13 sneaky costs of college — and how to keep them under control

Don't forget to count the possibility of unpaid internships into your college budget.University for the Creative Arts/Flickr

When families think of financing a college education, they usually think about covering tuition costs.

It’s easy to home in on tuition — after all, it’s an obvious, in-your-face expense. But tuition and fees don’t make up the largest portion of the average cost of college attendance.

In the College Board’s most recent Trends in College Pricing, researchers found non-tuition-related expenses at public four-year schools account for 61% of a total $24,610 average cost of attendance.

Here are a few hidden college costs for families to consider before the school year starts.