college parents: hidden costs

[Anonymous]

Clothing. I can't believe that no one has mentioned this. People moan about $60 mini fridge fees, but the truth is that depending upon the school, gender of the child, and their size, it can be thousands to look the part. Boys are much cheaper than girls in this regard. I mention size, because if your daughter is either 00 or size 12 the J. Crew sale rack is their oyster and you can get a lot of bang for your buck. I came from a small town, and when I arrived at Columbia the scene was overwhelming. It is difficult socially if you don't have the right clothing. Depending on the school and location, the right clothing can be much more than the cost of airfare. Something to think about.

[Anonymous]

Rug for dorm room

i>clicker, if required for class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clothing. I can't believe that no one has mentioned this. People moan about $60 mini fridge fees, but the truth is that depending upon the school, gender of the child, and their size, it can be thousands to look the part. Boys are much cheaper than girls in this regard. I mention size, because if your daughter is either 00 or size 12 the J. Crew sale rack is their oyster and you can get a lot of bang for your buck. I came from a small town, and when I arrived at Columbia the scene was overwhelming. It is difficult socially if you don't have the right clothing. Depending on the school and location, the right clothing can be much more than the cost of airfare. Something to think about.

I'm not sure which crowd you ran with in college, but I can assure you that at every elite university there is a solid block of students from lower- and middle-income families who enjoy going in groups of friends to local thrift and second-hand shops.

[Anonymous]

Clothing? Most college kids these days look like hobos. A lot of yoga pants and pajama pants to class, particularly for 9 am classes. It's the one time in life where people look like schlubs all the time unless they are going out to get laid or have a job interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clothing. I can't believe that no one has mentioned this. People moan about $60 mini fridge fees, but the truth is that depending upon the school, gender of the child, and their size, it can be thousands to look the part. Boys are much cheaper than girls in this regard. I mention size, because if your daughter is either 00 or size 12 the J. Crew sale rack is their oyster and you can get a lot of bang for your buck. I came from a small town, and when I arrived at Columbia the scene was overwhelming. It is difficult socially if you don't have the right clothing. Depending on the school and location, the right clothing can be much more than the cost of airfare. Something to think about.

I'm fairly confident that I never bought a single item of clothing in college. I "inherited" a lot from friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clothing? Most college kids these days look like hobos. A lot of yoga pants and pajama pants to class, particularly for 9 am classes. It's the one time in life where people look like schlubs all the time unless they are going out to get laid or have a job interview.

Boy is this true. For men and women, the sloppier the better. I take DD to Old Navy before the term begins and just buy whatever she needs. So inexpensive and lasts at least a year and then can be donated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Clothing? Most college kids these days look like hobos. A lot of yoga pants and pajama pants to class, particularly for 9 am classes. It's the one time in life where people look like schlubs all the time unless they are going out to get laid or have a job interview.

Depends a lot on the campus. My DC dresses up for class, which is the norm at her school. But the clothing budget isn't any different than it was in high school. I don't consider it a college cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Clothing. I can't believe that no one has mentioned this. People moan about $60 mini fridge fees, but the truth is that depending upon the school, gender of the child, and their size, it can be thousands to look the part. Boys are much cheaper than girls in this regard. I mention size, because if your daughter is either 00 or size 12 the J. Crew sale rack is their oyster and you can get a lot of bang for your buck. I came from a small town, and when I arrived at Columbia the scene was overwhelming. It is difficult socially if you don't have the right clothing. Depending on the school and location, the right clothing can be much more than the cost of airfare. Something to think about.

I'm fairly confident that I never bought a single item of clothing in college. I "inherited" a lot from friends.

+1. DD and friends swap clothes all the time. They also visit second-hand shops in packs. This is at an a Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Most college students get a 5 to 800 a month allowance which usually still needs extra money

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most college students get a 5 to 800 a month allowance which usually still needs extra money

Not my college kid, unless you count reimbursing for academic expenses like books and fees. DC pays for all socializing with $$$ earned from summer jobs, and actually does a fair bit of socializing. This is at a college in NYC, no less.

[Anonymous]

I am the one who posted above about earning my own $ for this kind of stuff, but I only had one friend who got an allowance and she was very wealthy (and frankly very out of the mainstream). Most kids just earned some $ over the summer or school year. This was at a non-urban Ivy League school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most college students get a 5 to 800 a month allowance which usually still needs extra money

$800 a month allowance? WTH? Very unrealistic. I doubt I gave my DS $500 money for the entire year, and that included laundry money. Our DS had to pay for social/going out money with his own funds.

[Anonymous]

Start up for the dorm room was more expensive than I realized. Spent lots of $$ at target and bed bath beyond here and once we arrived.

[Anonymous]

Also if your kid is out of state, you also have the hidden cost of your travel to visit

[Anonymous]

We pay for necessities and give a little mad money when home for breaks or when we visit. Kid pays for everything else own money. I felt like I should have given more, but it seemed to work out. Kid actually had money left over at the end of the year.