Between tuition, rent, food and other expenses, college life comes at a hefty cost. Managing school, work and social life all while trying to stay within budget can be hard for many students.
According to a study from the Education Data Initiative, the average college student spends around $174 on new textbooks per class every school year and an average of $285 on all class materials per year. Due to this high price tag, around 65% of students skipped purchasing textbooks and other materials.
Although cheaper than physical books, digital versions of textbooks can still be around half the cost of their paper counterparts. At Ohio University, this total adds onto tuition and other university fees, which averages $14,158 per semester for in-state students and $24,838 for out-of-state students before scholarships.
Art majors have to spend a significant amount on class supplies, especially on items such as paintbrushes, pencils, paper and any other project supplies they may need. Grace Brierley, a junior studying painting and drawing, said she spent hundreds during her first few semesters at OU.
“When I was in my freshman and sophomore years, I would be taking two studios and it would be like $200-$300 depending on the class,” she said. “Depending on what kind of class it is, you could be spending $175 on materials.”
Many art classes do provide bundled materials at a reduced cost to students, but those can still come with a large price tag. Megan Smith, a freshman studying studio art, said although most of the bundles she had to get were affordable, some had a much larger cost.
“I've spent about $40 outside of the bundles on each class, but the bundle prices definitely vary between classes,” she said. “One for my tutorial this semester is going to be about $180 and so it's the most expensive one. But the other foundation classes have been $40 for the bundles.”
Although these classes provide bundled supplies, Smith thinks some items should be a fixture in the classes.
“I would prefer if the class had a bunch of materials that it feels like they should have,” she said. “They should have hot glue, but they don't. I wish it would have materials that only stayed in the classroom.”
Heavily computer-focused classes may require students to purchase multiple pricey items, such as headphones and hard drives. In an email, David Oyuke, a second-year MFA candidate and instructor of recording at Scripps College, said the required items for his Podcast Production Essentials class are an investment for students.
“All the purchases made for production classes are ultimately investments into a future in production,” Oyuke wrote. “When a student leaves the class or even graduates, they will already have the tools and requisite expertise.”
Oyuke said although prices can vary, students can find ways to save money on certain items.
“Students can always purchase already used items from sites such as eBay or back market,” he said. “If a student already has any of these resources, it is advisable to not buy new ones, but to simply use what they already have."
Smith said her professors have also helped find ways to save money.
“The advice from teachers, I value very highly,” she said. “Because they're like, “This is where you should go get stuff.”’
