The Outrageous Hidden Costs Of College (INFOGRAPHIC)

It's common knowledge that college now costs and arm, a leg, a spleen and a toe (and in some cases, a neck and an ankle). But when tabulating tuition bills, many fail to factor in those sneaky hidden costs of college. Our friends at Course Hero did the work for you, and the results are shocking. Coffees sure do add up.

Are you victim of these hidden costs of college? Weigh in below -- and click over to Course Hero for a larger version of this chart and for more cool infographics.

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Comments

[Pembrokelib]

09:08 PM on 03/28/2011

Ridiculous list with outrageous and unnecessary costs. Tuition, room and board and books are the only real essentials. Most students can make enough atvsummer jobs and part time campus jobs to pay for call their needs including books, spring break and alcohol are not necessities!

[stephj6]

04:49 AM on 03/25/2011

This list is for kids with rich parents, or it is just a dream list. i wish i could spend like that (without $23,000 of debt/yr).

[Alexandra Cean]

01:20 AM on 03/25/2011

Perhaps you should title this: The Extravagant Spending Habits of Spoiled Upper middle-Class College Students.

What a joke. My college loans from 4 years are around the same number listed here for only 2 semesters.

I never drank and I'm still using my 5 year old computer.
I studied during all of my spring breaks.
I spent 50-200 a year on clothing. During my freshman year I spent less!
I didn't even make 2,000 a year- how could I spend 4k on entertainment?

There are kids that live this way at my college, but don't ask them about their gpa. Yes, the entitled brats that text during classes, buy designer purses and tote around iphones and use their 2k laptops for facebook exist- but they do not reflect the majority of college students (many whom have part-time jobs and or are partially supported by parents).

[stephj6]

04:41 AM on 03/25/2011

Agreed. Spending habits paid for by their parents. My loans and income from my job are about half of that number.

[BrendaNYC]

12:34 PM on 03/24/2011

I'm pretty sure you'd have to eat, be clothed and housed and have a cell phone out of college as well

[ackezzy]

07:04 AM on 03/24/2011

$2600 for alcohol", i just did the math that works out to a little more than 10 cans of Natural Light a day for a year

[mass maritimer]

10:51 PM on 03/25/2011

funny...I spend that about now and I graduated 15 years ago.... then I spent maybe a few hundred a year and I was.....well....a drinker

[ackezzy]

01:43 PM on 03/26/2011

thats probably because your buying higher quality alcohol. Natural light is like the tata motors of beer

[Nathan-Andrew-Hicks]

12:56 AM on 03/24/2011

The amounts that are on this graph are truly laughable. Some people may be spending money for things like this but they probably have everything paid for and don't have to learn real world skills like thriftiness and money management.

$2,600 on alcohol is silly. That is SO much that if you actually drink all that then you need help because you are either an alcoholic or are getting ripped off badly.
$1,800 on coffee...what? I buy starbucks occasionally yes. Coffee may be at the most $300 and thats putting it at the really high end.
$4,000 on entertainment...WHAT?! My college has a free movie theater, bowling alley, pool tables, music performances, concerts etc. Its all free or very cheap since it's for students.
$7,999 on room and board seems a little high but yeah that can cost quite a bit.

It's not that hard to make money. Get a part time job, take out loans, get scholarships.

College students tend to forget that the real purpose that they are there is to get an educational degree, which is sad. Then again, I don't mind that so many people waste time on so many things. It makes it easier to distinguish between the students that actually care and want to be there and learn.

[TheBlondeRaven]

11:27 PM on 03/23/2011

Even though you're not in college boarding, clothes, food, transportation and cell phone costs you money. Just a word of thought from a student feeling like sticking a little bit up for my fellow ones.

[Geoprof]

10:36 PM on 03/23/2011

What about the lost $40,000/year of lost income and the extra $5,000-10,000 tuition because *name your state university* doesn't offer enough sections of courses needed for graduation due to budget cuts.

[whatwasthat]

09:00 PM on 03/23/2011

I have to stay that this is the only four years of my life that i get to live it up.
I love my apple products, i like buying coffee from starbucks, and Friday night booze.
I work for all of them, and as such i don't apologize for most of them. I will be in debt anyway for most of my life; why not enjoy my life while am at it?

[fozzi58]

01:23 PM on 03/24/2011

As much as I would like to agree with you, most of the people here know how hard it is to get out and stay out of debt. Not that I would suggest living like a pauper, but if you reduce your college expenditures, you may be better off in the long run.

If you don't - then party it on up!

[Pembrokelib]

09:13 PM on 03/28/2011

If you are going to college primarily to live it up you don't belong there. Being in debt when you have finally matured is no fun.

