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5 Financial Surprises for College Parents

During high school, many students and parents likely learn the basics of paying for college, from tuition costs to scholarship possibilities. But when it's time to actually pay the bills, even wellprepared parents may face some financial surprises.

Here are a few of the biggest shocks parents say they had as they began to pay for college.

1. Textbooks: The Tirloni family anticipated spending money on science textbooks for their daughter, a freshman studying biology at Texas A University. But they were still taken aback when the first semester's textbook bill totaled about $1,000, mother Kristina says.

"I had no idea the price of books had gone up so high," says Tirloni, who lives in Texas. "The price of books was the most startling upfront cost we had."

Next semester, she says, the family willconsider used options on Amazon before opting for a prepackaged bundle of new books at the campus bookstore.

[Learn about renting textbooks.]

2. Parent expenses: Parents aren't enrolling in college, but they could still have expenses associated with the college experience. North Carolina resident Julie Rains wanted to take part in her son's orientation at the University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, but between the fees for the parent sessions and a hotel room near campus that allowed her to make the early morning meetings, the event added up to a sizable, and unexpected, college cost.

"You're starting to run $400 to $500I think my parents paid that for a semester when I was in school," says Rains, a UNC alumnus, of the parent orientation. "The orientation session was very valuable as a parent; it was just an extra cost."

3. Meal plans: Food is an unavoidable cost for any student, but the campus meal plan could result in wasted money if funds are left over after the first term. Some universities allow students to scale back their plans midsemester, or to roll excess points or dollars over to the spring semester. For the Tirloni family, though, extra meal points are hurriedly being spent on bulk items like cases of water at the oncampus convenience store.

"[My daughter] has a ton of money left in her account," Tirloni says. "That's money you paid for, and you lose it. Going forward, we're really going to be more cognizant of what she's spending."

[Find out how to save on personal expenses in college.]

4. Student loan interest rates: Student loans are often included in college financial aid award packages. But loans aren't free moneythey need to be paid back, with added interest.