How much $$$ for miscellaneous expense at college ?

[~bs]

Is he eating out every day or is there a campus food plan? I'm assuming there's no kitchenette in his dorm. Food is going to be the biggest expense unless you have him on a ramen diet. Overpriced campus food/fast food might be $10 per meal. That's $900 per month. Even if you halve that, that's still $450. I would say $1000 per month. If he needs gas or clothes or fun money, he can budget more responsibly in terms of food expense.

and to be quite honest, there's more than enough time to hold down a part time job when you're a student. with no part time job, it means he'll have more time to goof off (although your impression is that he's studying the entire time, which he very well may be doing, depends on the individual). Again, all schools different, but normal workload is 4-5 classes a semester, each class is 2.5 hours per week. Assuming a 5 class load, that's 12.5 hours of classes per week or 2.5 hours of class time per day. That leaves quite a bit of time for "studying".

[TexasHusker]

Is he eating out every day or is there a campus food plan? I'm assuming there's no kitchenette in his dorm. Food is going to be the biggest expense unless you have him on a ramen diet. Overpriced campus food/fast food might be $10 per meal. That's $900 per month. Even if you halve that, that's still $450. I would say $1000 per month. If he needs gas or clothes or fun money, he can budget more responsibly in terms of food expense.

We are paying for room and board. (meals).

[~bs]

I'd give him $200-300 max. Even then, unless he's pretty well self disciplined, a lot of that may go towards partying. lol

[pflyers85]

Also we are not going to have him work during the school year. Our cost is $35K a year, and we want him to focus solely on getting his diploma -we don't want to be paying for extra semesters because he had to drop a class here and there.

What are your feelings about campus clubs and activities? I think it is important for a college student to do more than just go to classes and study. Time management is a crucial skill to learn in college and I have seen it first hand sorely lacking with the kids that do not get involved in activities and do not have a part time job/internship/work study. There is theory and reality. I understand the recommended study hours per credit taken but many students get involved in destructive habits with that much free time on their hand.

[~bs]

What are your feelings about campus clubs and activities? I think it is important for a college student to do more than just go to classes and study. Time management is a crucial skill to learn in college and I have seen it first hand sorely lacking with the kids that do not get involved in activities and do not have a part time job/internship/work study. There is theory and reality. I understand the recommended study hours per credit taken but many students get involved in destructive habits with that much free time on their hand.

my experiences are anecdotal of course, but I tend to agree. The work ethic of new graduates without any previous work experience is sorely lacking. There is a lot you can learn from working a part time job, even a crappy job like mcdonalds, that school doesn't prepare you for. And you will be a disadvantage at your first professional job without that experience. For example, the interpersonal aspect between you and other coworkers and your bosses and potential subordinates is not something you can learn in a classroom. Even understanding how, why, and when to leave a job is an important lesson.

Campus clubs/organizations/activities/volunteering/interning can help take the place of an actual job. But again in my experience, students will tend to goof off unless internally motivated towards doing things that are productive. At my school, students mostly went to the beach every day or played video games or partied all night after school.

[Thrif-t]

Our DD19 earned her own spending money in the summer. She didn't have a car at school so no expenses there. She went to school with $1000 and came home with $500. There were a lot of campus activities that she participated in that were free. Occasionally, she and her friends would go out to dinner. She might of went to the mall one time and I know she hit up Plato's closet one time too.

For next school year she wants to get an on campus job, but that's only because she wanted to go on spring break this year and didn't have the money. She figures with working during the school year she'll have the money to go next year and not get left behind (dang it).

[TexasHusker]

What are your feelings about campus clubs and activities? I think it is important for a college student to do more than just go to classes and study. Time management is a crucial skill to learn in college and I have seen it first hand sorely lacking with the kids that do not get involved in activities and do not have a part time job/internship/work study. There is theory and reality. I understand the recommended study hours per credit taken but many students get involved in destructive habits with that much free time on their hand.

No question and good points. We will expect him to be involved in campus organizations, perhaps sing in the chorus. He could have easily played collegiate golf but has burned out after many years of competing. We are bummed about that but we respect it.

[disneysteve]

We will expect him to be involved in campus organizations

Which activities he chooses can alter the answer to the question of how much money he will need. Some activities are free or close to it. Others not so much. Our daughter is in a national service fraternity (co-ed). There is an annual membership fee. They do various activities and fund raisers on campus that she participates in and donates to. There are also a couple of off-site gatherings each year (regional meetings with other chapters) that require some travel costs, hotel, meals, etc. And, of course, there is fraternity gear to buy like shirts and hoodies.

