How do grad students afford Cal State Fullerton's cost of living???

[silverwreath]

I was accepted to Cal State Fullerton and UNLV, and I am trying to decide between which school to choose. The cost of living in Fullerton is SO expensive compared to my current home in central Illinois. It's the only thing holding me back from choosing Cal State Fullerton. How do grad students in California afford the cost of living? Rent alone is outrageous. Help! 

[Need Coffee in an IV]

Loans and more loans if you didn't get any funding. You could get a part time job but I'm not sure if your university would allow that? I agree that the cost of schools/living is awful. That's why I didn't apply to certain schools because I knew there was no way I could afford them. Good luck!

[TakeruK]

For me, I did not want to go into debt to be in grad school. So, like Need Coffee in an IV, I did not apply to schools in high cost of living places if I knew their stipend would be too low. For schools where I didn't know their stipend (or there could be some stipend levels high enough), I did apply but I did end up declining some offers on stipend alone.

I don't know what kind of costs you're looking at and how much funding you currently have from the school. I live in Southern California, and I think a "good" stipend to support one person on a decent lifestyle is probably around $28,000 per year (before taxes) and a minimal but comfortable lifestyle probably around $25,000 before taxes. Of course, it's possible to live on less, because a lot of people here live on less as they have no other choice. Grad students at my school have stipends around $30,000, so it's affordable for students who don't have additional expenses (e.g. no dependents, no health conditions) but it leaves very little (if any) for things like visiting family, vacation, a car, etc.

You can try to save as much as possible by renting with housemates. A single bedroom here is about $1400/month but many friends can get their rent costs down to $600-$700 per month if they share with 3 or 4 others. 

Sorry that I can't really give much more practical advice---the cost of living is what it is  Loans are certainly one way to cover the costs, and it's up to you if the amount of loans is worth it!

[silverwreath]

Thanks everyone for the advice! I hate the idea of paying with only loans. Do programs offer you funding with acceptance offers normally? 

[GradSchoolTruther]

Depends on the program and school. For a professional master's program, funding isn't usually available. In fact, I didn't see any mention of assistantships for your program on the department's website.