College

[keira]

First off,

 

 

So yeah, I got accepted into college. Which is pretty significant to me; I finally feel like I'm actually doing something with my life and it's going somewhere. It's been heading that way for awhile, but this really made that obvious to me. Which is both awesome and horrifying at the same time.

 

While college will be awesome, I'm worried about dealing with the [censored] of paperwork that seems to drift everywhere. And finding a way to make money spontaneously appear in front of me. And about a million other things that randomly pop up into my head.

 

My goal is to get a doctorate in computer science (because, you know, that'll be useful), maybe picking up some spare bachelor's if they only take a few more credits to get. Obviously that'll put me in a big hole debt-wise, but I'm hoping to offset that with as much free money as possible. Surprisingly enough, my parents aren't going to help with that, for reasons that can be discussed at some other time, ere I become angry and resentful.

 

It seems like everyone here is either in college, grad school, or has had colleging. So I'm wondering, what advice do y'all have for someone who will (hopefully) be attending college a year from now?

[Lilith]

find a part-time job even if you don't really need the money (although it sounds like you will). having a work history and being able to demonstrate that you can show up on time and follow instructions looks good to employers

 

beyond that, take the opportunity to meet new people and find new interests. join clubs and stuff. god knows if you're planning on a career in academic comp sci you'll want to have hobbies

[Dantius]

If you're on a loan, try to graduate in 3 years or otherwise as fast as possible, especially if you're getting a specialized degree. Since you'll be picking up the tab sooner or later, it's crucial to try and minimize the eventual costs, especially since you'll be paying interest, too.

 

You mention going to grad school. I'd strongly recommend that you get an undergrad degree, go work for a few years to work off your undergrad debt, and then go to grad school- I'm no admissions officer, but I'd imagine that being able to demonstrate a strong commitment to working in the real world would certainly give you a leg up on some random undergrad who hasn't done anything other than get a degree.

 

Props for picking a STEM major that's probably going to result in high compensation and easy employment- it's stupid for people to go to college and cripple themselves with debt in order to get a degree that contributes nothing towards their earnings potential.

[Niemand]

Originally Posted By: Sylae

So yeah, I got accepted into college. Which is pretty significant to me; I finally feel like I'm actually doing something with my life and it's going somewhere. It's been heading that way for awhile, but this really made that obvious to me.

Congratulations!

Originally Posted By: Sylae

While college will be awesome, I'm worried about dealing with the [censored] of paperwork that seems to drift everywhere. And finding a way to make money spontaneously appear in front of me. And about a million other things that randomly pop up into my head.

I wouldn't worry overly much about paperwork. I only recall having to fill out a small number of forms in my time as an undergrad, and none of them involved any special difficulty. Your mileage may very well vary, but I found that the coursework was a far bigger concern.

Originally Posted By: Sylae

My goal is to get a doctorate in computer science (because, you know, that'll be useful), maybe picking up some spare bachelor's if they only take a few more credits to get. Obviously that'll put me in a big hole debt-wise, but I'm hoping to offset that with as much free money as possible. Surprisingly enough, my parents aren't going to help with that, for reasons that can be discussed at some other time, ere I become angry and resentful.

That's a fine goal. Getting a job is a non-trivial concern in any specialized field, I imagine, but as a person whose work depends strongly on computation I'm keenly aware of how much the work of computer scientists can help the rest of us. I, at least, believe that advanced CS work is pretty darn useful.

With regard to debt, it may not be too bad. I went to a moderately expensive private school for my bachelor's degree, and while my parents helped me out hugely by paying most of the bills, I took on some student loans as well. After three or so years as a grad student and saving up, I think that my net worth is actually positive again. (Although I haven't yet had to pay any of the loans back, since they're government ones which only start accumulating interest after I leave school. If you have to get loans, these are the nicest ones to get, to my knowledge.)

