Living Expenses
Students who participate in the CS program are registered at their home campus and remain officially part of that student body. For this reason, you pay the regular tuition rate to your college as though you were a fulltime student. All scholarships and financial aid received on campus for room and board costs typically transfers to Chicago. Be sure to know financial aid application deadlines. They are often a year in advance. Total living expenses depend upon the lifestyle chosen by each student; however, one can live in Chicago for almost the same cost as room and board for a semester on campus—sometimes cheaper!
In all, we recommend having $800 available for start-up costs for general expenses such as groceries and for your first month’s rent. You will incur these costs throughout your first week, so include them in your planning. The apartment buildings are good about taking personal checks from our students. However, for other expenses, acceptance of out-of-state, personal checks varies from business to business.
Below are averages from last semester and represent cost per person, per month when living with roommates.
|
Monthly Expenses |
||
|---|---|---|
| Rent and Utilities | $500-550 |
Cost per person for CS apartments when shared with at least one other student. |
| Food | $200 |
Includes meals eaten at home and out. |
| Entertainment | $115 | Not a fixed cost. Varies widely from $20 to $300. |
| Laundry | $15 | |
| Total Monthly Living Costs | $830-880 | |
| Total Semester Living Costs | $2,905 - 3,080 | Compare to cost of room and board at home college, with consideration that this cost also includes other living costs. |
*Averages based on information from the Fall 2008 semester.
|
One-time Expenses |
||
|---|---|---|
| U-Pass | $100 | Students enjoy unlimited use of all buses and trains in the city at a very low cost. |
| Textbooks | $50-75 | |
| Art Events Fee | $125 | |
Banking
Past students recommend opening a checking account at a bank with a Chicago location so you have easy and free access to ATMs and local branches to make deposits. Other students have found it manageable to continue to use their same accounts with local banks. The following banks have multiple branch locations and ATMs around Chicago:
- Bank of America
- Chase Bank
- Fifth Third Bank
It is important you have checks available to pay your rent and other bills every month. Your apartment WILL accept out of state checks.