Certain college costs, from tuition and books to room and board, are hardly a surprise. But for many students, the college experience also includes expenses that are easily overlooked. We’ve uncovered several hidden costs of going to college that you might want to budget for before you arrive on campus. Here are three of them.
SEE ALSO:
Worst College Majors for Your Career
p>
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Keeping a car on campus
Nearly half of all college students have a car at school. While convenient, paying for parking can quickly add up. At Ohio State University, for example, parking permits can approach $800 per year. You’ll also need to budget for gas, maintenance and insurance, too.
Save money by leaving your car at home. Instead, rely on a bike, your feet, college shuttles, public transit or a car-sharing service like Zipcar.
Joining a fraternity or sorority
Going Greek isn’t cheap. At the University of Michigan, for example, dues for the first semester of sorority membership range from $220 to $1,720. For fraternities at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, new members pay an average of $2,000.
Ask the campus Greek-life coordinator to provide a specific rundown of fraternity and sorority fees so that you can flesh out your budget. Also, many Greek chapters have scholarship programs and payment plans for members.
Going to the big game
If your school is a powerhouse in a big-time sport such as football or basketball, expect tickets to be expensive—even with a student discount. Football season tickets for students can range from $77 at Virginia Tech to $245 at the University of Notre Dame. Student season tickets to both basketball and football games at Indiana University are $300.
But sports-loving students can be frugal and still get in on the action. Lots of schools provide either free or very cheap student tickets for such sports as volleyball and baseball because demand is lower.
-
What Is a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)?Tax Breaks A QCD can lower your tax bill while meeting your charitable giving goals in retirement. Here’s how.
-
Embracing Generative AI for Financial SuccessGenerative AI has the potential to reshape how we approach learning about and managing our personal finances.
-
529 Plans: A Powerful Way to Tackle Rising Education CostsContributions to 529 plans grow tax-free and are not taxed when they are used to pay for qualified educational expenses for the beneficiary.
-
Are Student Loans Being Forgiven or Not?Student Loans The House and Senate voted to repeal President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, but does it even matter?
-
Are Scholarships Tax-Free?Education Scholarships are generally tax-free if certain IRS and other requirements are met.
-
Student Loan Forgiveness Blocked For Now Due to Court RulingsBiden's student loan debt forgiveness program is on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in.
-
529 Plan Contribution Deadlines529 Plans Many states have year-end deadlines for making 529 college savings plan contributions.
-
3 Key Ways You Can Help a Child or Grandchild Pay for Collegecollege Options such as 529 plans, education savings accounts and tax-free gifts can ensure you don’t carry a child’s student loan debt into your golden years.
-
Borrowers Over 50 With Student Loan DebtPaying for College Millions of borrowers 50 and older are struggling to repay loans for themselves and their children, some delaying retirement. There’s a trick, though, to help with repayment.
-
How to Spend $1,000: Find Cheap (or Free) Online Courses to Build Career SkillsSmart Buying There's a huge array of skill-building online courses that can level up your career for under $1,000.