Originally Posted By: lillith

find a part-time job even if you don't really need the money (although it sounds like you will). having a work history and being able to demonstrate that you can show up on time and follow instructions looks good to employers

Along these lines, if you plan to go to grad school, having research experience helps a lot. So, after a year or two of undergraduate studies (once you have some book learning under your belt) it's a very good idea to look to join a research group, at least over the summers. This has the benefits that you can usually either get paid or get credit and you accumulate real experience. (Stereotypically, undergrads are supposed to get the most menial and unimportant jobs, but this isn't entirely true. While you're unlikely to be entrusted, at least at first, with anything vital that has a real deadline, you may well get to do a serious project that the group will incorporate into its other work.)

[Randomizer]

Congratulations

 

Paperwork wasn't as bad as having to stand in line for almost everything. But the good news is most of those lines can now be done online instead of in person.

 

Regarding a job. Watch what you are getting paid. Most are minimum wage, but some science and computer jobs will pay more in research labs plus you have a chance to do something interesting. I know by the time I was in graduate school required teaching assistant positions paid different salaries depending upon the department and sometimes you had a choice on where to work.

[Enraged Slith]

Find what makes you happy. If you're already sure of what you want to study, you're a very fortunate person.

[Dintiradan]

 

I'm currently undertaking a master's degree in computing science, so my advice might be marginally more useful than most others here. On the other hand, there's going to be significant differences between my experiences and situation and yours (for example, in Canada master's degrees are viewed a bit differently than they are in most other countries). You're going to have to use your own discretion.

 

Paperwork: Yeah, there's going to be a lot of it going into Year One. Once you're in, though, subsequent years aren't so bad. If you ever change programs, or if/when you start your doctorate, there will be more. Get an organized filing system going if you haven't already. Get a copy (online or paper) of the academic calender, and make sure you don't miss any important deadlines.

 

Debt: Yeah, there's probably going to be some. I'll give pointers about possible work opportunities later on. For now, try to snatch up as many scholarships as you can. I spent a lot of my lunch hours in grades eleven and twelve in the computer lab looking up scholarships (there are some benefits of having no social life). See if your high school offers any. See if any local businesses offer any, especially ones that you've worked for. See if there are any state or federal scholarships that you can apply for (Alberta is pretty generous in this regard). See if your university has any entrance scholarships. See if your department has any entrance scholarships. Your university website might have a list of scholarships that are provided by individual benefactors. See if any of them apply to you. And so on. Don't expect to be awarded every one you apply for, but if you apply for a lot, you may get some, and they will make a dent in your first year's tuition. The number of scholarships available for subsequent years is a lot less, but they are still around. Again, always keep an eye on those deadlines.

 

I'm usually leery of people who go into post-secondary with detailed, long range plans, like people who declare in junior high that they're going to be surgeons, only to drop out after one semester. I don't think this will be the case for you: you seem to have a good knowledge of what it is you want, and a fair bit of experience to back it (contrast this with me writing about half a dozen QBasic programs before starting university). Still, be aware that your interests and goals might change part way through, and plan your course selection accordingly. Going in, I was pretty sure that CompSci was what I wanted, but I was also interested in physics and psychology as well, and since I was required to take a certain amount of non-CompSci courses anyway... I ended up staying in my program, but I could have easily been more interested in stuff like computational physics or cognitive psychology. And your goals might change too; nothing wrong with wanting to enter the workforce after getting your degree.

 

Advanced degrees in computing science are probably more useful than other advanced degrees. Obviously useful in academia, but also in the workplace. Remember, computers as we know them today were developed in private labs like Bell Labs or Xerox PARC. I don't know how useful multiple bachelor's degrees will be, though.

 

(Starts reading what other people are saying.)

 

Working is important, and you'll have to do it. I found that part-time work got a bit too much during my fourth year, but then I did bite off more than I could chew in terms of courses that year. If I could do the final year again, I would either only do one 'project course' a semester instead of two (I was effectively doing four capstone courses in my final year), or I would have quit the job. Making a bit of money was not worth the level of stress. That said, I probably could have safely worked more during my first couple of years. It doesn't have to be related to your field (I worked for a storage company and did some landscaping, a job I had during high school), though that's a very nice bonus.

 

In addition to joining "clubs and stuff", also get to know your profs, especially since you plan on getting an advanced degree.

