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Hey yall,

A quick search didn't turn up anything on this topic so hopefully Im not repeating a previously asked question (and if I am, could someone please post a link?) Anyway, I was wondering how accurate the personal expense figures that are posted on school websites are. They seem like they are gross overestimations to me. In particular I am looking at the following schools:

William and Mary: $14,950/yr
Tulane: $19,370/yr.
ASU: $20,634/yr.
Pepperdine: $22,446/yr.

I understand that much of it is left to personal discretion, but lets just assume a fairly frugal lifestyle (ie., shared apt., not too much eating out/drinking, etc.). Could someone with adequate information (especially people attending these schools) help me out on this one? I am trying not too take too much out when I get my loans.

Thanks!

csgrant5 wrote:Hey yall,

A quick search didn't turn up anything on this topic so hopefully Im not repeating a previously asked question (and if I am, could someone please post a link?) Anyway, I was wondering how accurate the personal expense figures that are posted on school websites are. They seem like they are gross overestimations to me. In particular I am looking at the following schools:

William and Mary: $14,950/yr
Tulane: $19,370/yr.
ASU: $20,634/yr.
Pepperdine: $22,446/yr.

I understand that much of it is left to personal discretion, but lets just assume a fairly frugal lifestyle (ie., shared apt., not too much eating out/drinking, etc.). Could someone with adequate information (especially people attending these schools) help me out on this one? I am trying not too take too much out when I get my loans.

Thanks!

I thought the same thing, but if you break it down it's probably pretty accurate, especially if you factor in mandatory health insurance, cost of books, plus the expense of moving to a new location. Also, I think it's kind of ridiculous that those numbers are only for 9 months out of the year. It's sort of unrealistic to assume everyone can just get rid of their apartment for the summer, so even if the numbers are high, there's a good chance you'll need to dip into it to pay at the very least your rent over the summer.

The numbers are probably a little high, but not unreasonably so. If anything you could always borrow less your second year. I think the last thing you want is to be working your ass off studying and having to worry about not having enough money to make it through the school year. Specifically with Tulane, I tried breaking it down and without knowing how much my rent will be, it doesn't seem like an unreasonable estimate.