Freshman Budgeting

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tulane University
1

<p>Could someone give an estimate of how much an entering male freshman should have in a savings or checkings account to pay for food, entertainment, and other things for first semester?</p>

2

<p>That is really hard to say because it depends a lot on what you plan to do. Do you like to play golf on the weekends, are you planning on hitting the bars a lot, go to a lot of concerts,…? This will dictate your spending for the most part, other than when you eat elsewhere than at Bruff.</p>

3

<p>I’m curious about this too. Do any parents (new or returning) have a rough weekly budget they are setting? My son has some savings that I’d like him to rely on for spending money, but I think I’ll have to chip in too. I don’t want him to be totally broke so he can never leave campus or go out with friends, but I also want him to budget wisely. Thoughts or experiences?</p>

4

<p>Very curious to see responses as well. I might try posting the question on the Tulane Parents FB page which is very active.</p>

5

<p>Not getting much response here, but I would imagine the average is $100-200 a month, depending on the student’s outside interests. Most are likely towards the lower end of that.</p>

6

<p>Well I was kind of waiting to see what others were going to put to see if I was too far off for my D. Right now we are planning on $100/month which she can supplement with her own savings.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for replies. This is basically in line with what I was thinking. From his savings he can chip in most of that through the school year and we can augment it. I figure it’s better to aim low and he’ll ask for more when he needs it. Especially since there’s the Splash card and meal plan, he won’t go hungry! (Though I suspect he’s not going to like the Bruff food very much :wink: </p>

<p>I also join FB page – thanks for the tip!</p>

8

<p>I noticed on Gibson that there is already money on the splash card for wave bucks ($250) and Nola bucks ($25). I guess that was part of the total bill because I did not specifically put any $$$ on the card myself. Can someone tell me what the difference is between Nola + wave bucks? What do students use it for?</p>

9

<p>From the dining guide <a href=“http://www.diningservices.tulane.edu/documents/FINALTulaneDiningGuide2011.pdf[/url]”>http://www.diningservices.tulane.edu/documents/FINALTulaneDiningGuide2011.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>So in short, Wave Bucks are on-campus and NOLA Bucks are off-campus. Here is a listing of the off-campus locations that take NOLA Bucks. I assume it is up-to-date, but worth double checking once your student gets there.</p>

10

<p>Thanks FC - you are the best! Interestingly, we got S the unlimited meal plan - guess they knocked down the wave bucks from $300 to $250.</p>

11

<p>No problem. I thought I had posted the link to the off-campus locations, but I guess it didn’t take. Here it is. [url=&lt;a href=“Tulane Dining Services”&gt;Tulane Dining Services]Locations[/url</a>]</p>

12

<p>I failed to notice that was an older guide. Thanks to kreativekat for the updated link.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.diningservices.tulane.edu/documents/TUDiningGuideBroch2013-14C.pdf[/url]”>http://www.diningservices.tulane.edu/documents/TUDiningGuideBroch2013-14C.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Here is the corrected quote part also.</p>

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