College · Family Resources · First year

Five trips home,
a parking permit,
one monthly number.

Type how far home is and how you will get there. The planner prices each trip, adds getting around campus and gives you one figure to set aside each month.

Plan my travelWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the College application season kit, $29 for 16 items.

The college transportation budget planner

The worked example drives 300 miles home five times in first year. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

College · Family Resources$5

What you finish with
The cost of one trip home, the trips over the year, campus travel, the school-year total and a monthly amount. It prints as a summary and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Students heading to college and their families, and seniors weighing colleges at different distances from home.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the College application season kit ($29) and the Caveat Suite pass ($299). Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Family Resources space in Caveat College.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Count the trips home on the academic calendar.
  2. Choose drive or fare.
  3. Add tolls, bag fees or rides to the station.
  4. Check what the campus permit and transit pass cost.
  5. Set the monthly figure aside each month.

Plan my travel

How the budget is built

One trip, times the trips, plus getting around.

The worked example: first year, 300 miles from homeA trip home$84.86600 mi ÷ 28 × $3.40 + $12Five trips$424breaks, move-in, outCampus$645permit, ridesharesA month$119over 9 monthsThe worked example: first year, 300 miles from homeA trip home$84.86600 mi ÷ 28 × $3.40 + $12Five trips$424breaks, move-in, outCampus$645permit, ridesharesA month$119over 9 months
Price one trip, multiply by the trips, add campus travel, spread over the school year.

A trip home

Driving, a round trip burns twice the one-way miles divided by the car’s mileage, times the price of gas, plus tolls. For a plane, bus or train it is the round-trip fare plus bags and rides to and from the station.

Getting around

A parking permit is usually sold for the year; transit passes and rideshares are monthly. Everything is added and spread over the months of the school year to give one amount to set aside.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency. Fuel economy of new and used vehicles (fueleconomy.gov).
  2. U.S. Energy Information Administration. Gasoline and diesel fuel update (eia.gov).
  3. Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education. Cost of attendance: transportation is part of the budget (studentaid.gov).
  4. U.S. Department of Transportation. Air travel consumer information on fees and refunds (transportation.gov).

The worked example’s distance, mileage and prices are examples. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.