Articles / Applying to College / Mandatory Costs at Stony Brook

Mandatory Costs at Stony Brook

Written by Sally Rubenstone | May 7, 2012

Question: I wish to go to SUNY Stony Brook University and I saw that they have a transportation fee. They have it aside from tuition. Is it required to pay the transportation fee if I am to own my own car? And besides tuition, do I have to pay for other things besides taxes, for example: Room & Board, and Books & Supplies? Thank you and hope to get a reply.

The transportation fee at Stony Brook is required for all students, even those with their own cars. It covers many things such as the free campus buses, which you may or may not use. But, in addition, a portion of these fees goes toward maintaining the parking lots that you will use for sure, if you’ll be commuting.

You do not have to pay for room and board if you won't be living on campus. Books and supplies are personal expenses, so costs will vary. In other words, you are responsible for purchasing necessary texts and other materials, but there is no definite bottom line for these. Enterprising students can often buy cheap(er) second-hand books and supplies. There are now a number of eBooks, too, that might meet your needs and your budget.

If you decide to go to Stony Brook, ask current students about “insider” tricks that they’ve used to minimize expenses.

(posted 5/7/2012)

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.