1. Look for a college that can offer you financial aid. Buy a special reference book or actively search the Internet.
2. When writing letters, think through every sentence. You need to present yourself in the most favorable light, so forget the Soviet-era slogan "modesty adorns." Tell about your successes in academics, sports, singing, or dancing. It is not forbidden to slightly embellish reality. For example, I wrote that I speak not only English fluently, but also German and French (my teachers in these subjects did praise me, but the word "fluently" was a clear exaggeration). As it turned out later, it was precisely this point that proved decisive. At the end, be sure to add a note that you have financial difficulties and expect to receive financial support.
3. Sometimes to receive financial aid you need to fill out a form, and it will take some time for the issue to be reviewed. Find out the deadline for submitting all documents. Don't miss it!
4. While waiting for a response, try to study 100%, because the college will definitely ask for recommendations from your teachers. If you don't have money and time for special prep courses for TOEFL and SAT (Scholastic Attitude Test), buy the appropriate textbooks (two will be enough, at $100 each), and let them become your desk books for a few months.
5. Don't fall into depression if 14 out of 15 colleges reply that you are a good candidate, but you will have to wait a year or two or they will offer a ridiculous scholarship of $500 a year. With really decent academic results, at least one will make you a serious offer. For example, I had never even heard of the college where I studied, but during my studies I never regretted being there.
6. As a rule, a grant provided by the educational institution covers the cost of tuition. But for housing, meals, and mandatory insurance, you have to pay in full. When I received the grant, I committed to living on campus, and that cost $7,200 per year.
7. So look for a part-time job. According to visa conditions, you can only work on campus. For example, I got a job at the college post office. I was paid $5.85 an hour. That came to $250–300 a month. For textbooks. But the whole college knew me, because everyone comes to the post office! As an alternative, you can work as a babysitter, but unfortunately, only illegally.
8. So, you "drew" a lucky lottery ticket and got a grant. Try your best to keep your grade point average from falling below B ("four" in our system). Otherwise, you will be deprived of the grant (it was written in my contract).
9. Keep track of your expenses. Keep a "ledger" and write down how much you spent and on what. This teaches you to watch where the money goes.
10. Use every opportunity to get discounts you are entitled to. For many types of services (city transport, pizza places, cinema, etc.), special (reduced) prices are set for students. It would be a sin not to take advantage of this.
11. To avoid overpaying for an air ticket, ask your relatives to book it in advance (a few months ahead). Classes at American universities start on August 15–30, and by July the ticket situation is already tense. You will only be offered business class at an exorbitant price.
12. It is useful to get an international student ID card ISIC. It gives the right to use special airline fares and discounts at many establishments.
13. At the end of your first year, apply for the position of dormitory head (Resident Advisor). This allows you to live for free and also in a private room. True, the competition for this position in our case was about 15 people! I was lucky: I was a head in my second and third years and ultimately saved $7,200. Of course, I had to perform certain duties: organize various events on the floor (students always fiercely resist this), be responsible for order in the dormitory, etc. But this is an important line on a resume that is welcomed by American employers.
14. In the fourth year, heads are not appointed, and the cost of a dormitory room rises to $500 a month. I found a way out again: I wrote an application asking to live off campus and not eat at the cafeteria (after three years I was quite tired of it), explaining this by "financial difficulties." The dean's office accommodated me. And I started renting a room in my American friend's apartment, paying her $300 a month. That's American friendship for you.
15. You can also save by graduating from college early. Particularly determined students finish a four-year college in three years. To do this, you need to choose more subjects each year than required. I managed to shorten my studies by only half a year. Each year I took an "extra" subject, plus I stayed for an internship at some firm in the summer. Thus, I graduated ahead of schedule.
16. If your college is in New York or Boston, you most likely won't need a car. But in a small town like my Bethlehem, you can't do without a car. For example, we studied Spanish at a university in a neighboring town. Don't be lazy, get your driver's license at home. If you study at an American school, choose a subject like "Driver's Education" - and you will have a real opportunity to get a license for free. When I decided to refresh my driving skills and took a few lessons at a driving school, I had to pay $40 per lesson.
17. Practical people advise buying a car through newspapers (by ads) and always after an inspection at a car service center, which cost $20. That's how I bought a nice used "Saturn" for $2,600, saving, according to my acquaintances' estimates, about $800–1,000.
18. Take with you large Russian-English and English-Russian dictionaries. If you are going to study physics, astronomy, or biology at school, then also dictionaries of specialized vocabulary. The point is not only that prices for educational and reference literature in America will unpleasantly surprise you (the normal price for one edition is $100-120). For example, at anatomy lessons I initially did not understand a word, and at the bookstore they could not offer me anything. My mother had to urgently send me a medical dictionary and an anatomical atlas.
Stock up on essential medicines - for headaches, sore throat, and flu. In the USA, medicines are much more expensive, and some require prescriptions. Student insurance covers far from all cases. If you wear contact lenses, take a spare set from home. I did not think about this in time, and custom-ordered contact lenses cost me $300 a year - for two five-minute eye exams and the purchase of the lenses.
19. You can save on calls home by using phone cards offered by some companies. With a $20 card, I talked with my relatives for more than eight hours. This is cheaper than if they called me.
20. Do not treat with disdain the various lotteries and drawings that are held in all colleges. More than once I won either a free coupon to a pizzeria or a reference book. And my biggest win was an individual parking spot. It came to me in a lottery whose proceeds were given to the family of a graduate of our college who died on September 11 under the ruins of the World Trade Center.
In general, even in America, with a strong desire, you can find many ways to save your budget; you cannot list them all. Search, and you will be able to get what you need, but for less money. Good luck!