Spending Money/Expenses at Fordham: Opinions Please

Colleges and Universities A-Z Fordham University
1

<p>For those not from the NYC (or a large city) did you find that the misc. expenses under COA Fordham estimates to be a realistic amount? They have $1765 misc. money (this would not include travel, books, etc.). That would mean about $200 a month over the course of 9 months. Did that seem reasonable?</p>

<p>We are going into this blind, in terms of helping one prepare to save for and then budget over the course of the year. We understand, of course, that so much will depend on the types of activities the student enjoys for fun, spending habits, etc. However, in general, would it me reasonable to expect $200 a month to be sufficient for spending money? We just keep hearing that, aside from the huge cost of tuition, room and board, spending money for NYC schools for even a frugal student will be substantially more than they will spend at a non urban college. Is that correct?</p>

<p>Next, in terms of travel, for non breaks (as I understand that on breaks the RamVan runs) what cost should we expect getting to and from the airport?</p>

<p>As decision time nears, the cost beyond the billed cost, are now coming into great consideration.</p>

<p>Finally, for students who do not qualify for workstudy but may want or need to work a few hours a week, are jobs available on campus or do you find that the vast majority of jobs are assigned to workstudy?</p>

2

<p>Everything is expensive in NYC. Food is much more expensive there than at our home. When my daughter comes home, she stocks up on cereal, paper towels, TP, fruit, whatever she can fit in her suitcase. I don’t know how much she spends, whether it’s $200 or more, I’d have to see if she knows. She tries to be frugal but it’s very hard. I am putting money in her account today to get her through this last week before she comes home. </p>

<p>I don’t know if there are on campus jobs if you are not on work study, my daughter goes to LC campus. A lot of her friends get retail jobs in the city. They make waaaay more than she makes at her work study job.</p>

<p>Can’t help you with airport costs, we live within train distance.</p>

3

<p>We live far away and in a part of the country that is about a third of the cost of living in New York. We “did” Fordham 07-11. And actually are likely doing “New York” again, as my kid is likely returning to New York for a job this summer.</p>

<p>The opinions will vary depending on one’s personal lifestyle. Some kids are high maintenance and spoiled and expect to maintain that lifestyle. They never did the “poor student” gig. My kid was raised middle class but frugal. She was friends with kids from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Most of them were well behaved, and didnt go on shopping trips or eating out in expensive restaurants often. Those are the biggest expenses. There are plenty of things to do in New York which are either free or very low cost. They used to go into Manhattan on the RamVan, visit Central Park and the museums on the upper east side and then eat a hot dog from a vendor get a slice of pizza and spend less than 5.00. Often. Or take the Metro North into midtown and see the sights there and window shop, then eat very cheap somewhere, or have a cheap beer. </p>

<p>The Botanical Gardens are free on Wednesdays. I think the Zoo is as well. </p>

<p>Most kids eat in the cafeteria at Rose Hill. But by upper class years, they are rooming in the apartments on campus and making a lot of their own meals…with limited success. Spaghetti gets old fast, as do hamburgers and chicken breasts. But it works. </p>

<p>The best thing to do is be very frugal freshmen year, particularly first semester until you learn the ropes and the places to go that are cheap. Self discipline is critical. </p>

<p>Plenty of my kid’s friends were on very limited budgets. She hung out with/roomed with people of similar interests and study habits, not party animals and irresponsible people. They would all agree on a “gathering” and that could be a shared dinner in Little Italy, or going into Manhattan, or a study party with popcorn and snacks in the dorms. </p>

<p>The biggest problem wasn’t lack of money, it was dorm drama! LOL. My biggest complaint was the Thanksgiving airfares which are nothing short of gouging no matter how early you book a flight. Awful. </p>

<p>Some professors may have need for research assistants and can pay a small amount. Or they know of places to find part time work. I DONT encourage a lot of work hours however. Particularly freshmen year when you are adjusting and grades are so important for class rank (and therefore opportunities as an upperclassmen and getting good mentors.) The work study jobs often are library assistants and telephone pools. Good luck</p>

4

<p>Will the student be at the RH or the LC campus? The restaurants and shops around the RH campus will be much less expensive than those by the LC campus. I recently ate lunch in the diner on Fordham Rd across the street from the White Castle and our meal was quite a bit less expensive than the same meal would be at a similar diner near the LC campus.</p>

<p>The meal plan now includes ‘dollars’ that are accepted by local places. My d told me that the pizza place right across from campus that the students are in all of the time takes them as well as a Cosi on campus. I think that the Applebee’s across from campus takes them, as well. So many of the snack runs don’t have to be paid for with out of pocket spending money.</p>

<p>My d has always been somewhat of a spender. She loves to shop and loves sushi. We give her a bit more than $200 a month and she supplements it with money that she saved from her summer job. It’s hard to know if $200 a month would be enough. For someone that doesn’t love to thrift store shop and doesn’t frequently have sushi delivered, it would probably be enough spending money!</p>

<p>If your child is a NMSF, please keep in mind that Fordham will give an additional $1000 a year, which could be used for books and other expenses.</p>

5

<p>I agree it makes a difference which campus you’re on. My daughter is at LC. She and her friends are pretty frugal, don’t eat out much, cook in their apartment. She just got a retail job nearby that will pay more than workstudy. By the way, she’s my 4th child to go to college and I’ve never given any of them spending money–they have always earned their own without too much difficulty.</p>

