Prepare-COLLEGE PREP

College Financial Checklist

When it comes to paying for your college education, tuition's not the only expense to consider. There's also housing, books and supplies, travel, and more…and you'll want to involve your family in the planning of how to pay for it all.
Together, determine your family's financial resources, looking at college savings accounts, current incomes, and the amount you're willing to borrow.

Colleges' Web sites list their specific costs for tuition, room and board, and fees, and estimated costs for books, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses. Families have discretion in managing the variable expenses, so it's important to identify each one and determine how to handle it. Decide what's really needed, what's a luxury, and what amounts would constitute barely surviving.
Be sure to include these expenses in the conversation:

• Books, fees, and supplies
• Health insurance
• Transportation
• Athletics, sororities and fraternities, and clubs
• Laptop computer
• Cell phone
• Printing/photocopying
• Refrigerator and/or microwave
• Rugs, extra-long sheets, lamps, and other dorm-room items
• Toiletries and cleaning products
• Laundry supplies
• Groceries and snacks
• Social outings

After estimating your college expenses, discuss who'll cover which ones, and where the money will come from. Students may pay for their portion with their summer earnings, or through a part-time job during school.