Manage Your Finances at Yale

Making an effective financial plan begins with knowing how much money you will need for the coming year. Yale estimates how much money you will need in your financial aid award letter called the Student Share. 

The standard Student Share in 2024-2025 is $3,700. 

It is important to note that the Student Share is NOT how much you owe the university. Instead, it is an estimate of the amount of money you might spend on campus to cover the cost of books and personal expenses. Ultimately, you decide how money is spent on school-related expenses.

Student expenses may include (but are not limited to):

• Computer, books, and other course materials
• Expenses for extracurricular activities
• Travel to and from Yale
• Clothing
• Cell phone and cell phone plan
• Entertainment
• Personal expenses
• Personal emergencies or unanticipated events
• The remainder of any tuition, room & board bill after Yale grants and outside scholarships have been applied and your parents have paid their Parent Contribution

Potential additional expenses:

For a few families, one potential additional expense is the Hospitalization/Specialty Care Plan. Most families waive enrollment if they have an adequate insurance plan outside of Yale. All students who receive a start-up grant will receive a grant through financial aid to cover the cost of the Hospitalization/Specialty Care insurance. 

Some students may have families that have relied on them to contribute to family expenses during high school, so they may need to offer ongoing financial support to their families. If this is your situation, it is important to discuss with your family how much you can realistically contribute. 

Other students may not have stable family support and may struggle with obtaining housing and food over breaks. Reach out to your Residential College Dean and on campus networks, including the Yale Harbor Scholars Program.

If you think it is likely that you will encounter any of these challenges, consult with trusted deans, advisors, and peer counselors for advice on how to manage them. You are not alone. Asking for advice and suggestions about how to manage these issues will help provide some relief from worry and stress.

The most common ways students meet the estimated student share is through summer jobs and student employment during the academic year. If you have earned an outside scholarship or grant, those awards can be used to lower your Student Share. Occasionally, students may take on a small student loan to meet this effort.

Any questions you have about your Financial Aid award or paying for college expenses should be directed to the Financial Aid office: https://finaid.yale.edu.

Academics, Work, Life: Finding the Balance When You Need to Work

Managing your finances and income efficiently will help you avoid sacrificing your academic and extracurricular goals. You may be tempted to maximize your weekly work hours (up to 19 hours/week); however, working the maximum number of hours at Yale will make it extremely difficult for you to keep up with your academic workload. Most students find that the increased complexity and amount of college-level work requires a significant amount of time and effort.

As a result, working the maximum amount may lead to imbalance and stress. It is critical to find a balance of school, work and life that helps you achieve financial stability without compromising your education.

Academic work is the top priority

Your academic, extracurricular, and professional goals should be your main focus at Yale. While you may need to work a certain amount of hours a week, your school-work-life balance should include leisure time.

Finding stability between the right amount of paid work alongside the demands of coursework will bring you a more satisfying Yale experience. Plan out your finances and time to learn acquire the most effective school-work-life balance.

Actively manage your time

Your success in working a job and prioritizing academic success will come down to time management and a clear understanding of your goals. There will be times during the year when you can put in more hours for your campus job, and other times when you will have to focus more energy on your academics. The key is to plan ahead of time. The Academic Strategies Program offers support through its Time Management and Pathways workshops, and individual meetings with peer mentors.

Strategic Student Employment: Navigating on Campus Jobs

To find possible on-campus jobs, visit the Yale Student Employment Site at www.yalestudentjobs.org. All open/available campus jobs are posted here under the Student Job Search, and you can create an advanced search according to several criteria. Start looking at the site a few weeks before school starts and through the first few weeks of class. If you see something you’re interested in, apply right away. 

As you begin your job search, consider how many hours you can realistically expect to work every week. According to a 2010 American Association of University Professors report, working 10-15 hours a week on campus can have a positive impact on a student’s academic experiences, but working more than 15 hours per week can negatively impact academic work. At Yale, 10 hours is ideal!

In your first year, it may be easier to work one job that gives you a steady schedule and may not be too demanding. This can be helpful as you adjust to the intense academic, extracurricular, and social pace of undergraduate life at Yale. In your later years, you may want to take on higher paid work relevant to your future interests. 

Many students find out about good campus jobs through other students. Ask your formal and informal peer mentors for suggestions for jobs. FroCos, Pre-Orientation trip mentors, Peer Liaisons, FSY Counselors, OIS Counselors, and upper-level students in your college and extracurriculars can be good resources.

For more information about finding and applying for jobs, visit the Yale Student Employment website: https://www.yalestudentjobs.org

To meet the estimated Student Share through work, you can earn money through a  combination of employment during the school year and during the summer.  

