[DubaiSis]

Also, something to be aware of is your optional expenses. It is EASY to spend several hundred dollars on t-shirts and other swag. You will accumulate sooooo many of them over the years that if you can restrain yourself in the first semester, you'll never know the difference a year or two later. I have lived life on a dime more than once in my life. You'll be surprised at how far you can make a tight budget go if you're willing to forego Starbucks for the free coffee likely available to you somewhere, doing your own workouts instead of paying for the gym, shopping thrift stores, or dare I say it tolerating the clothes you already own, etc.

Here's a method to work up a budget. For the next, oh, week (but a month would be better) write down every single thing you buy. You stick a penny in a gumball machine, write it down. It doesn't matter if it's coin or paper or plastic, if you spent it, write it down. After a period of time you'll figure out what you're spending your money on. Typical culprits are sodas (bad for you) and coffee (ridiculously expensive) and both of those are things you CAN eliminate from your life if you really want to make sorority fit into your life.