Paleo can be really difficult as a student because you are so busy and there are a lot of temptations that may not be as present at later times in life. My biggest challenge has been being on campus for 8-10 hours and needing to take multiple meals/snacks. It's really just about planning/cooking ahead and also knowing where you can find a microwave! Lately I've been buying a whole chicken, baking it, and cutting it up into lunch size portions. I add a vegetable to it, and it's fairly quick to prepare.
A huge temptation that I have struggled with is living with roommates. My roommates couldn't care less about their health and are fairly overweight. I'm surrounded by oreo's, macaroni and cheese, and millions of other things I can't have. It's not that you really want those things, but the fact that you know you shouldn't have them. Also, there seems to be a constant disgust with a young person caring so much about their health. Hopefully they have more supportive roommates (or not roommates haha) than I do. Lastly, it seems that alcohol is everywhere I go! This is obviously not paleo, and something you gotta deal with. I drink tequila from time to time because Robb Wolf says it's okay, but it's easiest to just not drink any of it. You absolutely can tell a difference. Hope this helps!

My fiancee and I were able to eat Paleo for about $80-100 a week, and that fed us both. Granted, we didn't drink much, so that cut down cost, and we lived in West Michigan when we went to school, so our groceries were a bit cheaper than they might be elsewhere.

One of the most challenging things we faced early on was that our friends didn't quite understand, which is true with almost any person who goes paleo. However, I'd imagine it's a bit more difficult at college.

Also, it you dont have a kitchen, and you're eating from a dinning hall, that can be quite difficult, but doable.

Time was also a bit of a factor. Since Paleo requires more time than just throwing ramon noodles in a pot etc, we had to be fairly diligent about our time to make sure that it didn't intrude on our studies.

Everything in college is food-related. Every event has pizza and sweets, everyone always wants to go out for fro-yo or ice cream or whatever, and that can definitely be isolating. If you can handle the temptation, I find eating Paleo at college really easy, whether it's in the dining hall or cooking for yourself. Dining halls are easy to navigate: salad bar with meat from the burger/sandwich station, omelets, fruit and veggies... I'm also not much of a partier, so the lack of alcohol was never an issue for me.

I'm doing a term abroad, and I'm actually cooking here (I had a dining plan back home)-- I spent about £20 ($30) on food a week (so about $120ish a month), and usually make a ton of chili or something and live on the leftovers. Eggs are also really cheap, and omelets/scrambles require very little time to cook.

I normally don't self-promote, but here's a link to my blog, which covers doing Paleo at college... and I have a bunch of relatively cheap/easy recipes too. http://www.paleoatpenn.blogspot.com

I actually prioritize buying quality food over health insurance, rent, clothes, stuff, etc. Health is everything.

I live in Sweden, so this might not be applicable for your cousin. Anyways:

Income:
~$1200 Student support (one part loan+ one part paid by government, studying is free)
~$135 Housing benefit (government paid)
= ~$1335 to spend

Expenses
~$450 Food (yes, that's only for me)
~$450 Housing
~$435 (i.e. the rest) goes to public transport, concerts, clothes, alcohol/coffee (maybe it counts as food), random stuff

To food i include:
- Supplements like high vitamin butter oil and fermented cod liver oil
- Organic and/or locally produced vegetables/fruits/meat/cheese made from raw milk/butter/eggs/coconut oil/spices/raw goat milk/kimchi/sauerkraut

I ferment the milk (usually goat) with kefir grains and I make ghee with the butter. I prefer cheaper meat pieces that have lots of fat/bones and I eat liver once a week (really cheap). Carbs (if your not into the low-carb stuff) are usually consisted of either rice or potatoes. I'm not making the kimchi/sauerkraut myself yet, but that would cut down the price a little bit.

The most challenging would probably be the constant decision-making: should i spend this and that on food or should I save for other stuff i love like traveling. If I had the money, I could easily double my food expenses, so buying food today is always a question of restraining myself. Another thing that can be troublesome is the time it takes to make food everyday, if you don't want to store cooked food in the fridge from time to time (which i prefer not to do). Other than that I feel absolutely awesome.-----

I normally spend about €45,- per week on food (no alcohol whatsoever). I have about 2-3 cheatmeals per week. IF-ing turned out to be very useful on college-days for me, no hassle in the morning cooking lunch/diner for when you're at the university.

I usually have one or two egg-centered meals a day and either a vegetarian (curry or a stew mostly) or meat/fish meal in the evening. Making vegetarian curries with lentils/chickpeas (I know, not 100% paleo, shush :p) and a good load of coconutmilk and coconutoil helps keeping the costs down.

One can easily make a lot of inexpensive meals centered around organ meats, fattier cuts of meat, potato, rice and eggs.

By using those as a base, your cousin can get a lot more "bang for the buck" and still have some extra cash to treat his/herself to more fun Paleo fare if inclined.

I get 270 euros every week. As grass-fed meat is really expensive, and organic produce too, it's just enough to buy my food. I have to work a lot to get money for supplements, gelatin, coconut oil, ... Replacing muscle meat with bones, gelatin, organs and shellfish helps.

I am required to be on a meal plan at my college, about $1750 a semester for the cheaper option (approx 16 weeks). I am really unhappy with the quality and options so I am going to pursue getting off the plan next semester.

Doing the math, that is over $100 a week for one person! I eat two meals a day typically. I certainly do not eat that much here and have to spend additional money to supplement (Coconut/sardines/paleo non-perishable stables).

I think it all depends on where you're located too. I'm in a borough outside NYC, there are plenty of health food store options but prices can get high occasionally.

I am in college and I usually end up at about $30-40 per week. I buy produce when it's on sale as well as the sale cuts of meat- mainly chicken and ground beef. I eat a lot of eggs and canned fish. I usually cook a meal with tons of leftovers to use for lunches and dinners (I am in an apartment and have a kitchen). I will also buy lots of fish or meat when it's on sale and freeze it so I have meat on hand. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy finding ways you can cut costs slightly here and there.

Near the beginning of this year I was spending about 200-250 dollars on food per month. That has slowly been decreasing to about 150 dollars per month. having just purchased an 8 pound bucket of coconut oil for 31 dollars (at 33,000 calories), I suspect that will help lower my food spending in the future.

I am determined to graduate with little to no (ha!) student debt. I'm also not willing to go on the hardcore ramen and multivitamin college student diet, so I try and balance healthy eating with eating on the cheap. For me thats a lot of high calorie low cost starchy and fatty foods. Giant bags of rice, potatoes, butter, coconut oil, bananas, eggs, dates, and canned seafood are pretty much the basis of my diet. I supplement with cod liver oil.

I eat as much grass fed beef and sweet potatoes as a can (my two favorite food items), but they're a bit expensive so that's infrequent these days. I still won't buy factory farmed meat, so that determines some of my food purchases.

$60 a month. In Venice.