5 Ways to Reduce Costs in NYC

For most new students, college life is their first experience of having financial independence and suddenly everything seems extra pricey—especially if you are about to start a life in the most expensive city of the world. Barnard has always been aware of the expense of NYC (and overall college life) and provides resources to help reduce costs for Barnard students! In this post, I will introduce some of the resources that I’ve found useful to save some money over my first year studying at Barnard.

1. The Barnard FLIP Library

If you are concerned about the potentially high costs of college textbooks, and I highly recommend the FLIP Library. The Barnard First-Generation Low-Income (FLIP) Library is located on the fourth floor of Barnard Library, and it was created to provide textbooks and course materials for first-generation and/or low-income students. To make the borrowing process private and simple for students, the FLIP Library has its borrowing privilege open to those who self-identify as first-generation and/or low-income students by simply completing a confidential online form. This way, many students have access to textbooks even if those in the Barnard Library circulation are all checked out.

2. On-Campus Job Opportunities

Another great way of reducing cost is to find an on-campus job at Barnard where you can get paid, learn new skills, and make friends at the same time! Other than a few job positions limited only to work-study programs, most on-campus jobs at Barnard are open to non-aid students as well, and positions are available in almost all departments at Barnard. Many students work at the Office of Admissions (like me as a SMBSAR), the Office of Residential Life, Tutoring Center, Academic Departments—the list goes on and on. There are also opportunities to work at Barnard Babysitting and Barnard Bartending, platforms in which Barnard matches you with clients. Barnard students can also apply to on-campus jobs at Columbia. To learn more, read Cleo’s post about finding an on-campus job!

3. Urban NY Lottery & Discounted Tickets

Want to explore NYC, but worried about the cost? The Barnard store provides access to discounted movie tickets and Broadway shows. For free tickets, first-year students can enter the Urban NY lottery for many exciting excursions in the city, and you can always standby for those tickets after your first year Barnard. Make sure that you use this great opportunity to experience what NYC can offer—for free!

4. Your Barnard Student ID

Never forget the college student ID you are holding! It automatically brings you many discounts and benefits. If you are interested in museums like me, your Barnard student ID gives you free access to all these museums in the city. Also, there are many stores that have student discounts, so it’s always a good idea to ask whenever you enter a store or shop online! As most of you may already know, student discount websites like UNiDAYS can be very useful to find good deals!

5. Free Entertainment, Food, Prizes on Campus

There are countless events happening at Barnard every week, and it’s always a good idea to go! They are always fun and many events offer free food, free t-shirts, and sometimes free entertainment (like the Barnard music festival “Bearchella”). Barnard Residential Life and Student Life regularly hold creative programs open to all Barnard students. Check out their Instagram accounts to see some of the recent events (@barnardreslife, @barnardstudentlife).

These are five ways to help with cost in the city, and I hope this is helpful to all of you who have concerns about living your college life at Barnard. New York can be expensive, but it doesn’t always have to be!