Stop Acting Rich and other similar books by Thomas Stanley may be helpful to read if The Millionaire Next Door is not available in the library.
I wouldn’t worry about clothes. You don’t need to dress up for college. Don’t try to be something you are not. Just be yourself. In college you will meet people from all different types of backgrounds. Some may be wealthier and some will be in a worse situation than you. No need to feel self conscious about your situation at all.
D’s college has a food pantry for lower income students where they keep supplies specifically for those students. (snacks, canned food, toiletries) Look for a job on campus. If your tuition, room and board is paid for you don’t need to bring a lot with you, just a few things for your dorm so that your room is comfortable for you.
Clothes: the most comfortable clothes in the world for long lectures are sweatpants and tee shirts/tank tops imo. You are sitting on your rear for hours so why not be comfortable? I attended a cc where girls wore high heels to school and that blew my mind because of the uneven ground, and just…why? If you need clothes, you could hit up your local H&M, Target or Ross. I do a run to H&M before every semester for new tops. I figure, hey I’m there to get my psych degree not to pose for Vogue magazine.
My university is more casual, as it’s more about function than fashion. Haven’t seen anyone in high heels yet, people seem to be about school sweatshirts, shorts, tanks, jeans etc.
Money saving tips: try to find places in town that give discounts to students, hit up your local dollar store or 99 cent store for snacks and things like shampoo and cleaning products for the dorm. Also some schools have food pantry’s so if you are running low on food that’s a good place to go as well.
The first time I saw a Canada Goose jacket was when I got to college – apparently they’re $1000, which is outrageous for anything short of the Arctic expedition it was intended for. For my part, I have a pretty weather-beaten leather jacket.
I’m not quite at the bottom end financially for my school, as I don’t have 100% financial aid, but 53% of the student body pays the full $73K price tag. Of that massive number, I could probably only name a few of them because they flaunt their wealth. I don’t associate with those people. Apart from that, we all mix together because we’re nice people.
There’s a general give-and-take system in college, where most people are pretty chill about spotting you $5 to go out or get a sandwich. Social events for clubs tend to be a little stricter, but when I’m just hanging out with my friends the phrase of the night is always “Just Venmo me whatever.”
I grew up around UW-Madison, and people seem to dress a couple steps more casual than Penn, which makes sense due to the atmosphere. I usually wear a band tee, a varsity jacket, jeans, and Vans, which is more casual than most of my peers but fits in with UW. When I dress up for church I swap the jeans for khakis and the t-shirt for a button-down. Social events = dress that cost anywhere from $15 to $50. I also get the most clothing compliments of anyone in my friend group, so make of that what you will.
Saving money in college:
- Set a checking account upper limit on yourself. As soon as you get a paycheck, if you get over that limit, transfer the excess to savings so you trick your brain into thinking it’s not there. I give myself $100 a week MAX.
- Psychology labs usually need volunteers and will compensate you for your time. Check the UW buses.
- Join rewards clubs for grocery stores, convenience stores, etc. They’re free to sign up, you get coupons and discounts.
- Read the conditions of your work-study carefully and figure out what to do based on that. At mine, I keep all the money I earn, but I max out at $3500/year, so I work about 10 hours a week to make sure I don’t get cut off. I’m also in a research lab so mine are pretty flexible.
Or have your payroll deposit go into a savings account, so that you have to actively move it to your checking account to spend it.
Great advice about figuring out what you can afford above. Practice saying “I’d love to, but I can’t afford it this week.” Coming up with a budget is hard. Sticking to it is harder. Your friends will be more sensitive to your situation if they understand it. You don’t ever need to apologize for not being able to afford something, but if you make up reasons why you can’t do things (when the real reason is money), it’ll become very awkward. And if you have a limit as you’re heading out, say so.
There tend to be a lot of free events on many campuses. Check those out so you can offer an alternative. Many students, even those from wealthier backgrounds, will also have a fixed amount for discretionary spending, so you won’t be alone.
You are smart, btw, to think about this now.
Since you won’t be starting school until this fall, try to start saving pocket money now (if you’re not already doing that). My daughter had a summer job before her freshman year (last fall) and she saved almost all her earnings to use for spending money. She did blow through most of it her first semester, but she’s learned to budget better now, and she’ll have a work study job next semester. Amazon was her downfall, so we had to have a conversation with her about that.
