Budget for optometry school

[hockeydr24]

Hey everyone,

I'm starting my first year at Salus this coming fall and I was wondering if any current students (Salus or not) could give me an idea about what your budget is like....I, along with my family, are trying to get a good idea about how much money I will be spending on things other than tuition and housing....like food and just miscellaneous spending money (not that I will have that much free time). Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

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[generallyspeaking]

food - $350/month
equipment/exam fees- probably $500/4 months

You will have plenty of free time unless you are a parent

 

[SalusPCO2020]

You should've gotten a financial aid breakdown of each of your 4 yrs at PCO when you were here for your interview. It's a pretty good estimate of how much you will be spending. If you didn't receive it, you can call the admissions office for a copy.

 

[chelle111]

food - $350/month
equipment/exam fees- probably $500/4 months

You will have plenty of free time unless you are a parent

I'm at Western in SoCal. My expenses may be higher due to living cost but just to give you an idea

Rent: $1000 (moving out into something cheaper)
Electricity: $10-$25 area (don't really need AC in SoCal)
Water: $25
Gas (oven , stove) : $9
Renters: $8
Food: I can manage $160-$200/month. I crockpot meals a lot, meal prep, etc.
I have a car payment ($200), phone bill, and car insurance but disregard that
Car Gas: $60-$80 (expensive here)
Health Insurance
Medical Needs : $20
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In terms of first year equipment and books:
-My diagnostic kit (Welch allyn) was appx $900
- my rolling trial lens kit / stethoscope / blood pressure cuff/ and other stuff was appx $2,400-2,600
- books... maybe $50 lol.

Hopefully that helped! Philly may be similar to SoCal pricing or less in some areas. Salus should have given you a tuition and living breakdown. Westerns tuition breakdown was pretty accurate for me.

 

[deleted613943]

Hi! I'm a first year at SUNY Optometry, however I am special in that my housing was bought. It's a cozy studio apartment in Queens.

Maintenence fee (because may apartment is a co-op)- 580 include electricity and water,
Internet- 35
Food- 450 ( I only cook when I have time which is almost never. I just tend to eat out a lot.)
Transportation - 121.50 (I have a monthly pass for the subway. I don't drive. This is NYC. )
Health Insurance- a 35 copay from the time I got dermatitis, and had to go to urgent care. I'm on my mom's insurance.
Diagnostic kit and 90D lens- 1314 (I have a Heine diagnostic kit, and the Volk 90D. I highly recommend you get the Volk 90D, even if you get a different diagnostic kit.)
All my other equipment (trial lens kit, stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, stereopsis, etc. ) ~1800