<p>I know NYU is really expensive, but so are many colleges in the east coast.</p>
<p>I just am wondering, when I checked my financial aid summary on Albert Login, the total aids cost they listed was roughly $59,000.</p>
<p>Does that mean the cost to attend NYU for a year will be $59,000? On other sites, they listed the total cost for NYU in the low $50,000. Both prices are high, but a $59,000 is still a LOT more than $50,000.</p>
<p>THe cost is closer to $59,000+ when you add in:
<p>The only way to knock that $59,000 down a few thousand would be to apply for Low Cost Triple (at Rubin) and to keep personal allowance money to a minimum. My son’s expenses were around $67,000 freshman year. Granted this included $600/ month allowance money, a new laptop (Macbook Pro) and new winter clothing and boots. Minus health insurance fee (which varies from around $1200-2000/ year for the basic or comprehensive plan).</p>
<p>^ Why would you give your son $600/month?</p>
<p>spazman,</p>
<p>You cannot live in NYC with nothing. You will find out, especially if you like to party. :)</p>
<p>My son is on the 175 flex meal plan, which is equivalent to the 10 meal/ week plan. So, he needs extra to make up for the additional meals a week (breakfast items, 2 other days’ meals not covered in the plan).</p>
<p>Also, I took an informal survey last year and found that students subsisted on a low of $100/ month to $1000+/ month. The ones making do with $100/ month really had to budget very consciously and do without a lot of stuff or bought cheap groceries (e.g. cereal for breakfast) to keep to $25/ week for extra food and ENTERTAINMENT. I guess these people either studied a lot or took advantage of free events (which are there if you search around). It was mentioned those with a budget of $1000/ month really lived it up as a student at NYU. So, I took the mid-range for S’s budget. So far, he has just about kept to this budget with additional birthday and holiday money thrown in. S is not even an overly extravagant person, opting to go to thrift shops to buy $2 pants or shirts. It just all adds up even with discounted events, additional meals, and entertainment.</p>
<p>I hope you or your parents are planning a budget for yourself while living in NYC? Otherwise, you will have to be careful about what you buy and disciplining yourself when it comes to extra food, going to paid party or entertainment events.</p>
<p>$20 a day doesn’t go very far in NYC if it’s supposed to cover everything else. :(</p>
<p>vonlost, You got it right, especially in a place like NYC where you have temptations to spend money all over the place. Plus, I forgot, regular haircuts, laundry, supplies that have to be replaced. </p>
<p>Back to the OP’s question. And, of course, the first year you spend more because you have to set up your dorm room. Transportation costs if you plan to return to see family during breaks. Shipping or storage costs for supplies when you are done with the school year.</p>
<p>Gosh, adding all this up. I think all NYU students (as well as other students from other high cost colleges) should automatically get the salary of a Wall Street finance person when they graduate to ensure that their expensive education will truly pay off.</p>
<p>To that OP, the COA is an estimate of what it will cost to attend. The real amount is what is Billable. Tuition, fees, Room and your meal plan. That is the real cost. The other stuff like books, supplies, your computer, and personal expenses are just an estimate and those things can be done more inexpensively than what is just an estimate. Ma y students go on-line and buy books. Many people waive the health insurance. Some get LCT to live in.</p>
<p>BTW, evolving chooses to give her son 600.00 a month. I gave my daughter 150.00 every 2 weeks and she made due with it. However we did pay for here books, clothing and any supplies she needed and she has a free subway pass, that was purely her spending money. She now has a work study job and I don’t give her as much. Many students have learned how to really stay on a budget and learn the cheap places to eat and how to save money. My daughter does shop at Trader Joes and Whole Foods. She goes to lot of music venues throughout NYC and some places in Brooklyn. So she is not deprived. The upperclassmen have “dinner parties” in their dorm, where they combine resources and make and share dinner, a Social event, they look forward to. They go to free food events and know where the 1.00 pizzas are. They have become very resourceful. A good way to explore the neighborhoods around NYU. Living frugally can be done at NYU and not impossible. Good lessons to learn IMHO. It works for us.</p>
<p>“BTW, evolving chooses to give her son 600.00 a month. I gave my daughter 150.00 every 2 weeks and she made due with it. However we did pay for here books, clothing and any supplies she needed and she has a free subway pass, that was purely her spending money.”</p>
