<p>Hey everyone</p>
<p>Im making my final budget for my freshman year at CMU and i was wondering if there were any extra expenses not shown on the CMU financial aid letter. I know there is a printing fee of like 45 dollars in Donner hall , but i dont know what else is there.</p>
<p>If any current student knows of any extra expenses , i would really appreciated. </p>
<p>( Im not talking about entertainment/going out expenses. Im talking about things like the printing fee)</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Printing fee is campus wide. </p>
<p>Art, Architecture, some courses with labs (chem) may have a nominal fee for expendables.</p>
<p>The biggest unexpected $ DS had was furniture damage. The furniture looks inexpensive until you get the bill in August.</p>
<p>Another is laundry costs. YMMV. You pay, not your Mom.</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>Laundry isn’t free? People keep lying to me…</p>
<p>Laundry is free in the sense that it is included in tuition and fees. You never have to put money in the machines, promise :)</p>
<p>^ Ah ok thanks lol</p>
<p>Man do I miss those washers and dryers that e-mailed me when they finished. :(</p>
<p>obviously textbooks are variable. health insurance may or may not have been factored into your budget, but it is required. some clubs you join may have dues.</p>
<p>iclicker, pass through, and other random electronics are annoying, but sometimes necessary.</p>
<p>In DS time, L machines started out in quarters, then to the Andrew bucks. We parents paid, all he saw was the IM and sorta clean clothes (mostly overly full washers.).</p>
<p>The textbook budget is way overstated - -don’t buy your books new and at CMU.
Buy them online this summer after you register. You’ll save hundreds.</p>
<p>Greek life dues are about $1000 but certainly negotiable if you are really tight with money and pledge. </p>
<p>Travel home for the holidays and break.</p>
<p>Winter coat and boots if you come from somewhere warm.</p>
<p>More coffee than you currently drink (or redbull) for the many days you will need to stay awake to get work done or to wake up to get to class. Coffee adds up!</p>
<p>Dorm room start-up of junk you never considered-- extra long twin sheets, comforter, fan, fridge, microwave and any other goodies you want – desk lamp, nice bathrobe, rug, lamp etc. But all you really need are two sets of sheets – target $15 in the summer when they start stocking the “back to school” stuff, your comforter from home can stay on your dorm bed – but your sheets cannot.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help everyone , really appreciated</p>
<p>protip on coffee: 2nd floor wean just outside the elevators has a coffee machine where you get a (good tasting) cup for a buck. Even better make your own, but meh.</p>
<p>Bring food from home to the library, but if you have to get that bagel you can get it with butter instead of cream cheese and save $.75. I honestly prefer butter, but half the time they’ll forget and give me cream cheese anyways.</p>
<p>Depending on the fraternity, net cost of joining can sometimes be 0, or even negative. You could theoretically join, switch into cheaper housing, and get onto the campus yellow plan + fraternity meal plan all in your first semester. This meal plan switch alone negated my costs when I joined (and dear god I love the milk machine).</p>
<p>A ridiculous number of textbooks have pdf forms (legal or not). just sayin.</p>