For example, a student may opt to:

1. Work 6 hrs/week on campus and earn $1,600 over the summer
2. Work 10-11 hrs/week on campus and not work during the summer
3. Not work on campus and earn $3,700 during the summer

However, many Yale students use their summers to study abroad, pursue summer research, or work low-paying and unpaid internships. Most students may receive fundings for these opportunities through the International Summer Award (ISA), Summer Experience Award (SEA), and fellowships, which can cover the cost of travel and living expenses for the study abroad, research and internship programs.

Many students find that working a few hours each week during the year can cover much of the Student Share. Students might also work extra hours for Yale Spring Salvage, graduation, or other special events.

Outside scholarships can also help; Yale Financial Aid suggests these scholarship resources. Keep in mind that relevant scholarships will appear throughout the school year. It is important to apply for scholarships well before their deadlines, as some scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis.

Finally, some students may decide to take out a small student loan when it is difficult to earn income over the summer and the academic year.

Remember, the Student Share is the estimate of the amount of money you might spend to cover your expenses and bills. One way to develop financial stability is to minimize your expenses and create and stick to a budget. 

Budgeting well is critical towards managing finances without stress. Your budget may include an itemized list of expenses, such as books, travel, personal expenses, food and leisure, as well as a list of income sources. Budgeting as a college student can be tricky, as both your income and expenses fluctuate. It is important that you budget with a long-term view. Keep in mind plans for travel and other activities you may need to pay for at the end of semesters, and try to keep as much money as you can in your bank account for emergencies or unexpected opportunities.

The U.S. Federal Student Aid website offers excellent information, advice, and tools for budgeting. The most important thing is to keep track of your income and expenses on a weekly basis, with an eye towards big expenses.

The best way to keep track of your money is through a bank account. There are many banks in New Haven with checking account services. Make sure to ask for a student checking account, as these accounts have fewer fees attached and may not require a minimum balance. Direct deposit of your paycheck can also eliminate fees.

Things to consider when choosing a bank:

1. Least amount of fees
2. Lowest minimum balance to maintain an active account
3. Accessible for traveling (larger banks such as Chase or Bank of America have ATMs in more locations, which will make accessing your funds while traveling easier, but they can have higher fees)

Also, as part of your checking account you may want to get a debit card supported by Visa or MasterCard so that you can have purchases taken directly out of your bank account and limit your credit card use. Having a low or no-fee savings account can also help you with budgeting and saving for emergencies or special events. A good rule of thumb is to “pay yourself first” by putting 10% of each paycheck straight into your savings account. Stay on top of your spending and income by making it a habit to check your account balance and transactions regularly.

One of the biggest out-of-pocket expenses for college students are books, course packets, and other course materials. Here are some tips to minimizing expenses.

Free option: Borrowing directly from the Yale Library stacks:

Yale University has one of the most comprehensive libraries in the world. Most texts required for your courses can be found within its stacks. You need to find and sometimes request books early enough so that they arrive when you need them. 

1. Go to the library website: http://orbis.library.yale.edu
2. Search for the book 
3. Browse and select on the appropriate title/edition
4. Click “Recall” or “Delivery”

You can have your books delivered to the campus library of your choice. Sometimes a course book will be checked out or placed on a 24-hour/3-day reserve, specifying how long a book can be borrowed until it is due. 

Using Borrow Direct, or the Interlibrary Loan System (ILL)

Borrow Direct and ILL are services that allow you to loan books from participating libraries at other universities. Borrow Direct books will arrive within 2-4 days, while ILL requests can take up to 14 days to be processed and delivered. Both services are available as links in the top right hand corner of the main search page on Orbis.

Using Scan and Deliver Services

If all you need is a select chapter(s) of a text, you may want to use the Scan and Deliver Services. This service will allow you within 1-2 days of your request to have a library employee scan and email you a PDF of the section of a text you need.

With all of these resources, you should be able to choose in most cases whether or not you want to purchase a book for your class. These services are especially helpful when gathering materials for a research project or senior essay. Refer to the Yale Library Guide for information about our services: http://guides.library.yale.edu/getit

Buy used books or rent books:

The Yale College Bookstore, Amazon, and other sites enable buying used and rental copies of books. These low cost options allow you decreases your spending and gives you the option of keeping a book after the semester ends. You might consider keeping books if they are important for your major.

Book sharing

If there is an expensive or hard-to-find book assigned in your class, you might work with classmate to book share: each of you contributes equally to the cost of the book. 

