Give me an estimate

[Beatle_ki_wapsi]

I have got a reply from University of Alberta in Canada and my relatives have shown some interest in covering some of the cost. I am currently in Pakistan and my only other alternative is NED which is quite risky. Can you please give me an estimate of the total expenditure for the first year?

Tuition fee is CAN $13,000
I have received a scholarship of Can $7750 for the first year, so the remaining that has to be covered is $5250.

What will be the total amount that I should have before daring to think of going to canada (including living cost, accomodation and Pak-Can Air ticket)?

Thanks a lot for your help, quick reply is highly appreciated

[Beatle_ki_wapsi]

oh. and one more thing. How much of the cost will I be able to cover through on campus employment?

[angelo_dundee]

Not being in Canada I wouldnt know, but some of my better friends are overseas students, and they face towering costs.

[TomSawyer]

best asking is univarsty peapul only. becase theu do estmate for all peapuls coming so know corectly also. plus room mate etc they give.

[DeSiMuNdA]

hey Beatle ki wapsi...first of all, congrats man!

now, u said the tuition is $13,000...since u'll be living on ur own, and i'm assuming it'll be the first time u'll be in canada/alberta with no friends or relatives around to begin with who could guide u, i'd recommend that u live on campus atleast for the 1st yr...

check out the housing and food services web-site for u alberta...it has a FAQs section, which i think will be helpful in this case...it provides both on-campus and off-campus housing services...

http://www.hfs.ualberta.ca/

and for housing rates (differs according to the dorms), check out this page:

http://www.hfs.ualberta.ca/student/rates.html

if u notice, the above link also includes meal plans in the "total"...and as i suggested for housing, i'd suggest the same for food...buy a meal plan from the univ...there's alwayz the halal & non-halal issue, but u can manage on veges and fish with the occasional outing to a halal resaurant in town

here are the meal plan options: http://www.hfs.ualberta.ca/food/options.html

on avg, u need atleast $5,500 for food and housing for 2 semester (i.e. 8 months), and u should have some money for books and miscellaneous expenses...so in total, u should have ATLEAST $7,000 on top of ur tuition for all that...keep in mind that does not include the plane ticket costs...

I lived on my own for 2 yrs...1 yr on campus, and 1 yr off-campus...and it didn't make a big diff really...the end of the yr, the expenses almost totalled the same...i wished i woudl've stayed on campus the 2nd yr as well, as i missed the convinience of wakin up @ 8:15 to attend an 8:30 lecture

i hope the information here helps u

let me know how it goes, and best of luck!

[Cheegum]

For international students:

Tuition: 8 months - Sept to April (inclusive)
Cost could go above a grand or two above 13000 too depending on your program. But if you try to keep your expenses to a minimum 13,000 sounds like an ok estimate.

Living (in CAD$ per month)

Rent could be anywhere from 200-300 per month

Utilities (average) 50-60 per month (water, electricity, gas)

Food, well depends on your appetite and eating habits, 150 a month if you dont spend on campus and cook at home, and could go up to 300 a month if you spend on junk food alot and eat on campus (and trust me its really hard to resist).

Transportation, around 100 a month to get around by bus.

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For the summer months (i.e. May June July August) you can decide to return back to pak OR stay here and work. you can normally find cheap house rent during summer months (its normally 70-80% of the rent during the school year)

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So yeah for overall living you need atleast 5-6 k's. Or as DM said 7 k. Keep in mind we havent yet touched on entertainment, clothing, emergency costs etc...

[Cheegum]

I say do not count on going back to pakistan till after atleast 2nd-3rd year .. it'll be tough yeah but goin back after the very first year adds on lots of expenses and complicates matters alot as you need to be here for your transistion from 1st year to 2nd year...

[Cheegum]

*whoops, sorry i think i just farted out this post*

[DeSiMuNdA]

PS try to find an on-campus job...on the wknds and an evening or somethin...that'll help out with ur expenses a lil...keep ur record straight if u r living on campus...no masti, no trouble etc...then u can even apply for a CA/RA position the following yr, and well, if u get that, ur housing expenses are taken care of i have a friend who's an international student, and he only paid the housing for the 1st yr...got the CA position for his res floor the following yr, and didn't pay a cent for housing afterwards till he graduated

[DeSiMuNdA]

PS adding the $5250 (after ur scholarship) to the $7000 (min needed for housing, food, books, and misc expenses), u need $12,250

get an on-campus job to take care of some of those expenses urself...u'll manage

[[email protected]~]

Hey guys,

I heard international students are not allowed to work part time in Canada like they are in the US. Is that true?

Beatle ki Wapsi - Congrats. I would say, get on the website of the university, look for the emails and contacts of the Pakistani association there and email some people there your questions too for more help.

[lillac]

A few years back my sister was at U of A. There are some places close to university from where you can easily bus to university. The rent for a two bedroom apartment is about $450-500. If you get a room mate that would greatly cut your living cost.

[DeSiMuNdA]

Originally posted by [email protected]~:
Hey guys,

I heard international students are not allowed to work part time in Canada like they are in the US. Is that true?

they can get on-campus jobs, workin for the univ itself...outside work is not allowed...

[Beatle_ki_wapsi]

Gosh, that was quick!

Thanks for replying everyone.

I was looking for the total cost to be around Rs 400000, is there any way I can cut down my costs?

The university estimates are too, umm, westernish (nightclubs discos, cinemas etc) I think I can control extravagant spending on entertainment and eating out all the time. To what extent will that help me?

[DeSiMuNdA]

Originally posted by Beatle_ki_wapsi:
Gosh, that was quick!

Thanks for replying everyone.

I was looking for the total cost to be around Rs 400000, is there any way I can cut down my costs?

The university estimates are too, umm, westernish (nightclubs discos, cinemas etc) I think I can control extravagant spending on entertainment and eating out all the time. To what extent will that help me?

Rs. 400,000? thats bout umm...$11,000 - 12000 CDN? u can manage if u stretch the $ a lil and of course, get an on-campus wknd job to offset some of the expenses urself