@blossom - while not a necessity, it is a cost that is not considered in COA. I have also found the “travel” numbers to be very low. For example, I believe Notre Dame’s “travel” budget was under $1000 for the year. If I lived in Chicago or Indianapolis, that would work. I live in California. I could spend that much getting him to and from school for Thanksgiving. We typically try to get him home for Fall Break, Thanks giving, Christmas and Spring Break. There is no way to get all 4 trips in for under $1k. This is not a complaint, simply stating a fact that COA is an estimate and you are likely spending more than the amount estimated in the COA.