Meal Plans

A full meal plan is mandatory for first-year students, including 3 dining hall swipes a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Eating healthy is an essential element to a work-school-life balance, so it is to your advantage to use all of your swipes to eat. For more information visit: https://hospitality.yale.edu/explore-meal-plans

In addition to hot meals, the dining halls are stocked with cereal, breads, fruit and other snacks you can take with you to eat later. Instead of spending money on a snack, use food and snacks available in the dining hall. This is particularly helpful during midterms and finals season!

Tips:

• During the weekdays, you can use your lunch swipe at Commons. Alternatively, your lunch swipe can be used as a $10 credit at The Bow Wow, Steep Café, or Med Cafe.
• If you are living off-campus or are not on a meal plan after the first year, Sunday dinners are open to all residential college members.
• You also receive five guest swipes per semester, allowing you to swipe friends or family into a dining hall or to get yourself an extra meal.
• There is free food all over campus on any given night, whether it’s dinner at the cultural houses or food for events and meetings. 

Dining Out

New Haven is a great food city, and there will be times during the year when you’ll want to treat yourself at a restaurant. First, plan for these expenses through your budgeting. Second, limit the number of times you go out to eat—this should be a once every few weeks occurrence. Third, try to eliminate everyday small food expenditures, like going for coffee or boba because they can add up quickly.

Tips:

• If friends propose going out for dinner, suggest dessert instead. Or, cook together in a residential college kitchen.
• When dining out with friends, decide how the check will be paid beforehand, and suggest everyone pay for what they order.
• At restaurants, order a low cost entrée or an appetizer in place of a meal. Drink water rather than ordering a soda.

Use coupons, which you can sometimes find on restaurant websites for advertising flyers. Sign up for New Haven restaurant Groupon.

Many of the shops and services near the Yale campus are relatively expensive. If you need clothing, toiletries, or a haircut, going to a shopping plaza farther away from campus in New Haven or Hamden can be a good choice. Most shopping plazas are accessible by CT Transit buses: https://www.cttransit.com. 

Buying online is another option for personal items. Look for sales and discounts.

Finally, New Haven and the surrounding areas host a variety of vintage clothing shops and used clothing/furniture shops like Goodwill.

Living off-campus, if carefully planned, can be more affordable than living on campus. If you are on Financial Aid, you may receive some money from the college towards these expenses. For more information, visit the Undergraduate Financial Aid FAQ page.

Off-Campus housing is only available to juniors and seniors or students over 21 years old.

Students find apartments through the Off Campus Living Portal, located at https://your.yale.edu/community/campus-living. Other places to find housing listings include Craigslist and the Free and For Sale at Yale Facebook group.

You can still choose to have a meal plan if you live off campus (though this will deduct from your Financial Aid refund). Alternatively, you can start learning to cook for yourself. Make sure you plan to eat well! A healthy, balanced and adequate diet is critical to your academic success. Some students also find employment opportunities off-campus.

Student Loans

If you have a large expense looming that you will not be able to meet with your current income/savings, consider taking out a Federal student loan. Student loans do not charge interest while you are in college, charge less interest than credit cards, and have extended payment plans. 

Credit Cards

Credit cards are best used to bridge short-term cash flow gaps. For example, if you need to buy a plane ticket before receiving the financial aid refund, you could use a credit card to buy a $300 ticket and then pay it the following month when you do receive your refund.

Keep in mind that credit cards usually charge relatively high interest rates: up to 19% per year. Any card that charges more than this upper limit is predatory and should be avoided. Many credit cards charge lower rates, and may give a lower introductory rate that then rises after 6 months to a year. Choose a credit card through a thorough and informed search. Read the entire credit card agreement, noting whether rates are fixed or variable, when introductory rates are set to rise, credit limits, and fees. You may find it easiest to have a credit card from the same institution that you bank with. For further guidance on responsible credit card use as a college student, consult this advice from Consumer Union.

Credit cards should always be used judiciously. Don’t use a credit card for every day expenses like food or entertainment, as this can increase your balance more quickly than you think. Instead, use a credit card for a specific purpose and limit what you plan to spend so that you can pay off the balance within a few months. Always make a plan for paying off the credit card balance as soon as possible. Pay more than the minimum balance due. Always pay credit cards (and other bills) on time. Missing a credit card payment can result in large fees and/or increased interest rates, and can hurt your credit score.

Occasionally students will experience a personal emergency which requires immediate funds. Examples include traveling home due to a health crisis or emergency dental care. If this kind of extreme emergency occurs, you should immediately contact your residential college dean to discuss your needs.