Students' selection of majors might ring up high costs outside of tuition
Aside from paying for tuition, some program courses have students emptying their pockets for success.
Apparel Merchandising and Design student Jade Stansbury said as the level of courses increases, so do the outside costs.
“I'm taking pattern-making now, and I have probably spent about $250 in the class so far,” the Illinois sophomore said. “When we design a dress, we have to buy muslin to make the dress first, and then we have to make the dress again out of regular fabric, so that's like paying to make the same dress twice.”
Stansbury said she expects to spend at least $300 a semester on supplies.
“I feel like the AMD major pretty much paid for the new JoAnn’s building, because we are always buying supplies from them,” said Plymouth senior Caitlin Andrews. “But on the plus side, we get to make a garment that we can put in our portfolio, and we get to perfect our design skills.”
Combining class costs with designing for the Threads Fashion Show, Andrews said she has spent more than $350 this semester on top of the lab fees and tuition.
Graphic design student Kyle Funk said he makes regular trips to the school bookstore for supplies when he has a project due.
“The most expensive item I had to buy was my MacBook, since I mainly bought it for graphic design courses,” the Ferndale junior said. “I don’t really mind spending that much, because I know I will have to buy those supplies whether I like it or not.”
Vocal and Music Composition and Theory major Spencer Harrison said he spends money on lessons outside of going to class to learn material.
“It’s much less expensive than taking lessons through the school, and they cover studies I want to learn, regardless if it’s on my core class program,” the Macomb native said.
He also had to purchase a $100 tuxedo for the choir performances he is in.
An obvious requirement for photojournalism students is a digital SLR, but journalism professor Kent Miller said students can decide how much they want to spend on the equipment.
Students are also offered supplies purchased by the department for their use of renting it out.
“Part of being a photographer is you have to have the tools,” Miller said. “You can spend up to thousands of dollars depending on what you want.”
Miller said a good lens is between $1,000 and $2,000.
“If you want to be a photographer, you have to invest in quality equipment,” he said.
Miller said making a major more costly is all dependent on how much students want to spend and how nice of equipment they want.
