𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽❟ 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀?

 

Here's what you need to know.

▶️ Assuming you'll live off-campus and prioritize savings, here's an ***𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 of your expenses other than tuition (𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚):

- Housing: $450/month

- Utilities: $50/month

- Food: $150/month

- Transportation: $1,600/year

- University and Course fees: $600/year

- Health Insurance: $2,000/year

- Other: $1,000/year

Total Cost of Attendance (COA): $13,000/year

(𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈'𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.)

𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 1.0:

1. Health insurance costs can vary between colleges. Institutions like UTA allow students to take some low cost federal health insurance from outside, which can be as low as $74 annually, saving a lot of money. However, not every college let you take insurance from outside. Also, colleges like UTA only allow students to get insurance from outside after they get their Social Security Number (SSN). You will get the SSN after you get an on-campus job.

2. If PDFs work for you, you may be able to avoid purchasing books, although not all required books may be available for free in PDF.

3. Transportation costs are on you. If you don't travel much from state to state and visit your home country only once every two years, transportation costs can be reduced.

4. Some colleges require students to live on campus, at least during their freshman year, which can significantly impact expenses.

▶️ You can expect to earn around $8,000 to $10,000 per year (𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕), assuming you'll also work on-campus / do internships during the summer. 

𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 2.0:

1. Not all colleges permit students to work 20 hours per week. Some have restrictions on the number of hours allowed.

2. In competitive job markets like at USF, securing an on-campus job during your first year can be challenging. It's advisable to have family support or funds readily available to cover any potential deficits during your first year, at least.

3. If you can get an internship during summer vacation, you can make a good amount of money, but again, it's hard to find as a freshman or sophomore. Hopefully, you can manage internships in your junior and senior years. It also depends a lot on the connections you make. Be mindful.

4. Some colleges don't have any work available on campus during the holidays/vacation, which means there's no job for 4 months of the year.

There are numerous variables to consider, so it's not possible to provide a simple yes or no answer. I've just provided you with an idea.

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞, 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬, 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.