I think there is a shortfall … some of the math isn’t right
What part?
I thought your shortfall (err not shortfall - price difference) was 13k per year?
So the direct cost at UVA is 14k per year (without living cost and all that) so my parents would put 9k/yr and I would work for the remaining 5k… I’m really saying I’d get loans to cover my part of the 5k so that my work money would go to just living. Idk its a weird way of thinking of it but it’s what I think would be the case.
They’re claiming I’d spend 3k/yr on transportation alone which sounds nuts to me.
by “living costs” do you mean transportation, books, and miscellaneous (ie., toothpaste, new socks, pizza…)?
Because you can shrink that by 1° renting textbooks or borrowing books from the library or using the library reserves 2° being frugal: how often will you fly home? do you really have to go to Cancùn for Spring Break? Can you eat at the all-you-care-to-eat dining halls and order pizza just once a week? Can you bring sheets and towels from home instead of buying a brand-new “dorm package”?
Or do you mean “room&board” (housing&meals)?
No no no I mean the first part. Room and board is part of the direct cost. My brother will cover flights and No Cancun for me lol, I’d be saving as much as I can.
Honestly, I think this will not make for a good experience - if you have to worry about every dime
(I remember myself - we were FOB, and my freshman yr I wouldn’t go to the movies for $4.5)
Maybe you are better off staying at OU, maybe get better at coding - pick up a summer job or 2, save some money and maybe then transfer if you still want to (you may not want to)
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That’s exactly what I’m thinking. I just wanted to know if the struggle would be worth it long-term.
Then you’re not going to need that much.
That’s an estimate they provide for your package but it doesn’t mean you HAVE TO spend that much. I see that UVA estimate you’ll spend $3,000 on books and supplies… that’s nuts, too. Sure, if you buy brand-new textbooks for every class and never use the library but… come on… you can rent for 1/3 the price or borrow from the library or buy used! (In fact, professors can even lend you old copies if you’re desperate enough). You’ll buy a laptop if you don’t have one (and typically the university will have a bargain price) which will be expensive but a once-in-4-years expense, then it’ll be pens and notebooks ($40?)
computer codes for exercises (cost varies), and clickers. I’d estimate that if you’re smart about it, you can spend 1/3 of that total they estimate for books&supplies… 
BTW, lots of good tips compiled by current UVA students to save money:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ba956a916b6406fa63a6a71/t/5fad86d5ff73a225b255f974/1605207767525/Guide+to+Being+Not-Rich+at+UVA+(2020).pdf
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May end up putting too much unnecessary stress on you. Also being around kids that are really wealthy (most of those BU and UVA kids will be), you may feel out of place … but that chip-on-the-shoulder could take you places!!!
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UVA is wayyyy overestimating cost of living - I just checked their estimate: $3,000 for books? $4,000 for personal expenses? $3,000 for transportation? That’s crazy.
OP basically got a full ride and can’t see it because UVA so inflates costs.
I don’t know what BU does but this is an insane way of counting for UVA and it obscures that OP got an amazing financial aid package.
I repeat: based on the above, OP got close to a full ride if not an actual full ride to UVA… S/he wouldn’t be scrimping.
(Well, unless eating in the cafeteria the meals you paid for, borrowing books or buying used instead of buying new, etc, is “scrimping”, but based on other posts on other threads, I don’t think that’s what you mean).
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So with parents contribution and fed loans you’re probably $5k/year light…realistically…maybe a little less but not much. How much are flights/Ubers from Oklahoma to UVA or BU? Multiply that by 4 at least. Then books, computer, supplies, etc.
A summer job would put you close but you probably wouldn’t have any left for walking around money…that’s a tough spot, especially at schools like UVA or BU where the kids probably aren’t hurting for extra cash. Is that how you want to spend 4 years?
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I went to Cornell FOB … like NO money my family came with $450 total,
graduated with 42k in loans (and that’s 90s dollars)
After freshman year, had no problems with money - summer jobs,
work-study, computer-lab consultancy … was MORE than enough.
I think OP maybe is too conservative, but to each his own.
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Its not that I’m conservative, I’m just trying to really be realistic with the money I’m going to have. If I have extra money then I’m sure as hell going out and having fun!
No I wish it was a full ride! I didn’t include the personal fees in the 14k/yr as I knew those prices were crazy. The 14k/yr that I have to pay is strictly tuition and room/board.
Not saying it as a slight at all, by the way!
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Take the $5500 Direct loan. You can work for your expense money…books and discretionary expenses. This would enable you to attend UVA…right?
The total of $27,000 over four years would mean about $300 a month loan repayment…which should be manageable.
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Yup, that would be the case.
Ok 
It still seems doable to me.
I didn’t have much money, like @dimkin, and the first few months were the hardest because you have big expenses at first and I didn’t know the “cost cutters” but it was still okay. There’s a difference between counting every dime and being frugal. Basically everything on campus is free anyway. Going off campus (“off grounds” in UVA parlance) is where expenses are and that takes some getting used to but it’s not that hard.
For instance, eating very good food in the dining hall was sufficient for me + I brought back cookies&fruit so I didn’t “need” a pizza at 11pm. During finals they served ice cream and pizza for free I don’t know if they do that at UVA or BU. Also, back when I was in college and dinosaurs roamed the earth, we didn’t have “how to be not-rich at …” guides. 
Most importantly: do you WANT to discover another region? do you WANT the high-level/high-tech jobs available in Boston or in Northern Virginia?
Because if you don’t, it’s different than if you do 
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