Budgeting
Can I afford to live in a residence hall?
In recent years, more students have begun to rely on educational loans to help pay
for college. A freshman level loan, even with the addition of a grant, may not allow
you to meet the direct costs of tuition, room, board and books for a year. If you
are planning to live in a residence hall, you are encouraged to create a budget; off
campus room and board charges are monthly but living in a residence hall requires
four months room/board to be paid in advance. It is important to make sure you can
cover your fall charges so that you can register for spring.
Put the information from your financial aid award letter into one of the budget worksheets below. Then put in the direct costs from the Cost of Attendance (COA) to determine whether you will be able to afford to attend. Remember, all charges must be paid each semester before you are permitted to register for the next semester.
If you borrow, you should budget!
Budgeting is an excellent way to make choices when you have limited funds. If you
borrow to help pay for your education, you should create a budget each year to review
the items you could do without. Remember there is interest on the funds you borrow
and you will be repaying over the next 10 years. Consider downloading your choice
of a 9 month interactive budget worksheet, 12 month interactive budget worksheet, 9 month document worksheet and 12 month document worksheet.
Income too low or expenses too high? It is important to note that there are ways to increase your income and reduce your expenses.
Higher education is worth the expenses associated with borrowing. Review the borrowing section for information.