Tuition+ Estimate

Congrats!!

This is a really tough question to analyze in terms of a lump sum number, and can vary a ton with choices you make. You should start putting together a detailed budget and testing the numbers against info from friends or current student. Don't take the Tuck-provided numbers as gospel.

Here are some guidelines to help you disaggregate the numbers a bit.

Rent - Jump on Craigslist. Start figuring out what a reasonable range is.

Meals - Think about how you eat now and how much you spend. If you're in a major US metro and eat out every meal, you're looking at $20-30/day. If you are a champion grocery shopper and home cook, the number might be half of that. Now, what happens when you go to B-school? Because of the demands on your time and the desire to hang out with friends, you will almost certainly be eating out more. This will be offset somewhat by free food during the height of recruiting season, if you can stomach pizza and boxed sandwiches 4 days/week. I spend 20-30% more on meals than I did prior to B-school.

Travel and Transportation - You should be able to project this relatively closely. If you plan to bring a car to school, figure out your parking, insurance, etc. If you can get by without one, you'll be better off financially for it. Don't forget to figure in the cost of a transit pass, occasional Zipcar, and cabs home from the bar.

Bars and general socializing - As with meals, take a look at what you're doing now. These costs will likely go up... significantly.

Clubs and Exceptional Events - This is basically a new category in your life. I'm tracking right around $3,000/year for club dues, case competitions, conventions, forums, and social events (30-person excursions to NBA game, formal dances, etc) that definitely wouldn't have happened in my previous life.

Travel - This is a part of the experience that I've tried to prioritize. There are a couple of categories of trips to consider. Most schools offer myriad opportunities for pre-orientation/pre-2Y international travel over the summer (which I highly recommend), ski trip or career treks over winter break, career or cultural treks (or international beach-drinking) during spring break, as well as random 3-day weekends to less far-flung locations. I've budgeted almost $5,000 for two big trips/year. As a rule of thumb, I figure domestic trips like ski trip or a career trek run $1,000-$2,000 and international trips run $3,000-4,000. Big trips require time and money. Right now I have time, but not much money. In a few years, the reverse will be true.

Laptop and Books - Do you plan to buy a new one? If so, you know about what they cost. I've found the estimate for book spending to be very conservative. I've spent less than $150/quarter. Part of that is because Booth has gone 95% digital on coursepacks and PDF's of textbooks can often be found online.

I know it's not a definitive answer, but I hope this is some help. Your budget can vary wildly depending on the choices you make. I feel good about my prospects after school and don't feel I've had to sacrifice much coming to B-school in terms of lifestyle changes. I could probably cut-out $10k/year of discretionary stuff, but that seems like a small price to pay for once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Know what's important to you and stick to your guns.