Cost of living in the USA for International Students

In a recent survey it has been observed that students from some of the developing countries are choosing destinations such as United States, Australia and New Zealand for studying. These countries are not only rich but also have a high standard of living. Maybe this is the reason why students from various parts of the world get attracted to these countries for studies as well as for jobs. But just dreaming does not make things happen. You also need to take steps to accomplish your dreams. One of the eminent things that you need to plan is the cost of living for students in USA.

Elements included in the cost of living

 

There are a number of important things that are included in the cost of living for students in USA apart from the college fees.

The rent for staying depends on the type of accommodation. For dormitories, it costs around $3500-$6000 for each semester. If you opt for a host family, then it will charge $400-$700.  It costs around $400 for shared campus apartment per month, $800 for single campus apartment per month. The rented apartments cost $300-$600 per month approx. 

If you are planning to stay in a dormitory, then you should keep $1000-$2000 extra as the dormitories are closed during vacations and you need to take rent in some other place.

Some of the other living expenditures include transportation, groceries, utilities, phone and others. If calculated on a monthly basis, a student may require around $2000 - $3000 per month for living in the USA. But apart from this, of course, there are a number of other things that students spend in. Today’s generation is very much into spending money on outside food, entertainment and other leisure activities. Hence, you are going out even once in a week for a movie, or a restaurant, your annual cost of living should be somewhere around $40,000 per year.

 

Ways to manage the cost of living in the USA

Today, life without hanging out with friends seems to boring and irritating. Hence, if you expect that a student will only go to college, return, eat, study and then sleep to get ready for the next day’s schedule, this seems really impossible. So, there are a number of other options to cut down the cost of living for students in USA.

There are a number of universities that offers hostel facilities for the students so that the expenses of house rent can be decreased to a good amount. Even if you are not living in a hostel, you can share your accommodation with 2-3 friends, so that the rent amount can be shared too. Also, a number of universities offer part-time jobs to the students so that they can study as well as earn some money for their living in the USA.

But at the end, it must be said that every time it is not possible to match up with the cost of living there in the USA. So, it is a great idea to estimate the cost of living before hand and also to spend calculatedly, so that the unnecessary expenses do not lead you to any misfortune.