Building A College Budget
Mulling college choices while your parents do the math? News flash: You need to think about dollars and cents, too. This is your life. Learn to pay for it. Mastering the financial demands of your daily life as an independent student is a life skill you’ll carry into your career. Think of these costs in two categories: the big basic costs due at the start of the semester, and the running-around expenses of everything not education related.
Get a clue- Ron Ronnenberg, Director of Financial Aid for University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, says there are things high school juniors and seniors should do now to prep for that first-year college budget. “The first thing the student has to do is have a conversation with their parents. They simply need to understand what it is going to cost,” Ron advises, referring to the “basic” costs for room and board, books and tuition. These are due when school starts.
For time-crunched families, Liz Tucker, Financial Aid Director of UW-Platteville, says the good news is online comparative shopping for schools will get easier. “There will be a big emphasis from the U.S. Congress for schools to have much more information out there. In the next two to three years, families will be able to look at different schools all in one place.” The University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Technical College System already provide cost information on their Web sites.
Visit the Wisconsin Financial Aid web site for more
information on funding.
Get some money- If you don’t have enough money set aside for college, consider applying for loans and scholarships. “The scholarship process typically starts in the fall semester of the senior year and runs through the spring of the senior year,” Ron explains. “And for financial aid … start no sooner than the day after they [your parents] complete their federal income tax forms.”
Also consider getting a student job. “I always tell parents and students that it’s a good thing if you can get a job on campus,” Liz says. “It allows them some extra spending money and opens a lot of different avenues for students to meet faculty or staff that they might never have come in contact with…. When they do graduate, they have people they can use as references.”
Pitfalls: Cars, credit cards, cell phones- The triangle of financial nightmares involves the car, ease of credit cards and cell phone use. Start paying attention to the cell phone bill, record your spending habits and use that to help calculate your non-education expenses on campus. “That [spending habits] doesn’t change much,” Ron explains. Credit cards and automobiles have hurt students for the last 20 years, he adds. “And it will be that way 20 years from now.”
“If students want to cut their expenses, leave the car at home,” Ron advises. “If there is one single area that students create headaches for themselves, it is keeping their automobile. You really have to ask yourself why you need a car on campus.”
Fast fiscal fitness- Living thrifty doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. Most campuses have tons of free or cheap things. Pay off your credit card bill each month. Shop for a bank with free checking and savings options. Walk, bicycle or take the campus bus, and carpool home. These will help you
with your top priority: academics.