 

(Reads next post.)

 

My original plan was to take a year or two off in between my bachelor's and starting my master's, especially since I wasn't sure if a master's degree was right for me (hah, still don't, get used to never knowing whether you have impostor syndrome or are just incompetent, okay I'll just shut up now). But I found it was tough getting a job when I made it clear that it was a short term thing. Also, and probably more importantly, this was when the economy was really starting to tank, and most companies I had connections to either had hiring freezes or were downsizing their departments.

 

However, I did effectively take a year off and work between my third and fourth year of undergrad. My university has a sixteen month paid internship program. You can work for small companies, big companies, the government, or the university. It was easily the best part of my undergraduate experience; you learn more than you do in the classroom, especially in terms of 'soft' skills. Seriously, you come back for year four and wonder why no one else is able to run a meeting properly. See if your college offers an internship program, and try to get on it, especially if you're interested in software engineering.

 

(Reads more posts.)

 

Other people are talking about getting involved in research groups and working for profs, so I won't repeat them (much). Another thing I wish I did more of. I worked one summer on an undergraduate research grant (basically just code monkeying for a group, I knew embarrassingly little at that point). But it gets you involved in research life, and like the longer internship I took later on, it gave me a step up in my courses.

 

Do you have any specific interests within CompSci right now? Don't worry if you don't, I just might be able to give some advice on electives based on them. Had I known I wanted to get into machine learning, I would have taken less calculus and ring theory, and more statistics and linear algebra.

 

Finally, if you're in a lab for an introductory CompSci course, and you're bored with an assignment, that doesn't give you the right to ignore the marking scheme. Give the poor TA marking your work a break. ;-)

 

EDIT: These posts never seem so long when you're writing them one paragraph at a time with breaks in between.

[Alorael at Large]

Congratulations!

 

My very brief advice after Dinti opened up his trove of wisdom and experience: be open to new experiences. CS is a good thing to be interested in: you can actually get varied kinds of work coming out, and there is paying work and probably will be for a very long time. But that doctorate is a very long way away, so make sure you actually like CS when you're doing it as an undergrad and that you'll enjoy it as a grad student and then as a computer scientist.

 

Also, all those extra classes that you might have to fill out your schedule? They're not just for fun, although you should have fun with them. Knowing more stuff can be critical to surprising projects in surprising ways.

 

—Alorael, who wouldn't worry about paperwork. Every time you start a new thing, there are many papers that go along with it. Once you're actually enrolled, the number of things you need to sign and return will probably go way down. This will also be true for grad school, employment, having children (although there are many rounds of paperwork!), and death. (As a bonus, someone else has to do the paperwork for that last one, usually!)

[*i]

Quote:

My goal is to get a doctorate in computer science (because, you know, that'll be useful), maybe picking up some spare bachelor's if they only take a few more credits to get. Obviously that'll put me in a big hole debt-wise, but I'm hoping to offset that with as much free money as possible. Surprisingly enough, my parents aren't going to help with that, for reasons that can be discussed at some other time, ere I become angry and resentful.

You will probably incur some debt in undergrad. You're in luck with your choice of major, because, once you reach grad school, most people who are good get funded. For me personally, grad school was actually a profitable time because I lived reasonably and had summer jobs.

On the PhD, be careful if you decide to go that route. It will open many doors, but it will close many as well. Make sure that is what you really want. In my case, it has benefitted me handsomely as my job requires it. That said, there are many industry jobs that I would not even be considered for because I don't have the "correct mindset" anymore. A PhD should teach you how to do science in your field: the process of analyzing existing knowledge and creating new knowledge. Once you acquire those skills, it is hard for many people to go back to a "turn the crank" job.

Quote:

It seems like everyone here is either in college, grad school, or has had colleging. So I'm wondering, what advice do y'all have for someone who will (hopefully) be attending college a year from now?

These are the best years of your life. Remember that because once you're out you can't go back! Work hard, yes, but don't forget to have a good time. You will find most of your learning does not occur in the classroom.

