Hidden college costs?

[kawing123]

Enrollment deposit were only required at two and yes people do this all the time the deposits are now where near 500.00 though.

 

[Tri-Delta4Life]

I do realize this is her first choice, the aid office did not help. My viewpoint is all through her senior year she yearned to be a doctor. She said I would never ever be an engineer. This is basically an engineering school with a small pre med dept. She loves the campus. She is unsure of whether she wants to be a doctor now and say I will just be an engineer. Loving the campus is not a reason to attend. I am really torn I which way to guide her if she does not accept the full ride to the local university it is gone forever, if she goes where she would like to for a year and hates it she would need to go to the university which she turned down the full ride or try and hope and I mean hope that she could be a transfer student to the top university she should go to. I am torn because I think she is only going to this university because the campus is small and it is pretty. She knows there is no other degree programs besides engineering there and she said I mean fiercely throughout high school she would never ever become and engineer never. Since she is rethining her doctor career, I am wondering if she is just saying this because she wants to go to school there.

Hey! Sounds like the college I went to! Like a lot like the college I went to... if it is my school, I can help explain the fees! Let me know

 

[Poohbear5]

Our boys both had top grades and could have gone anywhere but we strongly encouraged them to go to a school that would not leave them $100,00 in debt upon graduation. We sat down and told them how much we could afford, the rest was their responsibility.
They choose to commute 45 to the public college in the end.

They just got their tuition bills this week with an unexpected 9% increase over last year!

They are also charged an "activities fee" of $1100 per year even though they live off campus.

 

[msmayor]

Poohbear, an activities fee still makes sense, even for an off-campus student. It doesn't matter where they live, all students are still entitled to take part in campus activities.

I'm sure the school my daughter goes to has all these fees...but they don't list them out. Other than a $500 non-refundable admission fee, there's nothing else until graduation. Tuition and room/board for on-campus students. That's it. Three things on the bill. Any fees they charge are most likely just rolled in to the tuition and hidden.

Even the meal plan is one price, regardless of the number of meals per week. The variable is the number of flexible "dining dollars" they get for extras. The more meals-per-week, the fewer flexible "dining dollars".

Makes it very easy to see how much it costs.

 

[patsal]

Parking fees, meal plan fees, activities fees, so many fees. It is common for all schools and usuually there is an * on the website and some fine print that says exclusive of fees. Let her make her own choice, it is her responsibility to do that now, and if you do not want to pay, don't . It really is that simple. DS is doing a community college, but he has opted to go away to do it. Great, but guess who isn't paying. Tuition,I will pay after the successful completion of his grades. Room and board for something that is the same everywhere, nope not my responsibility.

This is the time they get to make their choices and they have to live with the consequences...give up the $$ and then want it later, too bad...you closed the door on that. However, to change a major just based on location is a bit odd. If that is what she wants let her have it, it is her responsibility not yours.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I have a very good friend who has an engineering undergrad degree (chemistry I believe) and is a physician. I have another friend whose son was a biomedical engineering undergrad and is going to med school. My son is a senor in mechanical engineering and will probably be attending law school. Don't sell an undergrad engineering degree short.

 

[disney1990]

I have 2 DDs in college and every school has "hidden or not so hidden fees".

 

[kawing123]

What I believe happened is in the financial aid page cost of attendance summary they recently revealed the fees in the cost of tuition. I had figured out exactly how much oop I would need to pay. When I subtract the fees, it is pretty close. Not talking about a couple hundred dollars here, almost four thousand dollars quite a chunck of change to need to come up with. This is recently revealed I keep a close eye on the aid page at the school because aid can change. The aid has not changed but the tuition section must have.

 

[bluesaturn]

Enrollment deposit were only required at two and yes people do this all the time the deposits are now where near 500.00 though.

Did she accept admission, and a scholarship, at two different schools? I have never, ever heard of someone doing that. I was under the impression once you accept an admission you actually have to notify any other schools and decline their offers.

