What're your e$timated living expen$e$?

[amy2003uva]

Anyone calculated how much they're going to live off while in med school? Even better - current students care to share their C.O.L.? I'm talking besides tuition. The tuition & fees are a given, but I'm having a difficult time figuring how much $$$ I'll need to keep food in the fridge AND be able to have a little fun. Am I being unreasonable for considering a travel budget - traveling to see the fam over breaks and such?

Thanks for the input.

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[AStudent]

Here's what I came up with:

Food: 150/wk (bar money and a night out on Friday)
Gas: 30/mo (my car gets like 30mpg and I won't use it all that much)
Cell phone: 35/mo
Cable: 40/mo
Internet: 35/mo
Elec (1bed): 35/mo
Water/Gas: Included in my Rent
Rent: 730/mo
Clothes: 75/mo
Parking (campus): 500/yr
Parking (apts): 40/mo
Repairs (car): 500/yr
Healthcare: Covered under the rents
Misc (grooming) 35/mo (those Mach3's are expensive)
Misc (cleaning supplies/apt stuff): 20/mo
Total w/o tuition: 22000 even

Anyone calculated how much they're going to live off while in med school? Even better - current students care to share their C.O.L.? I'm talking besides tuition. The tuition & fees are a given, but I'm having a difficult time figuring how much $$$ I'll need to keep food in the fridge AND be able to have a little fun. Am I being unreasonable for considering a travel budget - traveling to see the fam over breaks and such?

Thanks for the input.

 

[erin682]

Yeah it definately doesn't have to be that much. I'm living off 12k a year give or take. Its really not that hard. The biggest thing I guess is rent/utilities. And that really varies depending on what city you will be living in. Mine's about $500 and I live in a house with 2 other girls. You can easily spend under $200/month on groceries. Add on gas and a few other things and I've still saved enough to go on a trip this summer. You just have to be smart and set a budget.

 

[icebrat001]

Here's what I came up with:

Food: 150/wk (bar money and a night out on Friday)
Gas: 30/mo (my car gets like 30mpg and I won't use it all that much)
Cell phone: 35/mo
Cable: 40/mo
Internet: 35/mo
Elec (1bed): 35/mo
Water/Gas: Included in my Rent
Rent: 730/mo
Clothes: 75/mo
Parking (campus): 500/yr
Parking (apts): 40/mo
Repairs (car): 500/yr
Healthcare: Covered under the rents
Misc (grooming) 35/mo (those Mach3's are expensive)
Misc (cleaning supplies/apt stuff): 20/mo
Total w/o tuition: 22000 even

Wow your food budget is almost as much as your rent!

Did you over estimate so you can save money for interviews and what not later on?

 

[AStudent]

Yeah, I way overestimated because I want some give.

Wow your food budget is almost as much as your rent!

Did you over estimate so you can save money for interviews and what not later on?

 

[Chr147]

Gas: 30/mo (my car gets like 30mpg and I won't use it all that much)

you lucky son of a gun

 

[AnotherDork]

My school sent budget maximums for each expense (rent, food, travel, personal), and so I am just taking out the maximum. The way I figure it, the loans are low interest, and cutting out a few hundred dollars here and there won't make a huge difference. So why not live large (well, perhaps just slightly hypertrophied) between study sessions!?

 

[amy2003uva]

My school sent budget maximums for each expense (rent, food, travel, personal), and so I am just taking out the maximum. The way I figure it, the loans are low interest, and cutting out a few hundred dollars here and there won't make a huge difference. So why not live large (well, perhaps just slightly hypertrophied) between study sessions!?

what were your budget maxes for food/travel/personal? how much did books cost you the 1st year? i hear some students don't buy all of the REQUIRED texts, and i was wondering how common that was.

So why not live large (well, perhaps just slightly hypertrophied) between study sessions!?

haha good philosophy...

 

[amy2003uva]

Here's what I came up with:

Food: 150/wk (bar money and a night out on Friday)
Gas: 30/mo (my car gets like 30mpg and I won't use it all that much)
Cell phone: 35/mo
Cable: 40/mo
Internet: 35/mo
Elec (1bed): 35/mo
Water/Gas: Included in my Rent
Rent: 730/mo
Clothes: 75/mo
Parking (campus): 500/yr
Parking (apts): 40/mo
Repairs (car): 500/yr
Healthcare: Covered under the rents
Misc (grooming) 35/mo (those Mach3's are expensive)
Misc (cleaning supplies/apt stuff): 20/mo
Total w/o tuition: 22000 even

wow that's almost 2 thousand per year on car/parking related costs alone!
i hope campus parking here isn't that ridiculous.

 

[erin682]

i hear some students don't buy all of the REQUIRED texts, and i was wondering how common that was.

I can't speak for other schools but at my school I have needed two (out of probably 8-10) of the required books in my first year. Netter's anatomy and Guyton's physiology. For everything else you can spend $30 (or less if you get it used which isn't that hard) on BRS subject review books and some you really don't need anything supplemental at all. On top of that if you join AMSA you can get a free Netter's.