What’s Life Like In The Most Expensive State?

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Sarah Hurley, Features/life

As graduation day approaches for high school seniors, they are one step closer to becoming a young adult in the most expensive state in the U.S. California. What’s life going to be like in California for a freshman in college or a young adult entering independent life?

Senior Emily Ormson has her life planned out for her years of college attending the University of Evansville. “I plan on staying in the dorms for my sophomore year and then getting a house or an apartment with roommates for junior and senior year.”

Several other seniors are on the same page with living situations. Senior Sariah Richardson has a similar plan.“After my first year of college, I plan on living at an off-campus house with other roommates and continuing to work.”

In California, the average dorm room can cost from $8,800 – $15,000 per year, as stated by Lendeau. The average apartment in California costs $1,680, which is $618 over other states according to SmartAsset.

Not only are the dorm rooms prices expensive, students who are attending college out-of-state can expect to pay more for plane tickets home in 2018, according to Forbes. Ormson has been saving up from her job for her plane tickets to Indiana and California. However, she isn’t paying for her flights alone — she also has her parents help to fly her home over the summer.

Financial aid is one solution to lower plane ticket expenses, housing, and other college costs. According to trade-schools.net, financial aid is a form of funding that is usually either granted or loaned to students for the purpose of attending a vocational school or other institution of higher learning.

Richardson plans on getting financial aid in college. “Financial aid is really useful and though I will also be working, it is a very beneficial system to help me not fall into debt.”

Ormson also has a similar opinion of financial aid. “I think financial aid is really cool and I am applying for it.”

Graduating high school can be a nerve-racking experience, especially when graduates will be entering life in the most expensive state. Even those who are attending college out-of-state still have a lot of money to pay to fly into and out of California. Therefore, it is important to know the survival skills for surviving during the lean years.