<p>depends on your personal situation. if you wear $80 lacoste shirts, $300 adriano goldschmeld jeans, $150 hoodies from Reuhl then you could easily spend a ton of money on cloths without buying a lot. if your shopping habits happen to be over at target and old navy, then you can spend a lot less and get a lot more...</p>
<p>I always recommend that everyone have at least 1 nice everything.</p>
<p>Here's what I can remember of my shopping last summer:</p>
<p>Laptop: $1,025
Printer: $30
Clothes:$350, BUT I had been in private school w/uniforms for grades k-12, so I HAD to shop. Before shopping I had about 3 pairs of jeans, and maybe 15 screen tees(short and longsleeve together), but of course I took these things.
Chair, tv stand, and shelving unit that sits at home because there wasn't a place for any of them: about $120
Mirror, desk lamp, alarm clock, and other dorm essentials that ARE used every day: $60
Bedding(I'm furious that my bed next year will be TwinXL, while my current bed is Twin, meaning I can only resuse my pillowcases): $100
School supplies, much of which was surplus and will be taking with me again next year: $30.
TOTAL: $1715</p>
<p>Yeah, that's alot. This is making me so glad that all this crap is bought and I'll spend maybe $150 this summer, for little things needing to be replaced and new twin xl bedding.</p>
<p>I'm getting a macbook that is 2500 :/</p>
<p>^HAH. So I'm not the only one who likes to take money and burn it. </p>
<p>Anyway, I finished my list (and the introduction to my paper - woo? Not really). The total costs for everything from pencils to area fans to dustbusters to looseleaf to laptops to printers to clothes: $4,261. The laptop and assoicated costs will be taken care of by my grandparents and parents, bringing costs down to $2,445. I have about $1000 dollars saved, which makes the money I have left to earn for the summer $1,445. All in all, quite manageable I think. </p>
<p>Boy. And to think, I once thought all college cost was a flat price for tuition.</p>
<p>Anyone have a spending range for someone from sunny California (warmest thing in my closet is a light sweatshirt) moving back east?</p>
<p>I think what I've learned from this thread is that there is no "range". You could be a cheap bastard, I mean, frugal, and buy only one nice winter coat at ~$200, then mooch off of your school's computer lab and steal your roommate's pencils. Or you could go all out with long underwear, tube socks, boots, sweaters, long sleeved shirts, mittens, hats, gloves, raincoat, pea coat, snow jacket...and easily exceed $2,000 in clothes alone :D.</p>
<p>Do you really need a dustbuster? It would be a total waste of space and money for me and most people I know, but maybe you are one of the few that would actually use it. I just know I wouldn't. </p>
<p>I'm sure you could earn that money, but would there be any money or time for other fun things? It will take a lot of hours at work to make that much. Last summer I had two jobs to earn the money for all the stuff I listed, because my mom only covers tuition, room & board, and books. I had to buy all my dorm stuff and make my own spending money. My biggest regret is never having extra money or time to have a ton of fun with friends. I saw them some, but most of the time I had to pass on fun stuff to work. </p>
<p>Almostmightnight, unless you demand that your coat be a Northface, it doesn't have to cost $200. You can get a decent one from somewhere like The Gap or Old Navy for $80-100. Layer it over that light sweatshirt, add some gloves and maybe a hat, and you'll be good to go. Boots are nice to have-I was glad I had them-but you can definately get by without them. Sidewalks get shoveled quickly and your shoes shouldn't get too wet unless you intentionally walk in the snow mounds.</p>
<p>^Depends on where you go to school, I guess. At Bryn Mawr, everyone has galoshes because the pathways are like rivers after rain i.e. 60% of the school year. In upstate NY, you might prefer a $200 dollar ski jacket to furiously layering. </p>
<p>Yeah, I would use the dust buster. I'm a neat freak (my idea of research paper procrastination fun was making a spreadsheet, for God's sake). Whatever. If I decide I can just use water and paper towels, 60 dollars is a new pair of shoes :D. </p>
<p>That's a good point about having time with friends. Unfortunately, my parents expect me to work most of the summer, anyway - but I've planned in a few free weeks to do stuff like go to the beach, roadtrip, etc. (plus, there's always weekends).</p>
<p>The only real thing I had to purchase before dorming as a freshman was a fridge.</p>