If someone is on a waiting list they usually accept their second choice admission. Then if they get into the waiting list school, they decline the second choice admission and accept the waiting list admission. But at any given time they've only accepted admission to one school.

 

[Sadie22]

Did she accept admission, and a scholarship, at two different schools? I have never, ever heard of someone doing that. I was under the impression once you accept an admission you actually have to notify any other schools and decline their offers.

You are correct, bluesaturn. If a student accepts two offers of admission that student may find himself or herself with two withdrawn offers of admission.

 

[Tri-Delta4Life]

I have a very good friend who has an engineering undergrad degree (chemistry I believe) and is a physician. I have another friend whose son was a biomedical engineering undergrad and is going to med school. My son is a senor in mechanical engineering and will probably be attending law school. Don't sell an undergrad engineering degree short.

Amen! My all engineering school has a job placement rate of about 95% each year at graduation and the average starting salry is 60k (in the midwest too).

 

[mistysue]

The school I would like her to attend is close to Harvard but not considered Ivy League U of M

Which U of M?

Just the fact that I have to ask should let you know that if it's not Ivy League... nobody is really going to care where you went to school. DH got his degree from Ohio state and works along side people from Ivy League. They are equals, he even has a better position than some of them. After you finish nobody cares where you went as long as you finished.

(if you happen to mean U of Michigan, once you leave the state nobody knows the difference between UofM and MSU... or CMU or WMU or Eastern if that makes you feel better)

If she is unhappy, she is much less likely to finish.

 

[eliza61]

She accepted it but does not want to attend. It is a university some may refer to as in the inner city but that really does not bother me.

For me this is a very telling statement. If she does not want to attend, how do you plan on forcing her? If she is forced to attend will she resent it and not give it her best effort? Think about yourself, how well do you respond to being forced to do some thing you don't like.



Could you two sit down with both offers and plainly spell out how much each one will cost. My son is going into his second year and there were plenty of fees and simply living expenses that pop up. Heck, I attended the University of Pittsburgh back in the late 70's and I can remember having to dig into the pocket for all kinds of "incidentals".

I would spell out the choices, tell her honestly how much money you have to help with her education and tell her how much she will be responsible for in the end.

 

[MrsPete]

I think all schools have some sort of extra fees. I went to several schools (for advanced degrees) and they all had extra fees. I now teach at a college and I know there are fees here too.

They are things like:
Rec Center fee (gym)
Insurance fee (if you live on campus)
Transit pass fee (probably just at this school I am at - its an urban school and you get a train pass for the year)
Student activity fee
new student orientation fee
athletic fee (not sure what this is for)

Although, I don't think they add up to extra thousands? Maybe a few hundred.

There are also class fees that are separate if you take a lab class.
Maggie

I think these are the generic fees that the OP is describing. You could've thrown in the health center as well. Colleges provide quite a few services to students (some use them, some do not), and all of the students contribute to them every semester. This shouldn't have come as a surprise.

My viewpoint is all through her senior year she yearned to be a doctor. She said I would never ever be an engineer . . . She is unsure of whether she wants to be a doctor now and say I will just be an engineer . . . She knows there is no other degree programs besides engineering there and she said I mean fiercely throughout high school she would never ever become and engineer never.

This makes no sense. Medical school and engineering school require an entirely different skill set, and people don't typically switch from one to the other. If she wanted to go to medical school and decided to switch to phyical therapy or nursing, or some specific area of medicine, I'd think she'd refined her idea . . . if she started out in engineering, but then switched to Physics, I'd believe that . . . but for a student who hasn't started school yet to switch from a people-oriented science to engineering either shows that she hasn't thought this through or hasn't evaulated her abilities well, or is just grasping at straws.

Many students are wait listed at schools and accept many many spots in colleges and do not make decisions until August. Fairly commom.

Having taught high school seniors 18 years, and having known literally thousands of seniors heading out to college . . . no, this is not common. Students are wait listed perhaps December - March, but by spring pretty much everyone has definite plans (and has put down unrefundable deposits). Yes, a few people change their minds in May, when they get a last-minute scholarship, but they're the few who are scrambling.

