Living Expenses

In order to truly understand how much it may cost for you to attend Columbia University School of General Studies, it is necessary for you to understand how much it costs each month to support you and any dependents you may have. Estimates of living expenses are available on the Student Financial Planning website.

Housing

Whether living in University housing or on your own, the cost of owning a home or renting an apartment/house is determined by many factors, starting first with how many bedrooms you may want and then with in which town, city, or neighborhood you'd like to live. Another question to ask yourself is whether you are willing to share an apartment or home. It's important to educate yourself about the New York City metropolitan area housing market in order to determine realistic housing expenses. You can start by consulting the Housing page.

The Cost of Utilities

Utilities costs consist of electricity, gas, oil, water, phone, cable, and/or internet service and vary depending upon the level of service you require and which company provides you services.

The Cost of Food/Groceries

There are many options for meals while you are a student. In order to determine how much you may expect to spend on food each month, it's important to be honest with yourself about how much you'll be eating in restaurants versus cooking at home. Restaurants and groceries in New York City tend to be expensive. To get a realistic idea of how much groceries may cost you each week, you may want to visit FreshDirect. For an estimate of how much restaurants around the University may cost, visit MenuPages.