<p>Hello everyone,
I have a chance to be an exchange student at UCI. 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 Irvine and not spend more than $1000 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 UCI, but my financial limits are very strict.</p>
<p>(I also wrote the same msg to UCSB page as well, if it looks familiar.)</p>
<p>1000 a month is entirely possible if you share a room and don’t live in the on-campus dorms. I’d say an off-campus apartment might run you anywhere from 400-600 if you share a room, and 400 a month for everything else is doable. i spend roughly 200-300 a month on groceries plus personal expenses. although if you’ve only living for a quarter (as an exchange student) i’d suggest you live somewhere which is already furnished, as furniture is expensive if only there for a few months.</p>
<p>fast food is pretty cheap. it can go anywhere from a dollar to maybe $7-8 for combo meals and stuff like that. but it isn’t really healthy to eat all the time, and you could get more food if you went to the market instead (ex: as opposed to buying two 5-pc nuggets at wendy’s for around 2.50, you can get a bag of salad at the market and use it for more meals). but i agree, $1000/month is definitely doable.</p>