<p>It sounds about the same. We also gave our D $600 a month with which she bought food, clothing, supplies, transportation, everything except books, rent and utilities (she shared an apt, a bit less than a dorm, all considered). So be prepared for $$$ in NYC!</p>
<p>The COA can also vary based on your child’s major. My D in Tisch attends lots of shows - Broadway, Off-Broadway, Tisch, smaller venues, etc. Lots of times, free or reduced tickets are available, but other times not…so that adds up. I consider this a school expense, not entertainment, since it’s a requirement for her major. Plus, there are design supplies, etc. and when they are required to go to various museums, theatres, etc., there are admission and transportation costs. D has the 175 flex meal plan, but there are many days when she has so many hours of studio/rehearsals/projects that she can’t make it to a dining hall…and she is a health nut and spends her grocery dollars on healthy (sometimes expensive) foods…she does not eat in restaurants that often and generally chooses the less expensive ones. BUT she is a clothes/shoe shopper so that’s where lots of her $$$$ go! I started her with $500 in campus cash and $500 in checking…and she already had most of her room items. Then we have added about $300 per month to checking, plus extra when needed, i.e. additional winter clothes etc were not part of her allowance, medical expenses, books/plays recommended by her teachers, baggage fees, etc. The $300 was for food and toiletries and a little bit of play money…I also added a couple hundred to her campus cash about a month ago. I estimated her COA this year, not including spending money, plane tickets, or the computer purchased through NYU, at $62,000+ and she was in a lower cost dorm. Whatever they tell you, expect it to cost MORE. And something to remember, if you get Stafford or Parent PLUS loans, some loan fees come out of the amount you request and you don’t get the full amount of the loan…if you are cutting it really tight, this could make a difference! Read the fine print. One thing that worked for us, we switched to a bank that was convenient in NYC rather than our hometown bank…her accounts are linked to mine so I can keep track of her spending and make transfers from savings or my account to her when needed. That way, I feel better about not keeping a big balance in her checking account because I know I can do an automatic transfer if something comes up.</p>
<p>milkandsugar is right. The real amount (tuition, housing, fees, meal plan, books) is not unreasonable compared to other private colleges. With some prudent measures taken (e.g. low cost housing, waiving NYU student health insurance, and buying books online), it’s possible to be around $50,000-$52,000 in explicit costs.</p>
<p>Poor financial aid combined with high prices in NYC makes things go up, obviously. However, I don’t see how it’s impossible to not spend over $60,000 a year… NYC is more expensive on average than most places, but there is plenty of stuff in the NYU area that is pretty cheap. If you’re going to exclusive clubs in midtown every weekend then obviously you’re going to run up quite a tab, but if you try to live realistically i.e. as a college student and not as a high roller than there’s no reason why there should be such a premium above what NYU gets.</p>
<p>You do not need to spend that much money! It’s amazing to me that kids are not expected to help out and pay for their spending money. I pay for all my kids needs but is expected to pay for all his spending dollars. He has spend less than $1000 for the year and he has a very exciting social life. If you look into the 19 meal plan it is very reasonable considering the added charge from 14. Do yourself a favor and learn to work for your only spending money and learn what it’s like to work for something. It’s much easier to be given everything, but in the long run when you should be paying for all your own things in four years, you will be prepared on how to make better financial decisions. I’m sure a lot will still be living off their parents. Believe there is power and self esteem growth by doing all on your own.</p>
<p>I think all of this depends on the parent’s philosophy, means and “willingness” to provide more spending money for the child during college years.</p>
<p>I know there are parents who decide on the frugal side and rightfully so, given the sacrifices made by the families already, as well as the steep “real” costs without factoring in the personal expenses.</p>
