I'm wondering what all these people are buying. I've got a daughter in middle school and a son in elementary. All in we spent $66 (or a little over 1/10th of the estimate).
The article mentions .edu discounts (Apple products and Amazon Prime, specifically), which are college student discounts. So I have a suspicion that $634 estimate is being skewed by the college student figures.
My costs so far this semester (which starts tomorrow):
$600 in books - Buying used doesn't help as much anymore since so many have accompanying one-time-use codes to access online homework software, where buying a new code by itself costs as much as the new book.
$10 in supplies - I work for a department at the university, so most of my supply needs are met by a lovely gray cabinet they have
$60 for a
clicker (used) - Some professors use for in-class quizzes, take attendance, etc. School upgraded the Turning Point system since I last had to use mine, so needed a new compatible one.
$1,000 for new computer - The $500 laptop I've been using no longer meets college requirements, so I needed to upgrade. I've cheaped out in this area before, so I splurged this time. My first laptop didn't have powerful enough wireless to compete for a connection on the overcrowded network. My second laptop worked for 2 years (before not meeting requirements), but it had a lot of compromises that made it terrible for the abuse and flexibility needed for campus. Business-grade laptops are almost necessary, I've learned, to handle the wear-and-tear and flexibility of constantly being on the go. So I splurged on a good one with an excellent wireless radio, respectable battery life, great portability and durability, and a built in Wacom digitizer (I do web development and graphic design work, and it's great for annotating lecture notes). So I'm writing off half of this as a business expense and half as an education expense (I was forced to upgrade, so I consider that 'a condition of enrollment'), lessening the sticker shock somewhat. It also makes me feel better since a majority of students opt for Macbooks, which range from $1,200-$2,000 for the popular ones.
Total (so far - classes still haven't started): $1,670
Add in another $600 for next semester's books, for the total year (plus graduation
ransom fees).
This has been a lighter year on books too, last year I had a semester top out at over $1,000 in total books+online course software fees.
And that's assuming the article isn't also talking about dorm/apartment furnishings that retailers typically include in back-to-school sales.