6

<p>Yes, she will be at Rose Hill. It did not occur to me that things would be cheaper for RH students, but that is my lack of NYC areas’ spending knowledge showing! She is not a big spender and has little interest in expensive food. Shopping? Not sure. Might be tempting up there! But she will want to get out and about in the city for sure…she will just need to find free and inexpensive ways to do so for at least part of the time. </p>

<p>Also, she is a Semi-Finalist. Do they have to list Fordham as first choice to get the $1000 and is this part of the actual National Merit Corp Finalist award, or is it a direct award from Fordham on top of the tuition scholarship? She has not been notified, though a Finalist, of whether if she will get any corporate or the one time $2500 award as of yet.</p>

<p>She won’t qualify for work study so earning her own will be an option if done this summer. We are not sure how likely it is that she can get a job with minimal hours and some flexibility on or near RH and don’t want to count on that, especially off the bat.</p>

<p>Thanks for the input here.</p>

7

<p>The actual scholarship award from the NM organization is $2,000. Fordham takes half. At some point not long after the school year starts, Fordham gives my daughter a check for $1,000. The first two years, she lived on it. But this year and next it will be used to pay for her to have a single room.</p>

8

<p>Just to clarify however, that Rose Hill can be cheaper, but not necessarily. It all depends on the discipline and spending habits. My kid didnt have a lot of extra cash. She worked her behind off in retail (bridal department at a major retailer in the south) and put up with a lot of very high maintenance people. Poor wages. So she valued her dollars carefully. We paid airfare for her trips back home on holidays. We paid for dinners out when we were visiting. But otherwise she was living on a shoestring and eating in the cafeteria and doing VERY inexpensive outings in Manhattan or the Bronx. But being so busy studying she wasnt exactly shopping either. They did go up to Westchester to the mall a few times, once to repair a computer at Applestore. </p>

<p>Some of her friends/'roomies came from money. Some came from very austere background. They ALL got along and were respectful of each other. We are very proud of her. She is a consummate professional now, well dressed and successful, graduate degree in hand. Paying her student loans and her own car. </p>

<p>The lean years in undergraduate school and graduate school taught her a lot about herself, and empathy for others. She embraced the Jesuit ethos fully. </p>

<p>Finally, she did “make the acquaintance” freshman year of some “early friends who fell away” who came from money and as she learned they were not her taste in friendship and spending habits just regrouped with her core friends. There are people at Fordham with the spoiled brat syndrome. (like everywhere). Some of them are insensitive and brash and superficial. You just have to learn to ignore them and find people with values like yourself. Nobody really cares about Louis Vitton and how many pairs of shoes you have. Its bad form. What matters is love/kindness/sharing/caring/supporting/comforting etc. </p>

<p>Good luck</p>

9

<p>I talked to my daughter and she thinks that $200 a month might be enough for RH. There are more places to eat on campus. At LC, there are not as many choices, so she is always buying food to cook or grabbing Chipoltle or cheap pizza… It adds up.
She takes the subway a lot so one of her big expenses is a metrocard. She has an unpaid internship, so working there is costing her money, round trip on the subway. She’s not big into clothes and shoes, only buying things she really needs, like comfortable dressy shoes for the internship or an occasional dress when she has something formal to go to.
She wants to live in NYC, so she is learning how to live as cheaply as she can.</p>

<p>Even with the expense, there is no other school where she’d rather be!</p>

10

<p>We initially planned a spending allowance of about $200 per month at Fordham, but have found that is far more than is used. </p>

<p>Our student is at RH campus with a full schedule- an 18-credit load, athletics, and organizations.<br>
Initial set-up was the most expensive - he needed lamps, bulbs, and large liquid sundries and other supplies from the nearby Walgreens (he flies in each year with just one large and one medium suitcase). I mail sundries in USPS flat-rate Priority boxes for $17. Target is a bus-ride away. Amazon Prime ($79) allows us to order a lot of things and books, with free shipping. With the unlimited food plan, you don’t really need a refrigerator or coffeemaker. Washer/dryers are free, toilet paper is provided, vacuums are available in dorms. He picks up his winter clothes on a holiday trip home, plus one big box I mail in late October. Clothes are a bargain on Fordham Road, and $50 can buy a LOT. </p>

<p>Social: On week-nights his group of friends meet for a second-dinner gathering. Week-ends, depending on workload, he usually goes out to ‘Little Italy’ – which can be done for as little as $3-5, or $20 for a full sit-down Italian meal. (Avg. is about $10) The bar area can be very inexpensive - Tinkers is the ‘freshman’ nightspot with no cover charge. (Underage students can’t drink, but are allowed in bars.) Of course, you can spend big, too. </p>

<p>Transportation to downtown - Ram Van is $3 each way (to LC campus), subway $2.75, Metro (train) $4-8 depending on time of day. Fordham transport to/from airports is $50 round trip, taxi is $45-65 each way. </p>

<p>Activities in NYC can be very inexpensive; many venues have great prices for college students. Lincoln Center & Carnegie Hall and many other venues are $10 to half-price. Tickets for Broadway plays can be $20 to 1/2 price. And all the free things in NY – Central Park, Wall Street, the Highline, the Village, Staten Island ferry, the Museums (although most post a ‘price’, many are optionally a donation, and there are some free days). Many Corporations, NGOs and consulates in the City offer events for free, also. Student Rush and ClubFreeTime are the best sources for free/inexpensive events. </p>

<p>Go Rams!</p>