Cost of college over 4 years with maintenance grant

[plaid]

Hi there,

Trying to set aside some savings for a college fund for a relative currently in secondary school, will be doing Leaving Cert in 2 years time.

Would anyone be able to give me a rough estimate of the overall costs/amount of money needed to fund a student through a four year degree who would be living away from home so receiving a maintenance grant. Thanks in advance.

Plaid

 

[niceoneted]

There are a few things you may need to consider here, as in what expenses do you want to cover? Rent/bills/living expenses/travel/social expenses?
Does the student intend living on or off campus? You could check the university websites to get costs of on campus living. If living off campus you could check daft or similar for prices of local rents. Add normal bills on top of this. There may then be the added expense of travel so monthly bus pass.
Will the student be expected to get a part time job to cover social costs?
A family member started college this year and we had a great debate about all the costs. Grant covered on campus living costs. Childrens allowance gave a 40 euro a week food amount. Parents supplemented small bit on top of this - (varied weekly). Student got a part time job to pay for social costs/ clothes and the likes.
It's a great idea to start putting money away now.
Sorry if this seems long winded but there really is a lot to consider.

 

[plaid]

Thanks for reply Niceoneted. Good points regarding what needs to be considered. I guess some of the questions can't be answered yet as she doesn't even know which college she will be going to (might be able to commute or might require accommodation). I suppose I just want to make sure I'm saving enough to be able to help out with all costs. Would you be able to give me a ballpark figure of one year's costs?

 

[Imperator]

Hello Plaid,

As was said, some costs can't be figured out until you know which college the student is attending, but congrats on planning in advance. College authorities generally recommend that students not work during term time. At the moment many college students are unable to get work anyway, so let's assume a worst-case scenario that the student does not work for four years. In general the numbers I give will be conservative.

Many students will buy a core set of textbooks every year to supplement books they borrow from college libraries. These can be expensive. But assume 4-6 books at approx 50-70 euro each per year. Say 350 euro per year?

Many colleges charge for photocopying and printing services. Add in stationery: refill pads, pens, pencils etc. You might not get much change out of 100 euro per year.

Storage devices such as stick drives, memory cards etc. say 50 per year.

The other possible large expense at the start is computing and printing. Many students have their own laptops or netbooks. You can put any number down here, but if purchasing a device maybe set aside 500 euro for a decent netbook and 250 for a printer? In this case assume that these items will last for four years. Assume legally owned software may cost 100 euro per year (such as word processing, spreadsheeting, virus protections, on-line storage etc.)

I'll post some other thoughts later. So far the simple process of buying books, taking notes, saving things onto computers as well as printing, copying etc. may cost 600 euro per year. Technology purchases may mean an upfront requirement of 750 euro.

 

[scatriona]

I'm a full time student and to be honest I only buy on average 2-3 books a year (about €70-€80 total) & always buy 2nd hand. The library has most I need, and I spend about €20 annually on a printing card.
Notebooks, pads etc. can all be picked up cheaply in Lidl, Dunnes etc. Most of your expenses will go on the registration fee (1500), rent and/or commute, food, social life etc. Look up DAFT for a good idea of rental costs in Dublin & major cities. I would recommend establishing a good relationship now with either your bank or credit union! And a part-time job is always handy too...