[redsongia]

07:30 PM on 03/23/2011

What about the cost of not working full time for 4 years?

[wildgoosechas3]

09:01 PM on 03/26/2011

Not everyone has taken Econ 101.

[snaggle2th]

05:13 PM on 03/23/2011

What nonsense.

Others have already dismissed the idiocy of spending $8000+ on coffee, booze and "entertainment".

But there's another $9000+ for room and board, food, transport and cell phones- so if you DIDN'T go to college you'd starve under a bridge, incommunicado?

The costs closely tied to college: books, computing, lab fees + SOME social activities: Maybe $3000?

And even less for social outcasts, geeks and nerds....

[barnacle]

04:53 PM on 03/23/2011

Well, I'm many years off before I have to give this answer (which was given to me), but here goes:

"Well, you can get a job to support all those extra things you want but claim you need. The alternative is that I will not pay anything toward your next semester's tuition and room/board.

In stead, I will buy you a brand new tent and send you $50 in living expenses. After that, don't call me for anything."

[go2goal]

05:29 PM on 03/23/2011

I recall getting the same treatment.....but today, I'll be accused of being abusive....and that's just fine with me.

[libertarian83]

04:45 PM on 03/23/2011

These numbers are WAY out of step with actual costs.

Coffee $1800? That's $5 a day. If you can't figure out how to operate a coffee maker yourself and spend 10-20 cents a day then this should be a starting point for your learning.
Alcohol $2600? That's $7 every day. I don't know anyone who can handle 18 PBRs everyday even if they are not studying.
$750 for clothing. Females only I'm assuming.
$50 sporting? That is too low. Only if you don't play or go to see any sports does this make sense.
$4000 for entertainment? That's $75 a week. I never had that much fun when in college.

[mass maritimer]

05:00 PM on 03/23/2011

this is all too ridiculous....

I had no cell phone, certainly no money, and scraped together quarters for laundry and the occasional beer....

[marsjunkiegirl]

07:55 PM on 03/23/2011

^This.
The dining halls at my college have perfectly good coffee at all hours, and, as if that weren't enough, I get $25 each year to spend on 'treats' at the campus center cafe.
I don't drink...so no point in discussing alcohol, but I don't think most people drink $7 worth of beer every week, much less every day.
Clothing costs aren't a 'hidden cost' of college- one spends what one chooses on clothes at all times of life, and that can be a small amount or a large amount depending on whether you care about designer clothes or not.
I spend zilch on entertainment at this time (if by entertainment you mean media). People who pay for media at all are sheep, honestly, but anyone who spends 4 grand on media in the course of a year is outrageously frivolous.
I spent ~$200 on books this semester.
My travel costs are high, but I do try to book plane flights to and from home in advance and get the cheapest deal.
My laptop for school was $425 on sale at best buy, and it's no netbook but a dependable acer machine. All the software I could possibly need is either provided free to me by the college or available in a computer lab.
I ditched my cellphone in favor of free google talk.
Bottom line, people budget way more for college than they probably need to.

[yoozum]

04:40 PM on 03/23/2011

"Our friends at Course Hero did the work for you, and the results are shocking. Coffees sure do add up."

Your friends at Course Hero should be fired.

[uncc49er]

04:38 PM on 03/23/2011

no, the college doesn't cost an arm and a leg if you know how to play the game. Unfortunately, neither parents nor their children who become students know how to play the college. You do not need a 17'' Macbook pro to browse the web and watch youtube. You don't need a SUV to ride to campus, and you don't have to go to Spring break parties in Florida or Cancun to proof that you are a college student.

[hpblue5011]

05:33 PM on 03/23/2011

You got that right!

[considerthis]

12:51 PM on 03/24/2011

Please enlighten me how to play this game. The tuition, room, board and trips home are costing me an arm and a leg, even with a good scholarships and grants.

[uncc49er]

02:37 PM on 03/24/2011

well, the tuition is something that you had to think about it before attending a specific college. For undergraduate study it is absolutely unnecessary to go to private college if you don't have the financial resources. A good state college delivers a better education for significantly less price. For room and board, to roommate with someone else outside of dorms usually is better. Dorms are usually a ripoff. find a cheap place on Craigslist to take shower and sleep, the rest of the time you have to be in school or in the library.
If trips home are too costly, then you have to limit the number of these trips. May be once or twice a year.

[Pembrokelib]

09:17 PM on 03/28/2011

Get a good paying summer job, go home less and learn to budget. Many people never learn the latter and live in debt forever. Not a happy life.