Lopez 1

Kevin Lopez
Mrs. Herbert
English 12 - 6
2 September 2016
The Death of a Young Mans Wallet
College. Heralded as The best part of ones life, it is almost one of the most expensive
parts of life. Oftentimes, many people will take out many student loans or apply for as many
scholarships as possible to pay off their college fees. For those who wish to move away from
home, or who are forced to, the cost of simply living and going to college, skyrockets, almost
doubling the cost. Many will choose to live in on-campus housing, but some will choose living in
an apartment instead.
On-campus housing is the preferred choice of many, as the thrill of living in a new area
with tons of new people can be appealing,
however, the price is not nearly as
appealing. For the university that I want to
go to, Arizona State University (ASU), the
cost of living in the dorm of my chosen
major is $6.000 a year (Palo Verde East https://housing.asu.edu/residence/paloverde-east), and the cost of the meal plan is an additional $5,406. This leads to a total of $11,046
a year, and that is simply just for the price of living, not even counting other factors such as
groceries, school supplies, tuition, etc. This is one, but not all

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of the choices available when deciding on housing during college years. For instance, one other
available choice is to live in an apartment near the college.
Living at an apartment is an alternative to living in a dormitory while someone is enrolled
in college. It can be a way to escape the large population of the school during the evening, or just
to potentially save costs. However, apartments, especially those in cities (where most universities
happen to be), can be pretty costly. For instance, one of the apartments near ASU
(http://www.apartments.com/asu-crossroads-tempe-az/0ekqw93/) has rent which will cost
$11,148 per year, with an additional $3,204 in
utilities, internet, and cost of food. With the cost of
living at the apartment being $14,352 at the bare
minimum, the apartment is a more costly choice
than the dormitory at the university. In addition, the
cost of transportation can vary, adding even more to
the cost. Due to this, living at a universitys dorm is
generally more cost-effective than living at an
apartment.

Rent
Food/Meal Plans
Other Costs (utilities,
internet, etc)
Total

Dormitory
$6,000
$5,406

Apartment
$11,148
$1,500

$300

$1,704

$11,706

$14,352

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Total Income
Total Expenses (Apartment)
Total Amount Remaining

$16,774
$14,352
$2,392

Total Income
Total Expenses
Total Amount Remaining

$16,774
$11,076
$5,698

The first table lists the costs of all aspects of living away from home. The rent for the
apartment is nearly double that of the dormitory, yet the costs of eating is drastically lower.
However, the miscellaneous costs are lower in the dorm, as many costs will no longer be needed
to be accounted for. The next two tables, however, shows the difference in total income
(calculated as if I had a full-time, 40 hours-a-week minimum wage job) and total outcome of
each type of housing, favoring the total expenses of the dormitory.
To decide for housing, I took into account many factors. Among this factors were cost,
transportation, and usefulness. In terms of cost, a dormitory is superior, as it is a few thousand
dollars cheaper. In terms of transportation, again, a dormitory is superior, as it is right by the
building in which I would take my classes for my major. However, an apartment could be more
useful than a dormitory. An instance in which it could be more useful would be, I could have
family or friends staying with me, which would be impossible if I lived in a dorm. However, I
would still choose the dormitory, as I do not want neither me or my parents to have unnecessary
amounts of debt. To reduce the debt even further, I would create a financial plan.

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A financial plan is something nearly every young adult needs to make to not waste money
needlessly. For me, I will budget my income, allocating only a certain amount to stuff
such as entertainment or eating out. In addition, I would save the rest of my income, so as to pay
off college bills and debt.
There are multiple expenses to which will need to be accounted for whilst going to
school. Some examples include tuition, books, transportation, and others. The cost of tuition if I
take a full-day is $9,684, with just books and supplies being around $1,103. In addition, the cost
of computer expenses and cellphone service is around $1040 a year. Some other expenses
include personal costs, such as items for personal hygiene, clothes, and shoes. To cover these
costs, I am planning on getting a job, so I am able to comfortably live.
My personal income will vary on whether or not I have a job, yet I assume that by the
point I reach college, I will have some sort of job. For working a full-time job earning minimum
wage, the average person makes around $16,774, so for my personal income, I assume I will be
working full-time while also being a full-time student, however difficult that may be. In addition,
my parents are planning on funding my college, so I estimate that they will cover most of the
fees, leaving me with a good amount of money left over, but a large portion of my earnings will
go to funding my education. In addition, I may receive some money via scholarships, but I dont
expect it to be too much, so I estimate it to be around $500-$1000.
Form of Income
Job
Parents Funds
Scholarships
Total

Amount
$16,774
$5,000
$1,000
$22,774

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Type of Expense

Amount

Tuition
Books
Dorm Cost
Personal Expenses/Technology
Total

$9,684
$1,103
$6,000
$1,840
$17,527

These tables showcase the amount of money that I will be recieving, as well as the
amount that I will need to pay in the course of a single year attending ASU. Due to the high cost
of the university, in a year, I will only be making around $6,000 a year after expenses, a low
enough figure that if something drastic happened, it would be a major challenge.
To reflect on my Financial Plan, I think it has the possibility of working, yet it may
require some revisions. For instance, it may require me to spend less on some things such as
personal expenses so as to be ready in case of an emergency that requires spending of money. In
addition, this plan does not take into account the fact that I may not have a full-time job, so the
monetary amount I will have can vary dramatically. However, it can be very useful as it will help
me budget my money.
To summarize, the average cost of a dorm is quite a bit lower than that of an apartment,
and is also more useful in terms of transportation and easier on the wallet. For these reasons I
choose to stay at a dormitory instead of an apartment. I also intend on having a full or near fulltime job, to help cover the costs for college. This will allow me to graduate college with as little
debt as possible. However, while my parents may be appreciative of me getting a job, my wallet
most definitely wont appreciate the amount of money Ill need to spend to fund my education.