College Costs - Part One

When searching and applying for scholarships it is important to know the cost of a college education. How do you determine the actual cost of the college or university you want to attend? Numbers are probably flying at you, and it can be difficult to know how to make sense of them all. First, figure out what the college is going to charge you. This may sound easy, but watch out for hidden fees. Tuition, a room in a residence building (if living on-campus), and the meal plan should be pretty easy to find. Next find out the fees. Here are some examples:
-- car registration
-- health insurance
-- drop/add class fees
-- lab fees
-- technology fees
-- library fees
-- reservation fees
-- concert fees
-- and more.
Some colleges lump these fees into an all-inclusive “program fee.” Either way, add up all the costs to see the total amount that the college will charge you each year. The college may refer to all these costs as “direct” costs because they are charged directly to you. There's a second type of cost -- "indirect" costs -- that you need to figure into the actual cost of going to college. But that's a topic for another post.