College is expensive. We know; 44 million of us owe $1.4 trillion in students loans and walk around like we rent, not own, the place. So how much do some of the most expensive majors actually cost and where does the money go? Three Washburn students with different majors lift the veil on the hidden costs found within their programs of study.

Art Majors

Unfortunately, an artist cannot do much if you take away their tools of creation. Who is Michelangelo without his paint brush and chisel? Like the greats, art students must have supplies to create their works, and they don’t come cheap. Gabbi Rollins, a sophomore art major, illustrates the costs pertinent to her success as a student.

“I’m a ceramics and sculpture major so I have to buy hundreds of pounds of clay at a cost of about $24 if buying from a popular store like DickBlicks,” said Rollins. Rollins clarifies that this isn’t a once a semester purchase either. “I have to buy it every time I get done with a project.”

Luckily there are discounts out there for future and current art majors.

“I recommend trying to get a job on campus, because then you can get discounts. I work here [in the art building] as a lab monitor, and I get to use the equipment as much as I want,” said Rollins.

Music Majors

Music majors have the luxury of owning and maintaining beautiful, costly, instruments listed as their required texts on their class syllabi. Take, for instance, bassoon players who have a $30,000 investment lurking in their futures. Elizabeth Fleischman, a music education major, broke down how much money goes into her instrumental cost while studying music.

“I am currently in the market. I’m looking at new clarinets. A brand new clarinet could cost between four and six thousand dollars,”

So that covers the cost of buying the clarinet, but she isn’t done. Fleischman explained there is rigorous upkeep involved.

“We’re playing so often in college that we have to do [maintenance] every three months. We go in every three to five [months].”

Just one of these maintenance appointments can range anywhere from $50 to $300, like Fleischman’s last pricey appointment.

Those are the big expenses music majors face, but there are still smaller expenses that add up quickly like reeds, strings, books and sheet music; expenses these students are expected to cover their entire career.

Nursing Majors

The service doctors, nurses and all medical personnel provide is indispensable, something one shouldn’t be able to put a price on.  Well, college can and college does. Alayna Hewitt, a Washburn nursing student, disclosed that the most expensive cost for her is books. Hewitt reveals that most of the cost comes from the limited options available to nursing students when obtaining their books.

“You can only buy them, and you have to buy them through Washburn. You can’t rent them or anything.”

On top of books there are other less conventional costs required of nursing students.

“You have to buy everything you’ll need for all four levels of nursing school. So like scrubs, a supply kit that’s about $200 and also background checks and immunizations,” said Hewitt.

That is just a quick glimpse into the cost and financial responsibilities taken on by students of different majors in the pursuit of passion and fulfillment here at Washburn University.