Yes…one needs to cover the billable costs of tuition, fees, room and board…and those are fixed costs.
BUT one also needs to also cover costs of books, transportation back and forth to school, personal expenses, sometimes lab fees. Often school health insurance isn’t included in the COA either. So while students and families can try to economize on some of these expenses…it’s prudent to include a realistic dollar amount in the cost of attendance for your kid when looking at college costs.