OP, a number of things you're saying don't make any sense (A scholarship for which only one person qualified? I've only known of one of those EVER, and that was a very unique circumstance engineered by some parents to provide for a specific student.). I think you're very confused about this process.

Our boys both had top grades and could have gone anywhere but we strongly encouraged them to go to a school that would not leave them $100,00 in debt upon graduation. We sat down and told them how much we could afford, the rest was their responsibility.

We're taking the same approach with our oldest, who is a Junior and is starting to visit colleges. Students often form opinions on schools for not-so-stellar reasons. For example, my daugther has identified four schools as her "most likely" choices from an academic standpoint. She's listed one of those as #4 out of 4 because it has no football team, and she knows that she would really, really enjoy being part of a crowd cheering on her team, having parties on fall weekends. It would matter tremendously to her. Perhaps we moms aren't a whole lot different: I've numbered the four differently, placing the school #4 out of 4 because as a junior/senior she'll have to drive to/from the hospital for student nursing, and I don't like the idea of her doing it on snowy mountain roads.

The point is, of course, that numerous schools will provide the degree that your student wants to earn. No one's saying, "Go to this school that you hate because it's cheap" . . . but I agree wholehearedly with you that students should choose a school that they can afford without debt (or at least as little debt as possible). And I've known more than one high schooler who found himself basically "forced" into a certain school -- sometimes because of unexpected rejections, sometimes by financial circumstances -- and in almost every case, when they visit the school again (this time knowing that they ARE going to attend), they come away seeing things differently. They see things that they like.

What I believe happened is in the financial aid page cost of attendance summary they recently revealed the fees in the cost of tuition. I had figured out exactly how much oop I would need to pay. When I subtract the fees, it is pretty close. Not talking about a couple hundred dollars here, almost four thousand dollars quite a chunck of change to need to come up with. This is recently revealed I keep a close eye on the aid page at the school because aid can change. The aid has not changed but the tuition section must have.

Keep in mind that tuition WILL go up every single year; it certainly did when I was in school. I read in the paper yesterday that because of budget shortfalls, our state schools are ALL increasing tuition this year, some as much as $750/semester -- and students are getting only a few weeks notice about it. This is on top of a large increase just a year or two ago. You'll never be able to predict that bill with complete accuracy.

 

[MrsPete]

Which U of M?

Just the fact that I have to ask should let you know that if it's not Ivy League... nobody is really going to care where you went to school. DH got his degree from Ohio state and works along side people from Ivy League. They are equals, he even has a better position than some of them. After you finish nobody cares where you went as long as you finished.

(if you happen to mean U of Michigan, once you leave the state nobody knows the difference between UofM and MSU... or CMU or WMU or Eastern if that makes you feel better)

If she is unhappy, she is much less likely to finish.

For certain disciplines, that college name and wearing the right college ring is important. Politics. Wall Street. For the vast majority? No.

Also, U of Michigan isn't Ivy League. People tend to claim that very good competative schools are "Ivy League", but that's not true -- around here, people say it about UNC-Chapel Hill. Of course, people claim all sorts of things about colleges. My aunt claimed that my cousin got a Morehead Scholarship to Appalachain State University.

For me this is a very telling statement. If she does not want to attend, how do you plan on forcing her? If she is forced to attend will she resent it and not give it her best effort? Think about yourself, how well do you respond to being forced to do some thing you don't like.

If School #1 is out of the family's price range, the OP shouldn't have to force the girl to go to another school. Anyone ready for college should be able to understand the facts and see the circumstances for what they are.

 

[eliza61]

For certain disciplines, that college name and wearing the right college ring is important. Politics. Wall Street. For the vast majority? No.

Anyone ready for college should be able to understand the facts and see the circumstances for what they are.

Oh, If I only had a dollar for every kid who was supposedly "mature and ready" for college but attended any way I'd be rich.

