from off-campus restaurants. The money likely is set aside under a category called something like “flex bucks.”
Fraternities and Sororities
Greek life comes with fees and dues. Even applying to rush might cost you a few hundred dollars. Total costs for dues, events and other expenses for Greek life are in the thousands, depending on the fraternity or sorority you choose.
At the University of Arizona, for example, established members of Interfraternity Council fraternities paid an average of $1,223 per semester in Fall 2022 — $1,473 for new members. New members of Panhellenic chapter sororities paid $2,438 — $1,873 for active members. Make sure you’ve taken these expenses into consideration before committing to one of these organizations or look into opportunities for scholarships.
Keep in mind, these rates do not include housing.
Savings Tip: Greek life often involves formal affairs, which could mean a new dress or suit. But why buy new when you can borrow? Your network of friends on campus probably includes members of other sororities who just might have the formals they wore last spring in their closet. The dress will never have been seen in your sorority, right? Arrange a night with your friends and “sisters” to have a swap and trade dresses for the formal. Gentlemen can borrow ties and other accessories, too, to give their formal suits an all-new look.
Technology
Though some colleges will issue devices such as tablets and laptops to their students, others don’t. That expense then falls on you. You’ll need those devices, as well as a cell phone, probably headphones and other electronics for school. You might have some of those in great condition; others might require an upgrade. You might even need specific software for your classes, as well.
Savings Tip: Check out the student discounts offered by retailers and manufacturers. Apple offers Mac and iPad products at a student discount, for example.
If you’re looking to purchase Adobe software, be sure to take advantage of the more than 60% discount offered to students on the Creative Cloud All Apps plan.
Your university also could have agreements with companies for discounts. Students in the State University of New York system, for one, can get lower prices on Dell computer products, T-Mobile cell phone plans, printer ink and more.
New Clothes
This isn’t necessarily about “dressing to impress,” but more about a potential change in climate. Are you going to a school that has completely different weather than where you were before? You’ll have to add some staples to your wardrobe to match. Luckily, many stores offer student discounts. Some of those include J. Crew, American Eagle and ASOS.
Savings Tip: You undoubtedly will want to add a piece of school “spirit” wear to your wardrobe, like a comfy sweatshirt or a stylish polo shirt. When you get to campus, don’t rush to the school bookstore. Investigate whether there’s an off-campus store that sells discounted merchandise or compare the prices on sites such as Amazon or Fanatics before shelling out $125 (or more) for a simple polo shirt from the campus store.
Furniture
If you’re moving somewhere new, you’ll probably need a few things to make your new place feel like home. Whether it’s dorm-living or apartment renting, you should budget at least a few hundred dollars for essentials and miscellaneous home furnishings you might need during your first year. Depending on your needs, the budget could go over that few hundred.
Savings Tip: Check out your local Facebook Marketplace or Buy Nothing sites. You often can pick up things like kitchen tables and chairs, barstools or desks either for free or for much less than you’d pay at a big-box store.
Fun
When budgeting for school, don’t forget to save a little money for activities off campus. You’ll want to have a life outside your classes, especially if you’re going to school somewhere you’ve never lived before. Budget some money for exploring the city and having fun with your friends to enjoy the full college experience.
Savings Tip: Every time you save money by using a digital coupon at the supermarket or a buy one, get one free deal with a friend, put your savings in a jar. That dollar you saved on shampoo? Pay it to yourself. And at the end of the day, throw that leftover change from your pocket in the jar. Before you know it, you’ll have enough saved for a night out.
Emergency Money
All the planning in the world can’t prepare you for the unexpected. It’s important to have some money on hand for unanticipated circumstances like car problems or even a plane ticket to get back home in case of an emergency.
Savings Tip: If you pick up some extra hours at work or get a birthday card from Grandma with a check inside, put half aside. Transfer those savings to a high-interest online savings account. You’ll benefit from the interest and keep the money more than an arm’s length away. That’ll help discourage spontaneous spending.
Brooke Barley contributed to the reporting for this article.
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