How the calculation works
Choose one comparison period of up to twelve months and actual campus attendance days within it. Enter each cost once: a travel subscription must not also be counted in the daily travel amount. Include comparable food costs for both alternatives. Refundable deposits are cash tied up, not annual expenses. The first-month cash figure conservatively reserves all annual one-off expenses. Tuition and scholarships are outside this model; travel time is shown without assigning it a monetary value.
Annual cost: living away = Months in the plan × (Rent per month (€) + Utilities per month (€) + Food while living away per month (€) + Local transport while renting per month (€)) + Moving cost per year (€) + Non-refundable rental fees per year (€) + Trips home per year (€) Annual cost: commuting = Campus attendance days per year × Extra travel / parking per attendance day (€) + Months in the plan × (Commuter subscription per month (€) + Food while commuting per month (€)) + Other commuting costs per year (€) Annual commuting time (hours) = Campus attendance days per year × Return commuting time per attendance day (minutes) / 60