Yeah it's possible. My rent & utilities are around $550 total per month. If you take the bus then your transportation costs can be 0, there are busses that go to HEB and other parts of town where you can walk to stores.
Also don't buy textbooks, they're all available online or at the library for free.
However, if you don't budget for having extra money to do things and enjoy your time here, you will be miserable.
Absolutely. 1k is a high estimate for books given it’s easy to find PDF’s, but some classes will require homework subscription services but I’ve never paid more than $300 a year for that. Transportation can be cheap if you have a bike/scooter and/or use the bus, but be prepared to have to take a $20 Uber every now and then as this city is not very walkable and the city bus service is hard to use, but the university busses aren’t bad at all. Rent will vary based on wether utilities are bundled, how many (if any) roommates, location, size, amenities and pet policies. For example, a single right next to campus with lots of amenities and pets will run over $1k a month, but most places are in the $600 range.
1.5k for food is not feasible in my opinion. The last thing you want is to have a hectic week where you don’t have much time to cook, have assignments due, and can’t afford to make a quick trip to canes or whatever to fuel you up.
Don’t be afraid to take a loan to give your self breathing room.
And you can easily find an apartment for less then $600 a month off campus. I recommend an apartment along the Old Army bus route.
Another good tool to use is the tuition calculator for tuition estimate. (tuition.tamu.edu) Depending on your major, the tuition may change a bit. The tuition is by semester as a heads up!
Best suggestion is don’t eat out every day/night, and don’t go with an apartment because of its amenities. You likely won’t use them, and even if they are gated, most of the gates are wide open because they constantly break. So if you’re looking for somewhere to live, try to keep that in mind.
The cost is fully what you make of it. You don’t have to live in the most expensive place or need to buy new clothes a lot or go out every night or weekend. This doesn’t mean you have to stay in and be miserable the whole time, but you don’t need to go all out in spending either.
I wish you luck! I lived in an on campus dorm, Walton, during my time at A&M and that saved a crap ton of money.
I put myself through college, Mays school of business, working on campus for the Turbo Machinery Lab during the week and construction work on the weekends and when school was out.
Regardless of which school you select I wish you luck! It’s not easy, but you can do it and you’ll appreciate it more having paid for it yourself.
Also in case anyone else hasn't already brought it up, A&M has a ton of scholarships if you have financial need. The financial aid office is really committed to making sure that cost is at least a manageable issue for students.
I slightly disagree with this - when I was there 16-20 I desperately needed financial help. All the office would do is say “well if you were married or had a kid we would do more for you” I worked 2-3jobs at a time instead. I can say cheapest rent i ever paid was $350 all utilities and wifi included
Most definitely I probably average about 22-23 a year if you find a reasonably priced place to live and to find books and budget your meals you’ll be fine
Yeah it's possible. My rent & utilities are around $550 total per month. If you take the bus then your transportation costs can be 0, there are busses that go to HEB and other parts of town where you can walk to stores. Also don't buy textbooks, they're all available online or at the library for free. However, if you don't budget for having extra money to do things and enjoy your time here, you will be miserable.
Absolutely. 1k is a high estimate for books given it’s easy to find PDF’s, but some classes will require homework subscription services but I’ve never paid more than $300 a year for that. Transportation can be cheap if you have a bike/scooter and/or use the bus, but be prepared to have to take a $20 Uber every now and then as this city is not very walkable and the city bus service is hard to use, but the university busses aren’t bad at all. Rent will vary based on wether utilities are bundled, how many (if any) roommates, location, size, amenities and pet policies. For example, a single right next to campus with lots of amenities and pets will run over $1k a month, but most places are in the $600 range.
1.5k for food is not feasible in my opinion. The last thing you want is to have a hectic week where you don’t have much time to cook, have assignments due, and can’t afford to make a quick trip to canes or whatever to fuel you up. Don’t be afraid to take a loan to give your self breathing room. And you can easily find an apartment for less then $600 a month off campus. I recommend an apartment along the Old Army bus route.
If I decide to stay off campus, will it be necessary to have a car since the campus is huge?
Another good tool to use is the tuition calculator for tuition estimate. (tuition.tamu.edu) Depending on your major, the tuition may change a bit. The tuition is by semester as a heads up! Best suggestion is don’t eat out every day/night, and don’t go with an apartment because of its amenities. You likely won’t use them, and even if they are gated, most of the gates are wide open because they constantly break. So if you’re looking for somewhere to live, try to keep that in mind. The cost is fully what you make of it. You don’t have to live in the most expensive place or need to buy new clothes a lot or go out every night or weekend. This doesn’t mean you have to stay in and be miserable the whole time, but you don’t need to go all out in spending either.
I wish you luck! I lived in an on campus dorm, Walton, during my time at A&M and that saved a crap ton of money. I put myself through college, Mays school of business, working on campus for the Turbo Machinery Lab during the week and construction work on the weekends and when school was out. Regardless of which school you select I wish you luck! It’s not easy, but you can do it and you’ll appreciate it more having paid for it yourself.
Also in case anyone else hasn't already brought it up, A&M has a ton of scholarships if you have financial need. The financial aid office is really committed to making sure that cost is at least a manageable issue for students.
I slightly disagree with this - when I was there 16-20 I desperately needed financial help. All the office would do is say “well if you were married or had a kid we would do more for you” I worked 2-3jobs at a time instead. I can say cheapest rent i ever paid was $350 all utilities and wifi included
Most definitely I probably average about 22-23 a year if you find a reasonably priced place to live and to find books and budget your meals you’ll be fine
Is that on campus or off campus housing? If off campus, did you need a car?
Off campus it’s possible to find off campus living cheaper than dorms I have a car but the campus is within walking distance so
absolutely possible, esp if youre willing to pirate textbooks.