Also, appreciate the value of "soft skills". It's easy for technical people to sneer at them, but as someone who hires undergraduate and graduate interns for a software project at a US national laboratory, I can tell you that they are very important. All that technical knowledge is useless if you cannot teamwork, give effective presentations, or write accessible technical reports.

[Randomizer]

Originally Posted By: *i

These are the best years of your life. Remember that because once you're out you can't go back! Work hard, yes, but don't forget to have a good time. You will find most of your learning does not occur in the classroom.

There was one guy in my college dorm who had an apartment and was a bit older than us that had come back mostly to enjoy the parties which was the main reason he had that dorm room. You can go back, but when you are older your priorities change and you don't do things the same way.

[ex post slarto]

Originally Posted By: *i

These are the best years of your life. Remember that because once you're out you can't go back!

I don't think that's actually true for everyone, or even maybe most people.

When I was in high school I used to refer to college as the Great Equalizer. I had the idea that people would be thrust into a new situation, and have a chance to start fresh, and all the imbalances and grievances of adolescence would be left behind. While college does let you start fresh, everybody arrives with their own ideas about themselves and the world, their own skills and prejudices, their own personalities, and their own baggage. Often it takes a few years for people to figure out a way to live their life that will really make them feel happy and comfortable. People move in and out of different social groups, different recreational activities, different lifestyles, and different academic and career paths. Sometimes this all settles down in college, but I think just as often it ends afterwards.

Is college fun? Sure. But I'd compare it to eating ice cream: it's a nice treat, but unlikely to be the best thing you ever eat.

[Student of Trinity]

I don't associate paperwork with being a college student. I don't think there's really much involved. Schools have to keep track of everyone, but most of them have systems that work smoothly.

 

Planning on doing a PhD from the beginning is fine, as long as you're open to revising your plan as you go along. Not only is writing a dissertation a very different kind of work from attending freshman classes; the subject itself can change radically as you move from established course material to current research.

 

It is possible to 'pick up a spare Bachelor's degree'. My brother snagged a BA in philosophy along with his engineering degree. It cost him an extra year, though. So it's not something to consider lightly. Enrolling in an extra course in the Fall is like tossing a couple of extra cans of stew into your pack at the beginning of a long hike. They might be nice to have later, but it'll be a long day, and by evening you'll really be feeling the extra weight.

 

For some people college seems to be just a minor episode, and for others it's where they set the course of their lives. So it's not one thing. Since you seem to feel that college means your life is finally getting going, rather than feeling that college is an obstacle in your way, I'd guess that college will be important for you.

[Harehunter]

It is interesting how your goals in life shift about as opportunities present themselves.

 

When I graduated college with a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, I pictured myself working in a lab doing chemical research. But, by having accepted an ROTC scholarship, I had committed to a four year obligation as a commissioned officer. I was assigned to the Corps of Engineers, trained in all engineering and construction disciplines. After about 8 months being assigned to a combat engineer battalion, I found out how boring such duty can be in a stateside, peacetime army during a period of fiscal cutbacks.

 

I got a job with the Division Data Center. I was sent to school to learn about programming. (I had already had a few programming classes as an undergrad.) Here I got to work with a computer on a daily basis. My primary job as an analyst was to take problems and turn them into solutions. I found that I enjoyed this even more than chemistry. After two years with the DDC, I was transferred to the Division Financial Management Office. There I was to apply my computer analysis skills to the army's accounting system.

 

After the army I decided that working with computers was to be the direction of my future. So I went back to school with the goal of a Masters degree in C.S. I had dreams of working for NASA or some such field. But finances ran low and life happened. I took a job at a fast food place and worked my way up to assistant manager. Sometimes you have to make your own opportunities.

 

Then I landed a job with a manufacturing company needing to deploy a brand new system. I learned more about business accounting and process workflow. Even more importantly, I learned about working with people who needed to rely on the output of the computer, but had no understanding about how they worked. Learning how to communicate with other people is an art. There are no rules, but being able to converse about non-technical stuff helps to lubricate the process.

 

After three years I landed another job in Houston working for a bigger company. A couple of jobs later, I wind up working with my current employer of 20 years. I work in the computer department of an engineering and construction company that works in the chemical industry, working with their accounting and process workflow systems as their senior analyst.

