Absolutely this. Always look for the breakdown, never settle for one big number.

I'm on the younger side of parenthood compared to the national average so college was not that long ago for me. Haven't made it to my 10-year HS reunion yet, to give you an idea.

My in-state, public college always "projected" that students would buy a four-figure meal plan each year. But it was actually optional. I never got one. If I wanted to eat at the dining hall with a friend, they could swipe me in—people always had swipes left over at the end of each semester, because the meal plans were set up to force you to overpay. This is a money maker for the schools and their contractors.

I moved out of the dorms after my first year and into cheap private housing. More space and more privacy for roughly the same amount of money in my case.

The big sticker price usually has an estimate for books. This is always high-balled. It is easier than ever to find used books (or scans) on the internet.

Prof requires a weird software-book package with a license you can't resell? Usually an issue in lower-level courses you can knock out though AP/IB/SAT2/CLEP tests. Doesn't happen much in upper-level courses.

And you should be taking AP/IB/SAT2/CLEP tests to begin with because of the potential to graduate early and look good on scholarship applications at the same time. Both can save you huge amounts of money.

People ask how I was able to graduate debt-free without my parents paying for me... these were the main reasons.

Obligatory mention: the system needs huge reforms so that no one has to know/do all these things to make it work.