Large Families - how do you cope with college expenses?

[Patience]

Excellent points, Mrs. Pete. I will also add not to forget that a lot of students will move out of a dorm and into an apartment at some point in their college education if they attend school away from home. Apartment living can cost substantially more than living in a dorm. At my daughter's college, only freshman are guaranteed dorms. My daughter is in an apartment this year and it has definitely cost us more money despite her having two roommates.

 

[lisaross]

[really u can't live in a dorm the 4 years...


QUOTE=Patience;50478181]Excellent points, Mrs. Pete. I will also add not to forget that a lot of students will move out of a dorm and into an apartment at some point in their college education if they attend school away from home. Apartment living can cost substantially more than living in a dorm. At my daughter's college, only freshman are guaranteed dorms. My daughter is in an apartment this year and it has definitely cost us more money despite her having two roommates.[/QUOTE]

 

[disykat]

I'm only going by my own experience as far as the private school thing - and I have two in school right now. They both had several options at private schools. I'm not talking about highly selective college full rides, I'm talking about down to same as state school cost at smaller decent colleges. Some small schools even guarantee that if you get in, they'll get you down to the cost of the state flagship.

My son in a big city lives off campus and it costs about the same as the dorm - but only because he searched for affordable options to share. My son in a small town will move off campus after freshman year because it will cost considerably less than living in the cheapest dorm.

My kids know exactly what numbers they are expected to be at or below and make their choices accordingly.

 

[Patience]

[really u can't live in a dorm the 4 years...


QUOTE=Patience;50478181]Excellent points, Mrs. Pete. I will also add not to forget that a lot of students will move out of a dorm and into an apartment at some point in their college education if they attend school away from home. Apartment living can cost substantially more than living in a dorm. At my daughter's college, only freshman are guaranteed dorms. My daughter is in an apartment this year and it has definitely cost us more money despite her having two roommates.

[/QUOTE]

I was able to live in a dorm for three years when I was an undergraduate student. I was not chosen in the dorm lottery for my senior year so had to live in an apartment. At my daughter's university, on campus housing is pretty limited and only freshman are guaranteed a dorm spot. Everyone else who wants to live on campus goes into a lottery. It may be different on different campuses but I think it's a good idea to be prepared financially in case your child has to live off campus sometime during their college years. For us anyway, our daughter's apartment costs more than the dorm plus we had to buy things for it like a bedroom set, a kitchen table and chairs, etc.

 

[TLuvsD]

Tell your kids upfront what you can/will contribute to college costs. Don't leave them in the dark, they need to know. Applying to "dream school, possible only with large scholarship" is ok, it just can't be the only option.
Check with the high school guidance office for local scholarships..they can add up. It's not likely they will make "pricey private" doable, but they can help out.
For us, the apartment costs are less than the dorm/meal plan combo...and she's eating better. She lost weight she couldn't afford to lose last year...

 

[TLuvsD]

We use "Paying for College without Going Broke" to fill out forms, both FASFA and CSS Profile. It's more than worth the cost, and likely available at your library.