21 senior private small university..expensive
Base Tuition $18,401/year(for me, it has since increased by $5,000 so I hear)
Fees $4,331
Insurance $150/year
Books they tell you to budget for at least $2000/year because of edition changes and the fact that we have books that are exclusive to our university so they cost a lot
if you live on campus housig is approx. $9000 with $50 for food a week
my total usually runs about $25000 because I always have things added to my fees because I do a lot of special functions. I get about 12k in grants and scholarships and 12k in loans. It pays only for my education and books.... I have a full time job(40+hours a week) which is in my field of study. Im a line cook at the Hyatt in Ft Lauderdale. My parents help where they can and my maternal Grandparents(my grandmother is now the only one living) gave me 20k CD when I turned 18. I used it to pay back my first year loans and I took the leftovers and spent some on myself and moving out on my own and the rest I used to make the deposit, first, last and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th months rent. I also didnt have to work for 3 months of my sophomore year while I was waiting to go to my internship. I got to have tons of fun and relax!!! That was awesome and while some people said I wasted the 6k I had left I dont feel I did. I paid all my utility deposits and enjoyed myself. I also lived on campus my first year so I didnt work the last month of my first year thanks to the money I had saved from my job and the leftovers from my CD. I also worked 2 jobs the summer after my first year and saved 4k which left me with about 10k in savings.
My parents help where they can, like they pay my cell phone, car insurance, give me money here and there... they've paid for my books, uh hrm... they have loans in their name for me... they make the payments on them sometimes. They pay for my car repairs... so they do what they can. I work to pay my rent, credit cards, loan payment and fun.
Unfortunately my parents have not always been blessed with money so they only do what they can. My Grandmother helps me out a TON, she bought my car and has helped me out countless times when Im in a pinch.
My Parents are paying my GRE study guides, my GRE fees and my application fees for grad school...which is going to save me a ton
