Driving to campus costs more than the gas you put in the tank each week. Use this piece to add up the whole cost of a car commute, compare it with the other ways in, and find out how your school counts transportation in your aid.
Adding up the whole bill
Start with the costs that arrive every week: fuel, tolls and any daily parking fee. Then add the ones that arrive a few times a year, such as oil changes, tires, brakes, registration renewal and the coverage your state requires for the car. Divide the yearly costs by the weeks you drive to class and the real weekly cost of the commute comes into view.
Time belongs on the list as well. An hour of driving each way is two hours you cannot spend reading or working, and twenty minutes circling a full lot is lost the same way. Some commuters find that a longer ride on transit costs less once reading time on the bus is counted.
Parking on campus
Colleges sell parking permits by the term or the year, usually through a parking and transportation office. Permit prices differ by lot, and the lots nearest the classroom buildings tend to cost more and sell out first. Remote lots served by a shuttle are often cheaper, so compare the walk or ride from each one with your class times.
Read the parking rules before the first week. At many colleges an unpaid parking ticket becomes a hold on your account, and a hold can stop you from registering or getting a transcript. Some campuses sell reduced carpool permits for cars that bring in two or more students, which helps if a classmate lives near you.
At many colleges an unpaid parking ticket becomes a hold on your account, and a hold can stop you from registering or getting a transcript.
How your aid counts the drive
Your cost of attendance includes an allowance for transportation, and each school decides how to set it. Some base it on a typical transit fare and some on a typical drive, so ask the financial aid office which method yours uses. If your commute is far longer than the one the allowance assumes, the office can tell you what documents it would need to review your case.
A higher cost of attendance does not add grant money by itself, but it can change how much you are allowed to borrow and how other aid is set. Keep fuel and parking receipts for a month before you ask, so the conversation rests on numbers from your own drive.
Steps to take
- Write down every car cost for one month
- Compare permit prices for each campus lot
- Read the parking rules on ticket holds
- Ask the aid office how it sets the transportation allowance
Who decides
Your school's financial aid office and parking office
Count parking, upkeep and time along with gas before you decide how to get to class.