<p>In our situation, the first year, our family actually was doing fairly well financially after some stock gains (though alas that situation has changed for next year). Also, my S got an unexpected generous scholarship from NYU. I also know that S does not just focus on studies but he partakes in many ECs, which I consider to be important to his psychological well-being, as well as possible golden opportunities for networking. So, I had made the decision to ease his financial burden as much as possible during the school year and allow him a little room to enjoy some of what NYC provides without worrying about living on an overly tight budget. For instance, many free events are available but those entail long lines and time involved in waiting. So, for S to go to some but pay for other events at a discounted price so he can save time (a precious commodity in college) was one of the things I happily provided for S through a “mid-range” allowance.</p>
<p>S was busy with the NYU Mock Trial Team and trying to produce some music recordings, as well as planning for gigs around the city (which hopefully will result in some “paid” appearances later on). In the meantime, he also has to focus on some demanding course work while keeping a balance in his life.</p>
<p>S will be working 8 weeks in the summer to earn a few thousand dollars for his own expenses for the coming year. So, it is not like he does not pull his own weight. In fact, I have known my S and his habits throughout HS. He spent a lot of time in community service, building school spirit, etc. I think this same zeal in him needs to be nurtured by freeing him up from excessive worries about finances. This will come soon enough when he graduates and begins to work for his own living.</p>
<p>Right now, I want him to learn to work within his given budget, which I think is a challenge for him already, given our own family’s not so frugal spending habits and the attractions in NYC.</p>
<p>So, the “estimated” costs really depend, as reflected in the many different responses. The new student coming to NYU has to decide what he/ she needs, what the family and student can and are willing to afford (this also refers to necessary sacrifices), then make a decision based on the person’s own circumstances.</p>
<p>However, the real costs are there. By the way, we used [Cheap</a> Textbooks, College Textbooks, and Used Textbooks | Textbooks.com](<a href=“http://www.textbooks.com%5DCheap”>http://www.textbooks.com) and bought used books for my S for freshman year, so his book budget was minimal for this first year.</p>
<p>Tuition and Fees: $41,000
Dorm: $12,250 for a double, the most common dorm room (7,000 for LCT in Rubin only and 9100 for other triples, 14,490 for a Single)
Meal Plan: $3860 for the minimum plan ($4430 for the max meal plan)
Books: $1000 alloted by school (S spent less by buying most books online, maybe $500-600; but he did not have to buy any expensive texts, like for science courses, for this year; all softcover books).</p>
<p>So even the real costs are around $57,000 for the typical NYU student before any personal allowance money or insurance, if needed. As I said before, the only way to knock this down substantially is by going with the Rubin LCT at around $7,000, if available. This would bring the total real costs down to the $52,000 range some mentioned already.</p>
<p>Hehe, this bring us right back to OP’s original question and the price range mentioned.</p>
<p>The real cost to attend is the amount NYU requires you to be there, tution, fees, room, meals.
The rest is negotiable and subjective.</p>
<p>I’s currently a freshmen and use about 200/month and I don’t really feel like there is a problem (unless you’re a hardcore partier). Mostly during weeks, there is little need to spend much money unless you want to go about shopping or partying.</p>
<p>Given this, I did spend about 400/month for the first 3 months to adjust to college living</p>
<p>As an undergraduate student at NYU, I only receive about $200 per month from my parents, most of which I do not end up using anyways. I do my grocery shopping with dining dollars at NYU convenience stores and I work a part-time job. I can’t believe parents are ok with giving their kids $600 a month. Not only is that an unnecessary burden on the parents, but it makes the student lazy and irresponsible. </p>
<p>How is this relevant to the thread? NYU might be expensive, but it is so much easier to find high-paying jobs in the city than at a state school that is in the middle of no where. Keep that in mind!! </p>
<p>Adding in pay from my work and reductions from a low-cost lifestyle, my parents and I only need to pay about 20,000 per year at NYU. I also plan on graduating a year early.</p>
<p>It is not impossible to graduate from NYU at the cost of a state school. You can do it if you want it bad enough and will work hard for it.</p>
<p>The botom line is that you need to come up with about $60,000 per year to attend NYU. Remember, too, that over the 4 year period that you attend the costs will be rising. Tuition and room and board went up every year that D has been there.</p>
<p>The total for tuition, room and board will be about $57,000/ year. In addition you need additional food, books, clothing, transportation, travel expenses, entertainment and various sundries. Estimating about $3,000 for that is average (towards conservative) I would say.</p>