 

Long story short (too late!), life presents many opportunities, and your goals may change accordingly. Being prepared to adapt to different situations is equally important to learning as detailed a skill as computer science. Keep your horizons open, don't focus too much on one thing. Enjoy life while taking the best advantage its opportunities offer.

[ex post slarto]

And now, Polonius.

[Kelandon]

The paperwork does die down; after you start, it's mostly signing up for classes for the next term (and maybe declaring a major), and that gets pretty straightforward after you do it a few times.

 

I was often told that college was supposed to be the most fun that I'd ever have, and I was pretty worried when my first year was absolutely miserable. If you have a similar experience, don't panic. It does get better. But even after first year, I found the ups and downs in college far more extreme than anything else I'd ever experienced before.

 

I did a fifth year, partly to double-major in completely unrelated things, and it was absolutely the right move for me. It might not have been a lot of fun, but the perspective I had on my classes — and some of the classes I got to take — was definitely worth it. I was only able to do this because I was working a lot in a job that paid pretty well and was going to a public school, so I was able to avoid debt of any kind; the balance might be different for you.

 

I'd second the recommendations to take at least a few very different classes. That doesn't just mean, say, English classes. A class in history, econ, political science, a foreign language, or anything else far from CS will feel very different from what you're studying, and as long as it doesn't feel like an unnecessary distraction, it will be a nice diversion and help you exercise other parts of your brain, as well as giving you a way to relate to people who aren't computer scientists.

 

But it's more than that. If you can find a class that looks at your field from a different perspective — I guess the stereotype would be something like an English class on the literature of robotics, but equally, a business or econ class on computer companies, or a psych class that has some relation to human interfaces — you might find this among the most valuable classes you can take. My second major was Astrophysics, and by far my favorite class in my last semester was a History of Modern Physics class, and I find myself referencing what I learned in that class far more than any other. (This might be because I didn't go on with Astro, but it might not be.)

[*i]

Quote:

There was one guy in my college dorm who had an apartment and was a bit older than us that had come back mostly to enjoy the parties which was the main reason he had that dorm room. You can go back, but when you are older your priorities change and you don't do things the same way.

My "you can't go back" statement was indeed figurative.

Personal story. I attended grad school at the same university as undergrad. While at first, grad school was "College, Round II", it was only perhaps a year or two later that I started to realize things were clearly different. I was older with different perspectives. Friends that I knew since freshman and sophomore year that I had shared many experiences with had left and moved on to other things. New friends were typically grad students from different parts of the country or world, often had very different experiences, some were married, and a few even had kids. The undergrads, well, I was no longer one of them. Because of these changes in myself and my social situation, I found it impossible to go back and live those years as I had lived them before.

I've seen people who tried to relive the "college experience", and while there might have been some success for a while, eventually the realization of "it's just not the same" sets in. This might be possible at say 24 or 25, but eventually you will grow old.

Quote:

I don't think that's actually true for everyone, or even maybe most people.

I phrased this poorly because I conflated the statements of "don't forget to enjoy yourself" and not to focus overly on academics. Seldom does anyone come out of college the same way they came in. Where do you fit in? Where your talents reside? Who are you? These are the questions college offers the best opportunity to answer. Once you go off into the "real world", the same level of freedom, flexibility, and access to diverse activities that college affords are greatly diminished. Not saying these opportunities don't exist elsewhere, but they are not so readily available.

[Death Knight]

I got done with my community college and then started a real college 2 years ago. The professors are so crazy its like reverse animal house. One pretends he has tourettes and then curses off students, another one misses 14 out of 30 classes and then gives everyone an A (which is actually cool), another one writes poems about the pope's you know what, one teacher threw a pen at a student, and finally one professor lists his profile picture as tigger with a black cloak while he sounds like a sesame street character.

 

I dont think my school has been hard to deal with, except for a few of the above listed. I still do think that college professors get way too many liberties but it is always worth a few laughs.

