<p>Take a look at what your transportation costs and hassle are. Go to something like travelocity and run some itineraries for Thanksgiving travel. Add in any ground expenses like getting to the airport from campus and look at total trip time. Depending on where you live, a flight from school A may cost $300, but a flight from school B may cost $500. Will there be a three hour layover? Another one may be a 6 hour drive or a train ride. Think about how often you may want to go home - Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, great grandma’s birthday, etc. Are your parents going to want to fly in to drop you at college? Will they come back for parent’s weekend? End of the school year? Will they need to rent a car, stay at a hotel? Will your parents feel badly if they can’t afford to go?</p>
<p>Unless money is no object, there may be a potential $2,000 right there. Your fit at a college is important but you can’t break the family budget. So, keep an eye on the non tuition/room and board expenses. You may be able to eliminate a couple of schools that way.</p>