<p>OP, your original estimate sounds a little high. My daughter is at Rice, so I have some idea about the expenses. Let’s assume the following are already covered:
Tuition and fees
Meal plan
books
no car</p>
<p>That leave’s you with these expenses:</p>
<p>Dinner once a week, because the serveries are closed Saturday evening. You can take the free university bus to Rice Village for dinner. Look at the restaurants at <a href=“Rice Village Restaurants”>http://www.ricevillageonline.com/dining.php</a>, and then look up the restaurant websites for menus to get an idea about how much dinner will cost. Assuming no alcohol, you can probably get dinner for under $20.</p>
<p>If you want to rent a microwave and refrigerator combo for your room and share the cost with your roommate, you will each spend $115 for the school year ($229 total for both of you).
If you want to use a professional move-in service, you’ll need to calculate the cost. This link covers the microwave / refrig and moving: <a href=“http://www.universityandstudentservices.com/rice.html”>http://www.universityandstudentservices.com/rice.html</a></p>
<p>You can go to Target for shopping on Saturday mornings on the free university bus. Target stores have all your bathroom items, snacks, basic clothes, etc. Look at <a href=“http://www.target.com”>www.target.com</a> if you want to know what it costs to buy anything at Target.</p>
<p>Expenses for my daughter are around $400/month, including some inexpensive clothes at the Galleria once in a while.</p>
<p>I hope these details help!</p>