[Enraged Slith]

Originally Posted By: Death Knight

I got done with my community college and then started a real college 2 years ago.

oh wow

[Death Knight]

When i say real college, Im referring to a regular college as the first one was different (being a community college). Im not saying that in a bad way as to be frank, my first 2 years were great compared to kean.

[Sullust]

Originally Posted By: Narg

So I'm wondering, what advice do y'all have for someone who will (hopefully) be attending college a year from now?

The most important thing about college is to have fun. If you aren't having fun you shouldn't be there. Also, what exactly does one do with a Doctorate in Computer Science?

[Nicothodes]

One of the things that helped me the most was paying attention to what assignments are really asking for. My first uni had this whole culture of over-achievement, which is great when you have time, but if you're dealing with a full workload, trying to do too much will tend to make your work weaker and stress you out.

 

On the other hand, if you find yourself with a lot of spare time, use it. Do the over-achieving thing if possible in your courses, and/or look into whatever topics interest you further in your spare time. Though keep in mind, this is coming from a hermit with no social life, so feel free to have one of those, too.

[Dantius]

Originally Posted By: Lt. Sullust

The most important thing about college is to have fun. If you aren't having fun you shouldn't be there. Also, what exactly does one do with a Doctorate in Computer Science?

Fifty-to-one on that you didn't have to pay for your college education.

[Sullust]

Originally Posted By: Dantius

Originally Posted By: Lt. Sullust

The most important thing about college is to have fun. If you aren't having fun you shouldn't be there. Also, what exactly does one do with a Doctorate in Computer Science?

Fifty-to-one on that you didn't have to pay for your college education.

Actually I'm still paying for it...

Though to be fair I only came out of it with 20k in debt. I earned a scholarship that paid for 50% of the tuition; and my parents agreed to match me dollar for dollar.

[Lilith]

Originally Posted By: Death Knight

another one writes poems about the pope's you know what

i do not in fact know what but all of the possibilities i can think of are equally distasteful

[The Mystic]

Originally Posted By: Death Knight

One pretends he has tourettes and then curses off students

Sounds kind of like one of the English professors when I was in college (no, I didn't have any classes with him, fortunately). In his syllabus, he would list all the profanities he planned to use in class, and say that anyone who objected to foul language was free to drop his class and take it with another professor.

[keira]

 

So today I got an 'estimated' financial aid award from MSU. Now, I did some math and stuff, and I would just be able to get enough money without having to take out an unsubsidized loan (according to their cost of attendance listing, if I got rid of "personal and transportation", which is silly since I'm living on campus and will likely buy next to nothing).

 

Now, their little cost of attendance deal lists "Tuition and Fees" as one thing, but based on the fact that I've already dropped almost $300 out of my (ominously empty) pocket on fees, I'm getting the feeling like there's going to be more than their thing gives.

 

So I'm wondering, for you college people, how much do you end up paying for stuff like fees and supplies that are beyond the "sticker price"? I don't plan on partying or anything, I don't think my personal expenses will go over $50 a month (other than room and board, of course) because i'm cheap like that.

 

Anyway, according to my math and the estimated financial aid ('estimated' was in bold, italics, allcaps, and underlined, so i'm pretty sure it's estimated) if I take everything they are offering but the unsubsidized loans, I should have $600 a semester laying around. If I take the unsubsidized loan I add $1000 per semester. Do you think I will need that extra $1000 for the hidden fees and whatnot or is that probably not an issue.

 

Also if it matters I have several scholarship apps out but I have no idea how much they will throw at me or if they will at all.

[Actaeon]

I buy all my textbooks off of Amazon. They'll give you a year of free two day shipping, plus a deal on Amazon prime after that, and they're usually much cheaper than the CU bookstore.

 

(Edit: If you buy Kindle books, get a Kindle. I run Kindle for Mac and it gives me a headache to read a whole textbook that way.)

[Rowen]

I use a kindle for most of my textbooks. It saves money down the road.

 

Also, I have not read the full thread, but sign up for work study if you can. That will save you money you will have to pay back.

