<p>Hello everyone,
I have a chance to be an exchange student at UCB. I am worried about financials. I do not want to exceed $1000 per month. I won't be paying tuition, but I am expected to supply housing expenses.</p>
<p>Do you think I can manage to live in Berkeley and not spend more than $1100 per month? (Including eating and housing)</p>
<p>It is OK for me to share a room off campus, or live in a dorm. </p>
<p>How would you comment on eating expenses? What are prices of fast food etc?</p>
<p>I am not much of a social person, I would plan to focus on studies even I could manage to come. I want to study at UCB, but my financial limits are very strict.</p>
<p>I am in serious need of those information, any suggestion and information is welcome.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Interesting…what’s your secret?</p>
<p>$1100 is possible. I am living off the same amount of money per month and I think that even less than this is doable. Breakdown:</p>
<ul>
<li>Rent: $600 (I am not sharing a room and living right next to campus so if you are okay to share and maybe take a bus you will find something cheaper). Dorms are expensive, don’t go there.</li>
<li>iPhone: ~$85 - If you get a regular cellphone you’ll get away with about half of that, maybe less</li>
<li>Food: ~$200 - I cook basic meals myself (buy groceries) and go out to eat a couple times a week, though not often at expensive places.</li>
<li>Personal/Household Stuff: ~$30</li>
<li>Some Online Stuff (Domains, Services, etc): ~$20 - You probably won’t need it</li>
<li>Going out/Shopping: Rest ~$150</li>
</ul>
<p>Now, sometimes I spend much more on food than $200, that’s because I get lazy to cook myself or buy groceries. But if you can stick with it that’s fine. If you don’t plan on cooking yourself but want to eat out everyday I would say you can get away with ~$400-500/month if you eat cheap and 2 times a day (not including breakfast).</p>
<p>I think your best choices would be to either find an apartment to share with someone or apply to a co-op. They are houses where you share household duties. They provide furniture, food, and its very cheap compared to dorms. You pay around 3,000 per semester which comes out to like 800/month. So below 1,000/month is very doable since your not paying for tuition. What country are you coming in from?</p>
<p>My message was actually misleading, I just have a chance to apply to UC exchange program and I recently scored high enough to apply UCB, which requires higher toefl than other UC’s. I guess I don’t have a good shot at UCB, but I am thinking of it as my 1st choice anyways.</p>
<p>I am Turkish, by the way.</p>
<p>thanks for that link, also. I will have a look at them.
your messages are very useful to me.</p>