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I currently live in California and I'm planning to attend a college in Missouri. My parents have bad credit so I will have to support my entire college loan (minus what the scholarships pay for), plus probably a loan to get a house. Neither of things things are a problem because my grandmother is leaving me a house in a different state that I can put up as collateral as needed.

The out-of-pocket costs that I'm having difficulty with is moving expenses. Truck Rental is going to cost $900-1100.00

Is there anything I can do to offset these costs? How do college students afford these kind of moving fees?

By Dadster on Saturday, September 07, 2002 - 11:32 pm: Edit

That's pretty steep for a college move, dana. Most kids load up the family car and drive to school; a few fly to campus and ship the stuff they can't check as baggage.

How much stuff are you taking to college? I'd guess if you could get someone to rent a van for a weekend and drive you down it would cost way less than the amount you mention. If the big rental firms are too costly, check with your local "rent-a-wreck" or "Ugly Duckling" agencies. I'd guess you could rent a van for less than a couple of hundred dollars (be sure to get the unlimited mileage option if your school is distant from you).

By txtoo on Monday, September 09, 2002 - 09:53 am: Edit

You might also check with "Student Services" or such at your new school. Many schools have an on-campus site that will hold large packages for students. Ship everything you can UPS ground - it's pretty reasonable and should get there within a week. Also, if you haven't already bought everything, I know the "Bed and Bath" store in St. Louis has a student registry, just like a bridal registry, so you can buy all your stuff at home and then pick it up at the store in St. Louis. It should be reliable - they've been handling cross-country bridal registries for years. Just a couple of thoughts.