I think it is all pocket change compared to what he is paying to attend Duke. From his blog:
"Anonymous said...
I'm curious why you chose a very expensive private uni over a public. Perhaps you could write an article on that from a frugal perspective. Cost/Benefit comparison?"
I'd love to see his response. Particularly since a common theme here on HN is that you go to an elite school to be with intelligent, driven people; the classes are almost superfulous. You could get them via open courseware if you really wanted to be frugal.
I bring this up because according to his article the van caused him to avoid all contact outside of classes with other students for fear of being found out and reported. Seems like he isn't frugal at all, unless he just wants the cheapest path to a 'prestigious' degree and doesn't actually want the best experience he can get. But being in anything for 'prestige' seems antithetical to the type of thought pattern that would lead you to live in a van. The whole thing comes off confused (and braggardly... "60 miles north of the Artic Circle," etc., etc.)
"Anon-I chose an expensive private school because it wasn't that expensive for me. Typically it's $3000/course but they knocked it down to about $1000/course for me because of my destitution. Public school wouldn't have been any cheaper. Another good question might be: why didn't you just try to get your school paid for like most grad students? My answer: I tried this. I applied to 6 history phd programs and 4 MFA writing programs and got denied from all of them. And I'm glad I got denied. I'm better off in Liberal Studies, which keeps me from becoming "specialized" in something, which I wish to avoid like the plague."
"Anonymous said... I'm curious why you chose a very expensive private uni over a public. Perhaps you could write an article on that from a frugal perspective. Cost/Benefit comparison?"
I'd love to see his response. Particularly since a common theme here on HN is that you go to an elite school to be with intelligent, driven people; the classes are almost superfulous. You could get them via open courseware if you really wanted to be frugal.
I bring this up because according to his article the van caused him to avoid all contact outside of classes with other students for fear of being found out and reported. Seems like he isn't frugal at all, unless he just wants the cheapest path to a 'prestigious' degree and doesn't actually want the best experience he can get. But being in anything for 'prestige' seems antithetical to the type of thought pattern that would lead you to live in a van. The whole thing comes off confused (and braggardly... "60 miles north of the Artic Circle," etc., etc.)