 

As for what I find I need money wize month to month, food is about $100, internet is $59, electric is separate from our rent that that varies from summer to winter, Netflix is like $9 and most important is $40 I set aside for not going insane. Its my whatever money, go out with friends, paid events, the theater (no movies), its money to to release steam and unstress.

[Randomizer]

Books are the huge expense depending upon whether you can get some used or borrow them from the library. At least now you have the Internet to hunt down cheap copies instead of the bad old days when you were captive to the local bookstores and new texts were about $100 each.

 

Fees depend upon what courses you take. Laboratories can hit you with miscellaneous equipment costs and some physical education classes have them too.

[Alorael at Large]

I'd hope that even if the fees include outrageous sums, that's included in the fees they include in their estimated cost of attendance. The other thing I'd do, if you can, is find other sources. Borrowing money from family might be impossible, or too stressful, but if you can get enough for emergencies in emergencies, try going without the extra loans for now. You can usually add them on later, but if you can live within your means and avoid the debt, it's a good thing and an important life lesson.

 

—Alorael, who also recommends looking for work on or off campus. On campus, especially, you can often find decent hourly wages for not too much work and very flexible hours. That can defray some of those fees and maybe give you enough spending money to join in when everyone else buys pizza.

[nikki.]

I may not be able to help too much, because I live off-campus, and because all my loans are basically free until I'm earning £15,000, so I just took them all out anyway.

 

Books are the most expensive thing, for sure - Amazon is great, and I much prefer buying books since you can easily leave notes in margins, or sticky notes tucked into important or interesting pages. As for expenses, even if you think that you're gonna sit in your room eating lentils all semester, you won't. There'll be the time where you'll get pizza, or want to go for coffee, or need to buy new socks. It's always better to plan to have more than you'll need.

[Kendroxide]

I got one tip: always apply for scholarships/bursaries, even if you think you won't get it. Just this year I applied for as many scholarships as possible, and I ended up getting $5000 dollars (almost enough to pay off tuition for this year).

 

Like what everyone else says, buying books is so f***ing expensive, always try to find used books first, as you can sometimes get them for half price.

[Rowen]

Another tip with book cost it to share a book with someone that needs the same book you do. I always share my English textbooks with someone and we split the cost that way, better to pay $60 and share then $120.

[Enraged Slith]

The trick is to avoid buying textbooks at all cost because they're incredibly expensive, most teachers rarely use them, and you can usually get by just fine without ever cracking one open. Obviously, this doesn't apply for every class, but I generally like to see which classes make use of them before I start shelling out all that precious money.

[Dintiradan]

Not all courses use textbooks the same way. A good course syllabus will tell you what textbooks are required for the course, and which are just recommended reading. And occasionally you'll be able to get through the course without buying the required textbook; it all depends on the teaching style of your instructor and the type of course. For instance, I didn't buy any books teaching programming languages, because you can find all that stuff online and in the course notes. So if you're buying your textbooks on-campus, I'd recommend waiting until after the first day of classes, after you've read the syllabus and had a chance to talk to the prof.

 

EDIT: Sniped by Slithy.

 

My campus bookstore buys and resells used textbooks, so that's a way to save money. However, it doesn't pay you that much when you sell, and you only get a little bit off when you buy used. My students' union has a used book registry, where you can buy and sell directly with other students, so I'd recommend looking to see if your college has a similar thing. And, of course, there's always Amazon and Ebay and whatever your equivalent of Kijiji is.

 

Check to see if your instructor has put textbooks on reserve at your campus library. I'm able to loan textbooks for a few hours at a time, so see if there's a similar program at your college. This way, you can avoid buying the 'recommended reading' textbooks, and still have access to them.

 

Hope this helps.

 

EDIT: And finally, when in doubt, buy the textbook. There's some good advice in the posts above, but don't hurt yourself academically because you're trying to save every last penny nickel.

[A less presumptuous name.]

I'm in a similar situation right now: crunching numbers to figure out where I can go. The University of Chicago has a total annual cost of nearly $63,000, so I get to send in a financial aid appeal to try to get some more out of them.

[Dintiradan]

Quote:

$63,000

Tuition fees in the States are insane. Are there really no universities in your state that have four-digit rates?