If it makes you feel any better, we’re not a low income family, but we’ve had to limit our spending due to her college costs - college is expensive for even upper middle class families. She went to a private high school where she wore a uniform, so she didn’t have a big wardrobe of regular school/casual clothes to take to college. We bought her a few additional items before she left, but she definitely doesn’t have the typical amount of clothes/shoes that the average public school kid would and it hasn’t been a big deal. She’s not a real fashionista so it doesn’t bother her - in fact, she’s sends me pics of herself at school and I’m kind of appalled at how ratty she looks sometimes (I know she has less ratty looking clothes to wear), but she apparently values comfort over fashion at college.
One thing we did for her was to fill a big storage bin with snack foods so she wouldn’t have to spend much money on snack items (she lives on campus) - and we were surprised how long it lasted. It included things like noodle cups, cup of soup packets, nuts, chips, breakfast bars, etc. You could probably start collecting stuff for a snack bin over the summer also so you could spread the cost over a longer time period. The same goes for all the other little incidentals you might need at college - try to put a list together well ahead of time so your family can help you buy a few items here and there instead of all at once before you leave. If you have a big family, maybe consider doing a high school graduation registry at Target for stuff you’ll need. I seriously didn’t even know that high school grad registries were at thing, but I guess they are - we had a friend ask us where our daughter was registered, and I was like, what? But even if you don’t do the registry, send out lots of graduation announcements! Graduation is one of the few times in your life when you’ll get showered with gifts - hopefully you’ll get lots of gift cards!
Good luck and like all the others have said, don’t waste time worrying about it - you’ll be fine and you won’t be the only one who will be on a tight budget.
I have a part-time job (and refund $) and when I got to my college this past fall, after expenses I found myself spending less money in college than in high-school. In fact, the only time I would drive my car (mostly) would be to go to work on the weekends. With that said there will be costs with moving in, so save now. I ended up buying a new laptop (not needed but convenient), coffee maker, printer ink, books, and a few other things. My mom bought me stuff like sheets, snacks, etc… for when I moved in. My advise is to start saving now.
With that said:
Join Clubs on Campus (most of mine cost $5-20/semester, there are free ones out there too) I am in 3 clubs and it came out to $40 in dues
Get involved in a Campus Ministry (If religous) (Should be free, I got invovled in one and I am over there 4-5 times a week)
Go to the free events
Get all the free t-shirts you can (I have so far gotten 14 free tshirts from my college and related stuff) (This was told to me MULTIPLE times on my Orentation Week by multiple people and I’m not the only one like that)
College is not like high school (unless it is a small college)
$100/week seems a lot to spend on personal, when the school feeds you, there are free events on campus. Maybe that poster meant per month.
OP, some on CC think rich kid things dominate on campus- going on regular shopping sprees, dining out, theater and concerts, etc. Not.
Mine focused on on-campus things, that Friday film at the student center, hanging with friends, heading for class or the library together. Many dorms have some group watching a sports game together in a common room. If your friends want to order pizza, your share is a few dollars. (But mine didn’t even do this as freshmen. And their mega wealthy friends were right there with them, in the dining hall or at the free movie.)
So many choices.
I find that the people who "show off"on FB for their college are just doing that…showing off.
Most college kids don’t have much money. I pay for my child’s tuition/room and board but any other spending money is on her to earn.
Re: clothes…in HS there is much more pressure to conform…but in college if you went to college in sweats nobody bats an eyelash.
Yeah, no, I meant per week. My school has weird dining hall hours, including closing early on the weekends (often before my activities are finished) to “encourage us to explore Philadelphia restaurants” and only having 2 inconvenient halls open for breakfast. I usually end up spending most of my paycheck on breakfast, milk, and 2 dinners/week. Thanks to insurance, my medication is $20/month that I pay out of pocket. I also have an unfortunate comic book habit that eats away at some of the rest. As for fun stuff that costs money, I like weird bands that have cheap concert tickets (~$15-$25) and I buy hockey tix on StubHub the day before – center ice is usually $23.
Madison isn’t Philly so your spending habits will probably be different. If you’re into sports you’ll get student discounts (and women’s hockey, my all-time favorite, is only like $5/game to start with). Concerts are about the same price. Theater is cheaper than Philly. I know UW dining halls are kinda screwy so you’ll probably devote a bigger portion of your funds to that and personal care (toothpaste, shampoo, etc.)
There’s nothing wrong with being poor at college. You don’t need to buy any expensive clothes or items just so that you can “fit in” easier with the majority of students.
If I were you, then I’d get a job on campus so that you can make some money while in college. I’m currently in the process of getting a job on campus for next semester and there should be several options for you on and off campus.
