<p>ucb - in my case that $2500 for 8 months has nothing to do with thrifty or gourmet and more to do with a boy that is well over 6 ft. tall and a linebacker 
who drinks a gallon of milk every day and I won’t go into the amount of eggs, bread, cereal, sandwich meat, cheese etc. etc. that can be assumed by such a kid. Gas @ $3.50 a gallon in an older car that only get 21 miles a gallon adds up when it is well over 30 miles to the nearest uni. So halfemptypockets - totally depends on the kid whether $4500 is outrageous or a trade-off. I’m not defending sending a kid to sleep away college as Mom2 has pointed out, if you live in an urban area with close colleges and public transportation there is a big savings, but for people in rural areas raising linebackers…not so much savings. </p>