Things to Consider When Going to College
Going away to college can be a fun and exciting time, while also being expensive and nerve wracking. With all of the things to think about and plan for, you might miss something. This may have a few things that you may not have thought of yet.
This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
Where will you be living? Most students figure they will be living in the dorms. Dorms are not the only option. If the school is close to home, staying at home isn’t the most fun choice, but it is the most cost effective. Apartments near the school are a good idea too. They may allow for more living space, privacy or even just a pool, gym and extra freedom.
What are the details of your living arrangements? Will you be living with a roommate? Living with a roommate can cut down on the cost of living expenses. They can pay half of the bills, provide half of the furnishings and buy half of the food.
How will you furnish your living space? Furnishing a new place is one of the most expensive parts of moving. There are several ways to go about furnishing a new space. Family hand-me-downs are my personal favorite. My other favorite is yard sale finds. Some pieces just need a make-over. There is also, furniture rental places like CORT Furniture Rentals, or bargain stores like Ikea. The school dorms may also be furnished already.
Whatever your decisions, be sure to choose what is best for the student and the family. Careful not to do anything that will be financially harmful. We would love to hear your view on choices for preparing for college. Help us figure out some of the best choices people like you are making out there, by filling out our short 11-question survey. These results will go on to newspapers, magazines and the like, to help families like yours better prepare for the choices they’ll need to make.
Take a minute and fill out our supper short survey by clicking the link below. Thanks in advance for your participation in helping many families make decisions about their college experience. Click here to take the survey.
Then, come back in a few weeks when we will be sharing the results of the completed survey!
Something to consider when thinking about living off campus is that many schools require students to live in the dorms for the first year (sometimes two) unless the student is living at their parents home or is married and/or has a child.
WOW – I can’t even start thinking about it. I am still on the first grade level!
Im glad our kids are going local. It saves so much to be able to still live at home.
I wish I had been better prepared before I started college. These are such helpful tips!
I had so many questions when I started college. I wish I had been better prepared!
Awesome tips! My niece is in college right now and just moved into an apartment. There are a lot of things to consider!
It’s hard to plan seriously during all the excitement but it’s definitely important. It will make college more rewarding too.
Being prepared for college is so important! It’s usually when kids are on their own for the first time – they have to be prepared to take care of themselves!
These are great tips!! It can be so overwhelming to think about the changes coming up with going to school!
College is a big thing to think about. My daughter is going to a four year university next year, so she will need to consider all of these things.
Thrift stores is a great way to get furniture for your first apartment. It is always such an exciting time to go off to college.
These are all important things to consider when a child is heading off to college. I will have to share this with my friends with kids that age.
This is a cool idea to do a survey. My Daughter is heading to her first year at college in a few days.
I know some kids are so excited about going, they dont think about the small stuff, so this is very helpful. Thanks so much for posting…
I started thinking about college when I was a freshman in High school! My sophomore year of high school I visited the college my sister was attending and got a look at college life. I knew that is where I was going to go. Then I spent the next few years of High School planning for it.
I have a junior in high school that is starting to think about college. I am super worried about where we will get the money to pay for it.
There really is so much to think about when you’re going to college. My sister got a free ride, but she still had all kinds of fees and bills that kept popping out of the woodwork.
I love getting stuff from yard sales and refinishing it for my place. I recycled an old loft bed when I was in college and LOVED it. There are good ways of saving for college. Great post and very though proving as to what you need to do to prepare for college.
Furnishing a new place can get very expensive on top of tuition, supplies and books! You can save so much money shopping at yard sales and asking friends and family for unwanted items is absolutely the way to go!
Furnishing the living space is something I wish I had thought more about when I went to college. Those dorm rooms are so bare and drab!
These are very important things to consider. My niece is off to college this weekend. My brother and SIL were very busy the past few weeks preparing all these.