<p>So how much Commodore Cash should we deposit to our D's account for each semester? How much do they need beyond the meal plan? I understand that it is used for much more than food, so it seems like maybe they need a lot.</p>
<p>It’s not really used for food at all unless they eat off-campus regularly. Assuming your daughter’s a freshman she’ll be on the 3 meal a day + 20 flex meal/$400 meal money a year meal plan, which’ll be more than enough to cover her food needs. I’ve known people who ate out often enough that they burned through the meal money in months, but it was more than plenty to last me the whole year.</p>
<p>If your daughter’s buying books (from the bookstore, that is) she might need a few hundred, but again this varies by the individual. I’ve bought 2 books in my years at Vandy (excluding all the lab manuals) and didn’t “need” either. She could easily work with $100 here for the lab books, depending on the major. </p>
<p>There are miscellaneous other expenses (campus events, extracurricular classes, etc) that might require more money, but this varies by the individual.</p>
<p>Ooh, there’s also laundry, which depends heavily on use. I think I went through $4 every 2 weeks or so. So ~$100 for the year.</p>
<p>I’d recommend putting $500 in for the semester and see how she spends it. I think last semester I spent all of $200, and the one before that ~$400 ($200+ in dance classes).</p>
<p>I put in $100 and that lasted my D for more than a semester. She really didn’t use much Commodore Cash. You can always add more online if she needs it.</p>