International Student from Pakistan, Costs ?? HELP!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
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Hi

I got accepted to Smith’s 2020 class recently. I’m a financial aid student and i can only go if I can afford everything (duh)
As far as I understood the total billing is $63,950 a year for tuition and room and boarding.

Correct me if I’m wrong, this includes food thrice a day?

In addition Smith says I will have variable costs of around $2,400 ($800 for books, as well as travel and house dues and personal expenses)

I live in Pakistan so idk how the hell to estimate these personal costs and travel. I thought the buses were free?? (My parents will pay for me flying from Pak to USA and back.)

Also what are house dues? It says on the letter that some are mandatory dues and some are optional. So how much are they??

As for books, does it really come up to $800 per year or are second-hand books easily available? (I’ll be studying economics, international relations and Literature)

Also, I understand that personal costs vary. But roughly, if I just go out for an ice-cream once a week or buy clothes twice in a semester, maybe an art gallery or coffee shop trip here and there… how much would that come up to??

Please help me out!! :frowning:

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I’ll be a new Smithie as well, congrats! I would suggest calling the financial aid offices and talking with them so that you can be sure the answers are correct.
As far as personal expenses go, maybe find a current Smith student on the Facebook page and ask on average what they spend a month?? It will be different for everyone, but you’ll get an idea.
Good luck!

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Thanks for replying! I’ve been talking to current Smithies on facebook, but no one is entirely clear about personal expenses. They’ve all told me house dues are something like $30-40 per year and books vary depending on if you can get them on Amazon. Personal expenses no one is giving me a ballpark figure :confused:

And the financial aid offices haven’t replied to my emails yet, i’ll call them monday

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hey @iiscosmicfrak I’m an international student too and I’ve been at a boarding school/prep school for 3 years, and the experience is supposedly similar to that in college. You’ll def be spending more money per year during your first year because you’ll need things like desk lamp, hangers, bedding sets, etc that you can use for years after. For clothes, I’m not a shopper at all really and I think I spend somewhere around $200-300 my first year in the US buying clothes (mostly winter clothes and shoes). I haven’t spent as much on clothes last 2 years. One thing I’m guilty of is whenever I’m stressed I always go buy tons of groceries and cook. So that’s where majority of my money goes TT^TT

As for textbooks, I have taken some courses that require ridiculously expensive textbooks (like the Neuropsychology blue textbook and the stewart multivariable calc – these are like $200 each) but at my school we have a financial aid library where you can borrow books for a whole school year at no charge (but bc these books are donated by students so no guarantee you’ll get all that you need), so maybe call Smith and ask if they have a similar kind of library? (And I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to say this, but many students I know torrent textbooks. If Pak doesn’t ban it, I suggest you seize the opportunity hehe)

And typically I have bought books from Amazon and sold them at the end of the school year also thru Amazon. Renting books (online) is another option. My Neuropsych book would have costed me $160 (used), but I ended up spending $38 renting it for one semester. (its a term course)

Another thing I didn’t expect to spend money on is health care service. FYI, if you wear glasses, it is expensive to get an eye exam ($100-200) and to get a new pair of glasses ($100-400) unless you’re in NYC Chinatown.

PS I’m a new Smithie too! Hope this helps, and see you in the fall!

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Hi! I’m a currently a junior at Smith, also international on financial aid.

Food is thrice a day, yes.

I have no idea how much the books are because I’m a CS major. Most of the books aren’t required, so for the most part I only spend money on books for other classes. It really depends, but last semester I only spent $20 on a book for a language class. Second-hand books are available at the bookstore, and you can definitely find them online too, so unless your professor uses the latest edition of the book, you should have no trouble finding secondhand. You can also apply for grants if the cost is too high.

House dues are usually around $15-20 per semester. They’re mandatory, but honestly, not everyone pays for them. The money’s used for house events, mostly.

Buses to other colleges are free, but if you want to go to, say, Holyoke Mall, I think those buses aren’t free, but a day pass that includes all routes is only $3.

Other expenses… Your first year you’ll have to get stuff for your room and winter clothes. I think I spent around $400-500? I’m not entirely sure. You also need to get toiletries every so often.

If you’re worried about expenses, you can do work study. You’re eligible for it because you’re on financial aid. I did 8 hours a week my first year, and now I do 12. It’s enough for my phone bill, music lessons (though I do get a grant for that), and personal expenses (going out with friends maybe once every 2-3 weeks, food when I don’t want dining hall food, etc).

I think you should be fine, my parents pay for my flights, but I pay for everything else using work-study money, so it’s definitely doable.

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Check out the smithbysmithies Tumblr blog! They usually answer questions posted by future students there.