<p>I saw this in the Berkeley forum and I thought I would ask it to more people. I'll be attending a relatively expensive school next year and will be paying roughly $45,000 a year. What can I do to cut costs or earn money and maybe bring this down? Thanks.</p>
<p>Go to a less expensive university.</p>
<p>work/study programs, eat cheap, don't go shopping "for fun", don't go crazy with dorm supplies, work during breaks.</p>
<p>so...you don't qualify for any kind of financial aid or received any sort of scholarship or grant??</p>
<p>i think work/study is best, if you qualify. i've seen a lot of jobs on my campus that are ridiculously simple, you are basically getting paid to study during that time (obviously, not food related).</p>
<p>there definetly is NOT a need for NEW everything! And if you're planning on getting like a meal plan in the dorms, I suggest getting the smallest, as you'll probably be able to upgrade at any time, but not downgrade. And besides, you won't want to eat food from the dining commons everyday. Shopping at the grocery store is much cheaper!!</p>
<p>Set a fairly strict budget and abide by it - go into detail as well, breaking down how much you can spend on food, extracurriculars, etc. If I'm ever low on cash this is what I try to do. It's not easy though, especially if you're generally liberal with your money (like me haha).</p>
<p>-Don't get a meal plan, but instead buy groceries and cook your own food
-Don't eat out too often
-Don't buy things you don't need (this is where most people make mistakes)</p>
<p>find free/really cheap entertainment
live off of those free shirts you get at basically any college event
set a budget for food
don't pay unnecessary student fees
buy technology through your college
work while in college
don't buy unnecessary things</p>
<p>All of your suggestions are great, but that won't put a huge dent for the $180,000 for 4 years of education.</p>
<p>insomniatic.... the OP asked for ways to shave costs... there's no way to take a huge dent out of a 180,000 dollar debt.</p>
<p>To the OP.. truthfully, just go cheap with everything and don't spend money on anything unnecessary.</p>
<p>In my opinion, no education is worth going 180,000 dollars in debt unless that is after MED school or LAW school on top of undergrad.</p>
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insomniatic.... the OP asked for ways to shave costs... there's no way to take a huge dent out of a 180,000 dollar debt.
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<p>Sure there's a way. You just don't get into the huge debt in the first place.</p>
<p>To each his own. You are entitled to your own opinion and I respect that. I felt that my state universities were not good enough and wanted a better education. Its not a matter of not being able to pay for it, my parents can. I asked what can I do to lower the cost, not eliminate it.</p>
<p>I wish my parents paid for college :D</p>
<p>Deal drugs. Adderall is pretty popular on campus if you can get a supplier.</p>
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if you can get a supplier.
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<p>Adderall is the easiest drug in america to get a prescription for. Every friggin american has ADD if they get a bad test score.</p>
<p>Yeah, but the doc isn't going to prescribe you 300 pills a week in order to keep the money coming in, you know?</p>
<p>Maybe he should just stick to coke.</p>
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I felt that my state universities were not good enough and wanted a better education.
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<p>I go to a state school that is 1/8 of the cost of your school and have professors that taught at Stanford, lectured at Harvard, etc. </p>
<p>You know what their comment was about these "elite" schools. They say that everybody at all schools are taught the same subject, but the only difference is that at the "elite school,s" the professors have more research experience.</p>
<p>In essence, there is a really no difference between a state school and an "elite" school.</p>
<p>Well put Insomnaic. Although I do think that name recognition and connections are extremely important, and are found in much higher abundance in the "elite" universities. So in this respect they are better. </p>
<p>And my last comment was a little rough, sorry about that. I simply felt that I wouldn't spend that much money on an education. But you are absolutely right, to each his own. And the parents paying for it isn't a bad bonus ;).</p>
<p>If the parents are paying for it and can afford it, then it doesn't really matter. Being 180k in debt is a bit of a different story, lol.</p>
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Well put Insomnaic. Although I do think that name recognition and connections are extremely important, and are found in much higher abundance in the "elite" universities. So in this respect they are better. </p>
<p>And my last comment was a little rough, sorry about that. I simply felt that I wouldn't spend that much money on an education. But you are absolutely right, to each his own. And the parents paying for it isn't a bad bonus.
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<p>I agree that connections are important, but I don't think there are necessarily in higher abundance in "elite" universities. There are connnections everywhere, you just have to find them.</p>
<p>Some people put in their mind that name recognition is important. I have heard presentations from a few interviewers at my state school. If a person from the "eltie" school didn't dress professionally and didn't communicate well, they wouldn't hire them just because they went to a elite school. A lot of times they even said that they didn't look at the names of the school the people attended, they just went by how well they present themselves during the interview.</p>