Prices for Room & Board

ucbalumnus
Tue, 26 May 2020 03:39:54 +0000

Yankeefan20;d-2187868:

What is a good or fair price for it? If any of your kid(s) were to attend a school that’s no more than an hour away, at what price would you decide that you’d rather have them commute? How would you decide if the dorms are worth it to pay any price for room&board?

Wouldn’t that depend on:

The length and difficulty of the commute, including method used (driving is basically wasted time compared to using public transportation, but COVID-19 has made public transportation less desirable to many).

The total net price living at campus.

The total net price commuting (note that the student consumes food and utilities at home and has commuting costs, so it isn't $0, although typically lower than living at campus).

Your total college budget.

?

Example 1:

Commute is a 15 minute walk to campus.

Net price living on campus is $35k ($15k room and board + $20k other).

Net price commuting is $23k ($3k food and utilities at home + $20k other).

Your total college budget is $25k (anything beyond would require student loans and work).

Example 2:

Commute is a 1 hour drive to campus (including parking, etc. as applicable), with unpredictable traffic conditions.

Net price living on campus is $35k ($15k room and board + $20k other).

Net price commuting is $28k ($3k food and utilities at home + $5k commuting costs + $20k other).

Your total college budget is $50k.

Many people’s answers for the question “live on campus or commute?” will differ between these examples.