EDIT: I'm assuming that the 63K involves more than just the tuition, but still. I mean, I hope that the 63K isn't just the tuition.

[Randomizer]

University of Chicago is a top tier private university so that sounds about right. Even the state universities like University of Illinois are expensive since they are among the better ones.

[Tyranicus]

I can't speak for other states, but the in-state rate for public universities in Pennsylvania is a little more than $8,000 per annum. This is just tuition and various and sundry fees though. Housing, food, books, etc will add considerably more to this amount.

[Actaeon]

Tuition at CU Boulder is still four digits for in state students. Barely. CSU is better, and borderline community colleges like Colorado Mesa are far better.

[Niemand]

Originally Posted By: Dintiradan

Tuition fees in the States are insane.

Originally Posted By: Tyranicus

I can't speak for other states, but the in-state rate for public universities in Pennsylvania is a little more than $8,000 per annum. This is just tuition and various and sundry fees though. Housing, food, books, etc will add considerably more to this amount.

I don't remember the Wisconsin in-state tuition cost, but I think it's similar, and I believe that this is fairly typical of a lot of state schools.

This is in contrast to where I went to undergrad, where the tuition was ~$40000 per year while I was there, and has risen to nearly $60000 in the last four or five years. It so happens that my brother is now a student there, and between reports of the ridiculous cost increases and anecdotes about the current student body, I'm concerned that they are well on their way to making the school too expensive for intelligent students, and instead simply collecting students with rich parents. It's a good school, but it isn't good enough (and isn't improving enough) to be able to claim that this kind of expense is justified.

[Rowen]

This is what the University of Idaho uses as a guild line to finding out how much money you need for two semesters (one full academic year) of school.

 

Code:

Budget DetailBooks & Supplies	$1,474.00Miscellaneous Expenses	$4,018.00Room & Board	$9,264.00Tuition & Fees	$5,856.00Transportation	$1,584.00Total:	$22,196.00

[Kelandon]

Total cost of attendance at my school for 2012-2013: $75,800.

[nikki.]

Originally Posted By: Kelandon

Total cost of attendance at my school for 2012-2013: $75,800.

Cost of getting to suit up (and Facebook about it): Priceless.

[A less presumptuous name.]

The 63,000 was total cost, including estimated books and travel expenses. It's a bit ridiculous, and I'm comparing it to liberal arts colleges with total costs over 50,000.

 

University of Maryland, College Park, is my areas preferred state school. The in-state tuition is around 10,000, with the same for room and board. It's still a heck of a lot cheaper than private schools.

 

EDIT: I should mention, though, that need-based aid has really taken off in private education. Many top tier schools, and even a lot of mid-range ones, are offering full coverage of "demonstrated financial need." Of course, the magic formula for calculating that figure is rather elusive and excellent at under-estimating things for the middle class.

[Ceiling Durkheim]

@Master1: Yeah, and a lot of that need-based aid comes in the form of loans, not a full-on free ride.

[Enraged Slith]

Originally Posted By: Master1

The 63,000 was total cost, including estimated books and travel expenses. It's a bit ridiculous, and I'm comparing it to liberal arts colleges with total costs over 50,000.

A BIT!? How can you justify spending that much money on an education?

[Tyranicus]

This was 10 years ago, but it most likely still applies today. One of my sisters went to a PA state school and paid in-state rates. My other sister went to a prestigious private school in Canada and paid less even at the international student rate.

[A less presumptuous name.]

ES - I won't be paying nearly that much. Like my edit says, I get a lot of aid. The most reasonable college I'm looking at is about 11,000 a year, total fees less aid.

[Dantius]

Originally Posted By: Enraged Slith

Originally Posted By: Master1

The 63,000 was total cost, including estimated books and travel expenses. It's a bit ridiculous, and I'm comparing it to liberal arts colleges with total costs over 50,000.

A BIT!? How can you justify spending that much money on an education?

I mean, if you're getting a finance or economics degree from UC, then your starting salary is probably going to be six figures at some hedge fund or investment bank, so it's not as ridiculous an investment as it looks.