[creditcardfree]

On campus jobs can be very convenient and often help provide skills specific to their major. My daughter is doing part time graphic design for the college of music. As a result she is already building her portfolio that will be a huge help when she gets her graphic design degree. And I'm sure that her current boss will be a great reference as well.

Our daughter is part of the college marching band and is in a leadership position this coming school year. At this point we do expect her to take between 15-17 hours a semester to in order to complete her double major in 4.5 years. She is very busy, so there is not much time for spending money or more than her very part time job.

As I said at the beginning of this thread we give her $100 a month. I picked a reasonable number to help me with budgeting, but I figure it helps her as well to have a number to rely on and learn how to manage it, with her needs and wants. Honestly, I think she has saved a lot of it, as I know she wants a an upgraded piccolo and those aren't cheap!

[JBinKC]

I paid for all of my personal expenses in college for all 4 years and for everything including tuition after my mother died during my first semester of my junior year including graduate school. 99% of the money was earned during the summer or prior to college.

[moneybags]

I think our strategy will be, whatever mad money he needs during the school year, he will need to earn it during the summer months. He can stash away $2K pretty easily - that should fund the fun for 9 months.

This is what I've done (1 graduated, 1 half way there). We pay for school; spending money is up to the kid. They both earned between $2000-$3500 each summer. Neither ever ran out of money. I think it's a great way for them to budget money.

[TexasHusker]

This is what I've done (1 graduated, 1 half way there). We pay for school; spending money is up to the kid. They both earned between $2000-$3500 each summer. Neither ever ran out of money. I think it's a great way for them to budget money.

Did you expect / require your kiddos to work during the school sessions ?

[moneybags]

Did you expect / require your kiddos to work during the school sessions ?

I did not expect or encourage them to work during the school year. They also didn't need the money since they worked every summer and know how to save! 1st kid had a job on campus senior year (probably only because she was asked to do it). She participated in a club sport, volunteered, and did some other school related activities. 2nd kid (going to be a junior) has had a job on campus both years, works maybe 5-10 hours per week, his choice. He also plays a D3 sport and is in a frat. Grades are good, otherwise something would have to be cut.

[TexasHusker]

I did not expect or encourage them to work during the school year. They also didn't need the money since they worked every summer and know how to save! 1st kid had a job on campus senior year (probably only because she was asked to do it). She participated in a club sport, volunteered, and did some other school related activities. 2nd kid (going to be a junior) has had a job on campus both years, works maybe 5-10 hours per week, his choice. He also plays a D3 sport and is in a frat. Grades are good, otherwise something would have to be cut.

Did you find that not working during the school year was a detriment to their obtaining a job post graduation?

My son originally was going to play collegiate golf, so working a job wasn't even a question. Now with him possibly/probably forgoing golf, we are trying to look at all of the angles.

[FLA]

I tend to be harder on this issue than my ex-husband. My son took a year off after HS, he lived rent free with the ex and worked full time. He paid for everything but rent, medical and food. He saved a lot. He then went to luthier school, a degree that is almost useless as jobs are very rare. He came home after learning that lesson and has decided to get a Master's in Social Work and starts community college in the summer. He has been working hard in crappy jobs since age 15. I am encouraging him to consider work study jobs instead once he starts school.

DD graduates this year. She has a year's worth of college classes under her belt and all her credits transfer to the school she is attending (local but living on campus, room and board paid for by parents). She worked her butt off studying for those classes and working part time at Marshall's. I actually think she works too much but she likes the money so that's that. She did not apply for work study her for her first year of college, she prefers to continue at Marshall's and see what school is like. She has saved quite a bit as well.

Here is where my ex and I differ. My son is going to be 20 and is only committing to community college part time, because of the choices he made with eyes wide open and plenty of guidance, I feel he should be responsible for his tuition and take out loans and work. Barring that, he should be paying some rent to his dad, and paying for at least his books. The ex thinks he deserves a free ride through to his Masters degree. I'm not paying for anything beyond a Bachelor's, for either child. And if my son has not earned a Bachelor's by age 26, I'm not paying anymore tuition.

I expect DD to pay for her books and not give her a set allowance. Because DD chose to shave a year (hopefully) off college by working hard in HS and she did not choose to take a year off, I am fine with paying her tuition and room and board. The ex plans to pay for her books and give her a generous allowance.

When I see the children, I plan to give them gas money, meals, occasional fun money. This may sound harsh but I did it the way DD is doing it and my parents made it even harder. If I find they are missing out on important extracurriculars because of their jobs, I'll re-assess.