Think of it like this, school isn’t a fashion show by any means. Everyone is there for the same thing: an education. Now, it’s always good to dress nice once in awhile, but most people dress casually while in college, no matter how wealthy it is. I see people wearing jeans, sweatpants, T-shirts, and hoodies everyday. The only times when people dress nicely is when they need to for a certain class or presentation, but others might dress up because it’s their own personal clothing style.
Some great tips. Here are few more, maybe repetitive:
- Don’t worry about clothes much. Stuff from the thrift shop is fine; if anybody asks, say “It’s vintage.”
- Assuming you will have a meal plan, eat the meals, especially breakfast. This will make it less likely that you will need to spend money on snacks.
- Do free stuff–lots of this on campus. On the other hand, avoid activities in which the students are expected to provide their own expensive stuff (i.e., there might be a skiing club, with members who have their own gear).
- Be honest with your new friends and roommates about what you can and can’t afford. Most people will be thoughtful about not suggesting activities that you can’t afford to do–as long as they know about your situation.
- Don’t buy coffee. Drink free coffee in the dining hall, or wherever else you can get it. Fancy coffee drinks will siphon away your money really fast. Also, don’t smoke.
- I agree with those who say you should try to find ways to have at least a little spending cash. You don’t want to be the person who can never go out for pizza. But try not to borrow money from other students.
Well, I dont think a student who’s on a tight college budget needs to go around declaring it. You simply decline nicely. They want to go out to dinner and you say, “Great, thanks, but I’m eating at the dining hall, then headed to the library.”
I went to USC and I’m from East Los Angeles (where the poverty rate is something like 97%). Being a private school, there were tons of students that were paying full tuition such as the international kids. I was sitting behind this Chinese dude and he was buying sweats that were $300! During lunch, I would sometimes be targeted by a solicitor that said something like “It would be great if you could donate $200”. I would sometimes donate $5 or $20, but I just thought it was insane that she was asking a college kid for so much money. It’s true that many people associate USC with spoiled rich children (and there are many like that), but the school is so big that you find all kinds of people. I eventually found a place with the Chicano Center. A lot of the students were exactly like me. It was such a cool little community. And as I’ve seen suggested in the above post, you really don’t need to tell people that you aren’t as wealthy as them. My laptop was being leased from some crazy loan that my grandmother took out, but I didn’t go around advertising that this was the only way in which I could afford a decent laptop.
Also, it pays to look around and explore. I discovered that my major/department had a weekly event called “Tea Time” where they would have tea/coffee and free pastries! This really came in handy one day when I didn’t have enough money for lunch. I really can’t tell you how much I was starving that day. Those cookies really helped me out. You will find your group 
I think you can say that you are watching your budget while being sure to invite people to join you in the cafeteria or to free events. You don’t need to be alone to save money
There are some great tips & suggestions here, OP, but I hope that you are getting the general drift: college isn’t high school, lots of students are on very tight budges, and there are many ways to live frugally at college. Save as much as you can between now & then, be smart with when & where you buy stuff and whatever you do, do NOT get a credit card when you get to college. Stick to a debit card until you are really good at budgeting.
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=123961 indicates that 41% of USC students are paying list price with no grants or scholarships, and only 22% are on Pell grants. Still, the percentage on Pell grants may be higher than at many Big Ten schools that the OP may be considering (but many places in the Midwest may be less prone to flaunting money / expensive status symbols than the Los Angeles / Orange County areas).
Congratulations on getting into a Big Ten school! College is a very large and diverse place to be. It’s not like high school that serves a particular community neighborhood. It’s a school with 40,000 students and they come from all over the state and all over the country with all kinds of different backgrounds and stories. In college, no one really cares about what you wear anyway because they’re going to be more concerned with papers and mid term exams. You can’t go wrong wearing a pretty school logo shirt. You are who and what you are. Wear it loud and wear it proud!
The biggest way to save money is to not spend it in the first place. Keep track of your money and budget whatever you have. Cable is expensive and most dorms have internet. You can get a Roku for super cheap and pay $20 a month for Netflix and Hulu. Wait until movies are on Redbox. DON’T eat out! Drive an old clunker, but make sure it’s a Toyota. Buy clothes at Ross Buy off-brands at the supermarket. Clip coupons. Exercise reduces stress and anxiety.
Keep the student loans to a minimum. Best way to do that is to work like crazy during summers and work part time evenings and weekends. Depending on where you live, that could cover the majority of your living expenses.
The OP hasn’t been back since December 28.