--- title: 3 Ways to Cut $1,000 or More Off Your College Bill description: Look closely at those financial aid letters. You might be paying $1,000 or more for something you don't need! authors: - name: Kim Clark url: https://money.com/author/kim-clark/ at_money_since: 2013 articles: 62 covers: - Education - Housing - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Personal Finance social: - https://x.com/Money_College former_staff: true published: '2016-03-31T10:30:25.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T10:20:36.000Z' section: Education tags: - campus housing - College - dining plan - Dorm - financial aid - financial aid letter - Paying for College - student health insurance word_count: 249 canonical: https://money.com/3-ways-to-cut-1000-or-more-off-your-college-bill/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![three girls in dorm room](https://img.money.com/2016/03/160401_col_cut1000.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85) *At some colleges, choosing the right dorm room can mean thousands in savings.* When you read the financial aid letters from colleges that have accepted your student, take a close look at their lists of costs. They may well include items you don't want or need, notes Holly Morrow, a vice president of [uAspire](https://www.uaspire.org), a Boston-based nonprofit that advises students on financial aid matters. In particular, focus on these three biggies: #### Health insurance Many colleges automatically add a student health insurance plan to their list of charges. But if your child has good health coverage through your family's plan and it can be used at the college, you can usually decline the additional insurance. At some colleges that alone could knock more than $1,000 off your annual bill. #### Dorm rooms If your child plans to live on campus, the college will typically bill you for a standard double room. But students who are willing to bunk in a triple or live in an older building that might lack some amenities, such as central air-conditioning, can often cut their costs by as much as $2,000 a year. #### Dining plans Colleges often assume that every student wants a full 21-meal-a-week cafeteria plan. But if your child generally sleeps through breakfast or tends to grab lunch on the go, you can opt for a more limited plan, potentially saving as much as $1,000 a year, says Al Hoffman, a college funding adviser in New London, Conn. You can always upgrade later if that plan isn't adequate. ***Related**: How to Compare Your Financial Aid Letters* ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/3-ways-to-cut-1000-or-more-off-your-college-bill/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Education", "item": "https://money.com/education/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paying for College", "item": "https://money.com/paying-for-college/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "3 Ways to Cut $1,000 or More Off Your College Bill" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/3-ways-to-cut-1000-or-more-off-your-college-bill/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/3-ways-to-cut-1000-or-more-off-your-college-bill/", "name": "3 Ways to Cut $1,000 or More Off Your College Bill", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2016-03-31T10:30:25.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/3-ways-to-cut-1000-or-more-off-your-college-bill/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/3-ways-to-cut-1000-or-more-off-your-college-bill/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-16T10:20:36.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "3 Ways to Cut $1,000 or More Off Your College Bill", "articleSection": "Education", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/03/160401_col_cut1000.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C2100px%2C1181px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "160401_COL_Cut1000" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kim Clark", "url": "https://money.com/author/kim-clark/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/kim-clark/#author", "image": "https://money.com/content.money.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/14-05-21_bio_author_clark.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C190px%2C190px&resize=640%2C640&quality=85&strip&ssl=1", "email": "Kim_Clark@Moneymail.com", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/Money_College" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2016-03-31T10:30:25.000Z", "description": "Look closely at those financial aid letters. 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