Originally Posted by sanne
$7.25 (Notes on why not your $6.53 below) x 40 hours x 21 weeks of summer = $6,090. In-state tuition in my county is $2,375. When I attended 2 years ago, I didn't bother buying textbooks, just a math access code for about $100.

Average rent in that town is $308/month for one bedroom. Get one close enough to everything that you can walk or bike instead of driving. Shack up with a roommate or significant other and share that rent for $150/month. That's $1,800/year for housing plus maybe some utilities, depending on the lease.

12 months housing plus 2 semesters of school and we're at $4,175. Which leaves $1,915 for food, utilities, misc expenses. That's tight, but who says impossible?

Even with some incorrect assumptions, you still weren't able to make the numbers work, because $1915 for an entire year's worth of food, utilities, and ancillaries isn't going to cut it. It might barely cover utilities if they're being shared by two people.

Faulty assumptions:

- That minimum-wage workers get to retain 100% of their earnings. You're thinking strictly about federal income tax, but SSI and Medicare taxes are non-optional and non-refundable. State income tax rules vary.

- That the average apartment rental is near enough to any college to walk or bike. They are in high demand, because college students.