Yes, I know by the time kids are 18 or 19 we think they should be full of wisdom and maturity and never do idiotic things, but often times they are not (if they were would we have kids binge drinking and other crazy things I see on college campus every day? ). and it would also be very nice if every kid by the time they are 18 or 19 understood credit card debt and student loans but once again if that was the case would we constantly see young adults in consumer debt up to their ears and school loans for 10's of thousands of dollars?

It would be absolutely lovely if every young adult who graduated understood the idea of savings and living within their means.

Yes, in theory evey one who starts college should have this understanding but theory rarely ever reflects real life. I dare say there a quite a number of kids making the decision where to go to college without considering the overall cost.

 

[msmayor]

I agree with you, eliza...but this is where parents really need to step up their game and TEACH their kids about the realities of money and budgeting.

Too often we shelter our kids from our own budget situations. This is not the time to be secretive.

We made it explicitly clear to our daughter that when it came to college, there were some hard and fast rules regarding the money aspect:

1) The school she chose to attend would require that she graduate with the maximum amount of Stafford Loan debt available for an undergraduate degree: $27,000. There is always a chance that we will be able to help her pay it off, but absolutely no guarantees. She WOULD have skin in the game.

2) Our contribution to her expenses would be ONLY for tuition, room and board. Everything else was on her. She would have to use her own savings and income from summer jobs to pay for books, supplies, and any fun spending money she needed. She would get nothing extra from us...no allowance at all.

3) She received a renewable merit scholarship that requires her to maintain a specific GPA to get that money every year. Her job is to KEEP that scholarship...we do not have extra in our budget to cover that if she loses it, so she needs to keep her grades up to hang on to that funding source.

We didn't just let her 'figure it out' on her own though. We sat down with her and showed her how to take the funds she had and work a budget for her freshman year. We helped her lay out how much she should plan to spend each week for various things, and told her to use that new laptop she got to keep track of every penny she spent in various categories. Every six weeks or so, she'd let us know where her budget was at. At every break, she sat down with us to go over her numbers and see where she could make adjustments. This process turned her into a very smart shopper, always looking for bargains and also giving her the strength to say "no" to extra spending because she knew she had to meet her budget.

She sees the college bills. She knows how much we're spending. And using/managing her OWN money has taught her how much it stinks to see that bank balance go down.

 

[jodifla]

Which U of M?

Just the fact that I have to ask should let you know that if it's not Ivy League... nobody is really going to care where you went to school. DH got his degree from Ohio state and works along side people from Ivy League. They are equals, he even has a better position than some of them. After you finish nobody cares where you went as long as you finished.

(if you happen to mean U of Michigan, once you leave the state nobody knows the difference between UofM and MSU... or CMU or WMU or Eastern if that makes you feel better)

If she is unhappy, she is much less likely to finish.

Ah, I'm not sure where you are getting this idea from. U-M is considered "public ivy" and is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in the country.

As a person who has done a lot of hiring, it DID matter where you went to school. Certain universities have much better programs for certain disciplines than others.

 

[Green Tea]

I challenge that.

Schools often require non-refundable deposits to hold your spot, generally in the neighborhood of $500 each. I would never believe that there are students with that much money to burn that they can afford to deposit at "many" schools and kiss all that money goodbye just so they can have more time to decide.

Students who are waitlisted are NOT required to deposit at the school. They only need to deposit once offered an official spot.

Colleges expect summer drops. They factor this in--just as they know how many to accept to yield a class of a certain size. Yes, the kid will lose the deposit.

 

[msmayor]

Colleges expect summer drops. They factor this in--just as they know how many to accept to yield a class of a certain size. Yes, the kid will lose the deposit.

No doubt. But I think they offer their acceptances based on those they think WON'T deposit by May 1.

My challenge was that LOTS of students do this. I find it hard to believe that there are LOTS of students and parents with money they can afford to throw away on college deposits. Not when I read on boards like College Confidential how many are straining their financial resources to afford school.