Part Three: Making it happen, chapter 20
Paying for it
Living costs, scholarships, loans and studying from home
Living away from home
The fee receipt is only the start. The hostel, the mess bill and the laptop follow.
- Up to 45,000
- a month, all in, in a metro
- Up to 15,000
- a month for a campus hostel
- Up to 25,000
- a month for a PG (paying guest) room
Home may be the biggest scholarship you ever win.
Scholarships
Help exists, but most government scholarships set a family income limit between 2.5 lakh and 8 lakh a year.
Central Sector Scheme
About 12,000 to 20,000 a year, income up to about 4.5 lakh
AICTE Pragati
For girls in technical courses: 50,000 a year, income up to 8 lakh
Reliance Foundation
Up to 2 lakh over the degree, any stream, income up to 15 lakh
Above these caps, look for merit scholarships from the college or your state.
Loans
- Education loans up to 7.5 lakh need no property pledged, and a parent signs as co-borrower.
- The government's PM-Vidyalaxmi loan website cuts the interest rate by 3 per cent on loans up to 10 lakh, for family income under 8 lakh.
- Bank rates in 2026 were about 9.5 to 10 per cent.
- Loan interest is tax-deductible for eight years under Section 80E, but only under the old tax regime.
Coaching and equipment
Many families treat coaching as compulsory; for every exam in this book it is optional. Rough big-city prices:
Design or NATA (architecture)
About 10,000 to 50,000
CLAT (law)
About 55,000 a year
Full JEE (engineering) coaching
About 2 lakh a year
A drawing tablet
From about 4,000
Studying close to home
Most states have a public university and an NIT or NLU at a fraction of private fees.
Official links and free material
- Moneyscholarships.gov.inNational Scholarship PortalCentral and state scholarships, incl. the Central Sector Scheme
- Moneypmvidyalaxmi.co.inPM-VidyalaxmiGovernment portal to apply to banks for education loans
- Moneyaicte-india.orgAICTE Pragati scholarshipScholarship for girls in AICTE-approved technical courses
- Moneyaicte-india.orgAICTE student schemesAll AICTE student scholarships in one list
- Moneybuddy4study.comBuddy4StudyAggregator of government and private scholarships