rix

Any parents of current students able to comment on how close Whitman's estimated costs have been to actual costs?

I assume tuition and room and board will be what is listed. For "books and supplies" for 2006-07, they indicate $1400. Most other colleges also include another line item in the official cost of attendance for "personal/ miscellaneous", but Whitman does not. So, I'm not sure if they are just not including this, or consider these expenses to be included in "books and supplies".

* How much has your child needed for books and supplies for school?
* How much additional money has your child needed for personal/miscellaneous costs, which I guess is spending money for entertainment, eating off campus, toothpaste, etc.?
* Any hidden fees or other costs you were billed for that you were not expecting?
* Any fees for athletes (such as for uniforms or travel), or does the college cover that?

Thanks!

Wildflower

Excellent question. I am very interested, too.

Thanks.

greenone

A few things I remember from my visit...no extra fees for laundry, no limits on printing or paper fees, no fees for use of photo lab or tickets to theater on campus. Seems like a lot less hidden costs than most schools.

Padraig

I was a varsity athlete at Whitman and we didn't have to pay anything extra for our travels. I'm guessing students would have to pay for their own gear (ski team, tennis racket), but that's one of the benefits of being a runner. All you really need is shoes and I could manage that.

Also, almost all events were free to students even if there was a fee for community members to attend. I remember we had Reel Big Fish (a big name ska band) and tickets were $3 for students, but the majority of the cost was covered by ASWC (student body) which was paid through fees included in tuition & fees. That was the only time I remember having to pay for an event on campus.

Club sports don't receive as much funding and usually do fundraisers (ultimate team sells discs to students or holding a tournament on campus) to cover what they don't receive from ASWC.

The Outdoor Program does charge for students to rent outdoor equipment, but all that money goes to buying new equipment and it's quite cheap to rent. Many students have their own equipment so often you don't even have to rent from the OP if you have friends who into backpacking and other outdoor activities.

Then again I guess these days students going to Whitman would feel lost without their cell phone. And if you bought them a car in high school, they'll be paying ski-high car insurance because they're not 25 year. I'm sure you or your students can find ways to make their college years a great deal more expensive.

Greenone is right about students not paying for campus resources, but it probably would have cut down on wasted paper if students had been charged for it.