Hi guys! I've just made my final decision about where I'm going to school in the fall. After grant money, my cost of attendance (includes tuition, housing, food plan, and health insurance) will be about $13,000 per year. This seems like a lot, but at this university it is actually below average cost.
I know that federal student loans are better than private. I've applied for several private scholarships as well. Work-study could earn me maximum $1500 per year, but I'm not sure if that's less cost effective than just getting a part time job and putting those funds toward school. I also might reduce my meal plan, but that depends on my housing and how much of a kitchen is available to me. A meal plan would work out to ~$2 per meal anyways, so it might be better to stay on that. I've looked up free and cheap entertainment in the city. Housing is actually cheaper on campus (one of the highest cost of living cities in the country)
Basically, my question is: what are my options? I need to fill the tuition gap with as few loans as possible, while the loans I do get need low interest rates. Where do I start? What lifestyle changes can I make that will allow me to go to college as frugally as possible?
March 18, 2017 at 10:41AM
