4 ms·

Many schools require taking said "total package" for the first semester or first year. I know at my university, all incoming freshmen were required to live on c

by usea 11y ago

Many schools require taking said "total package" for the first semester or first year. I know at my university, all incoming freshmen were required to live on campus and purchase a meal plan. For anyone who lives nearby or planned on shopping around, this is an additional cost.

Alupis 11y ago
That's a good point. My university did not have this requirement, however I should point out, even if you lived at home, or moved out on your own - you will be spending this money anyway. As-in, it doesn't matter if the university requires you to take this package the first year, since you're spending it no matter what (on living somewhere). It's just a matter of who you give that money to. If you don't want to spend student loans on normal living expenses, one should work while attending university, this way your loans are only for your tuition and related school expenses... not for rent and food.
- afarrell 11y ago
  Yes, but a dining plan can be significantly more costly than buying food at a grocery store. When MIT tried to require that all students get on a dining plan, there were protests from the less-expensive dorms on the east side.
  - peter303 11y ago
    http://dining.mit.edu/meal-plans/options http://dining.mit.edu/meal-plans/options Their current plans are still $100 to $150 a week for 30 weeks. Thats about three times what jusdicious grocery shopping could get you. Same ratio as when I attended decades ago.
- moron4hire 11y ago
  Well, no, not exactly. If you're living at home, your parents are paying for your housing. It's money that is already getting spent. If you have to live in the dorms, your parents don't get a break on their mortgage or rent because you moved out. If your parents are helping you out, they now have their own rent to pay, plus a new rent for you, where before they essentially got "your" rent "for free". Similarly, adding one person to the home grocery bill was not anywhere near as expensive as the meal plan. Most universities run their cafeterias as profit centers. You're paying restaurant prices. Cheap restaurant prices, typically, but still more than cooking at home.
  - Alupis 11y ago
    The main point I was making, is it's unreasonable to complain about high student debt when majority of it is living expenses. People often complain about the high cost of attending university, but don't differentiate between tuition fees and living expenses, often lumping them together to reach a seemingly egregious yearly tab. It's not so egregious when you examine where the money is going... You would have spent near the same, or the same amount on just existing (living expenses)... had you not gone to university. Sure, if you live with your parents, they'd be picking up the tab for you, but once you've joined the "real world" and moved out, you're having to cover your own living expenses.
    - moron4hire 11y ago
      But you'd have a job, so you wouldn't be going into debt to pay your living expenses, debt you're going to pay interest on. With the repayment schedules many people end up on, they spend two to three times more in just interest payments than was the original cost of everything. It's not equivalent at all. You wouldn't take on unsustainable debt to move to a new city to sit around for 4 to 5 years with no job, with the hopes that it would open up a job that you could eventually use to pay your debt before or after the degree. But we make kids do it during their degrees. It took me seven years to pay off my student loan debt. I was lucky. I know people on 15- and 30-year plans. 4 to 5 years of lack of income, then missed investment opportunities because--even though you're technically making more with this degree--you have less disposable income because of all the debt servicing you have to do. It adds up. it's not 1-to-1 at all.
    - ambicapter 11y ago
      So you're saying people who go to college shouldn't expect to have time to study?
      - Alupis 11y ago
        It's certainly possible to work while attending university. I did it...
- nommm-nommm 11y ago
  Yes it does matter because I don't eat 1/4th the amount of food that my "meal plan" forced me to pay. I also can't shop around for cheaper options - i am required to buy food from one source. That was almost 2 decades ago so I'm sure its gotten much worse since.
blisterpeanuts 11y ago
Many, if not most, schools exempt local students from that requirement. Georgetown, for example, has a strict requirement for freshman residency, but they exempt students living with parents or guardians within 70 miles of campus.

by usea 11y ago

Alupis 11y ago

That's a good point. My university did not have this requirement, however I should point out, even if you lived at home, or moved out on your own - you will be spending this money anyway. As-in, it doesn't matter if the university requires you to take this package the first year, since you're spending it no matter what (on living somewhere). It's just a matter of who you give that money to. If you don't want to spend student loans on normal living expenses, one should work while attending university, this way your loans are only for your tuition and related school expenses... not for rent and food.

afarrell 11y ago
Yes, but a dining plan can be significantly more costly than buying food at a grocery store. When MIT tried to require that all students get on a dining plan, there were protests from the less-expensive dorms on the east side.
- peter303 11y ago
  http://dining.mit.edu/meal-plans/options http://dining.mit.edu/meal-plans/options Their current plans are still $100 to $150 a week for 30 weeks. Thats about three times what jusdicious grocery shopping could get you. Same ratio as when I attended decades ago.
moron4hire 11y ago
Well, no, not exactly. If you're living at home, your parents are paying for your housing. It's money that is already getting spent. If you have to live in the dorms, your parents don't get a break on their mortgage or rent because you moved out. If your parents are helping you out, they now have their own rent to pay, plus a new rent for you, where before they essentially got "your" rent "for free". Similarly, adding one person to the home grocery bill was not anywhere near as expensive as the meal plan. Most universities run their cafeterias as profit centers. You're paying restaurant prices. Cheap restaurant prices, typically, but still more than cooking at home.
- Alupis 11y ago
  The main point I was making, is it's unreasonable to complain about high student debt when majority of it is living expenses. People often complain about the high cost of attending university, but don't differentiate between tuition fees and living expenses, often lumping them together to reach a seemingly egregious yearly tab. It's not so egregious when you examine where the money is going... You would have spent near the same, or the same amount on just existing (living expenses)... had you not gone to university. Sure, if you live with your parents, they'd be picking up the tab for you, but once you've joined the "real world" and moved out, you're having to cover your own living expenses.
  - moron4hire 11y ago
    But you'd have a job, so you wouldn't be going into debt to pay your living expenses, debt you're going to pay interest on. With the repayment schedules many people end up on, they spend two to three times more in just interest payments than was the original cost of everything. It's not equivalent at all. You wouldn't take on unsustainable debt to move to a new city to sit around for 4 to 5 years with no job, with the hopes that it would open up a job that you could eventually use to pay your debt before or after the degree. But we make kids do it during their degrees. It took me seven years to pay off my student loan debt. I was lucky. I know people on 15- and 30-year plans. 4 to 5 years of lack of income, then missed investment opportunities because--even though you're technically making more with this degree--you have less disposable income because of all the debt servicing you have to do. It adds up. it's not 1-to-1 at all.
  - ambicapter 11y ago
    So you're saying people who go to college shouldn't expect to have time to study?
    - Alupis 11y ago
      It's certainly possible to work while attending university. I did it...
nommm-nommm 11y ago
Yes it does matter because I don't eat 1/4th the amount of food that my "meal plan" forced me to pay. I also can't shop around for cheaper options - i am required to buy food from one source. That was almost 2 decades ago so I'm sure its gotten much worse since.

blisterpeanuts 11y ago

Many, if not most, schools exempt local students from that requirement. Georgetown, for example, has a strict requirement for freshman residency, but they exempt students living with parents or guardians within 70 miles of campus.