I only know USA prices of some things from a little online shopping.
In our house, it is whatever she earns doing work study. If she wasn’t eligible for work study, she would be employed off campus and again, whatever she earns.
My kids earn/ed their own spending money in college. I don’t know how much they earned during the summers but I do know that they all worked all summer and did not ask for money for anything that was not school related. We pay for their transport home for breaks.
This really depends on what you are including in “spending money” does it include clothing, gas, insurance, toiletries, make up, hair cuts … and what part of the country you are talking about, things in general will cost much more in New York City than in Norman, Oklahoma.
I’d suggest you make a list of everything you plan to use “spending money” for each month and then look up some sample prices from the area where you plan to attend school.
This was the Thumper family plan. Our kids worked. They could spend whatever they earned on discretionary things…and we also asked them to buy books. TBH…I can’t even guess what they spent per month. They earned it…they spent it.
It sounds like the OP is perhaps an international family. That being the case, the student won’t be able to work very much given the visa status.
So…I would offer…$200 a month would be a good place to start. If you give this amount, then I would,suggest parents purchase texts. Review spending with the student after two months. Look at what they are buying and spending…and if you agree that the spending is for reasonable things…then determine if the amount is too high or too low.
DD did share with me that she got her hair done once every six weeks to the time of $155 a visit. I can tell you…if I had been paying for that…well…I would NOT have as this was totally discretionary. But she earned it…and she spent it.
Keep in mind…your student will have meals and housing covered. There are many low cost or free activities happening right on most college campuses.
Some colleges if you look up their scholarship info will have some cost of living estimates included. For what it’s worth books can be several hundred dollars. We paid for them and a cell phone plan. (As an international plan on using Skye, Google Hangouts or Facetime for long distance calls.) If your child has a full meal plan (often required for freshman) they really won’t need a lot. My kids probably didn’t spend more than $50 a month on the other stuff - going out, laundry shampoo etc. Actually I think I covered my son laundry and printing as well - I probably put $100 in the school account for that once or twice a semester. This basically gave him a debit type card that was only good for things on campus.
It sounds as though the OP is asking on behalf of a foreign student.
Would a foreign student be able to work in the United States? If not, then earning money during the school year does not seem realistic. Whether summer employment is realistic is something only the student and family could tell us.
A foreign student might incur some extra expenses that most of our kids did not. Here I’m especially thinking about meals and housing during the short breaks during the school year, when a foreign student may not be able to travel home. Dining plans do not include meals during these periods; the student would have to go somewhere else and pay cash, so the student would need extra cash for food during breaks. And whether or not the dorms are open during breaks differs from one college to another. If they’re not, or if the student needs to stay in the United States during the long winter break when all colleges close their dorms, there would be housing costs to consider as well.
Where in the US? Prices vary so much by region that it’s difficult to give a good answer without a little more info.
Region is the midwest. My teen DD would be coming home to EU during the long vacations/holiday that is the plan.
The mentioned usd 200 seems a good amount, is approx. 177 euro.
If you can afford the $200, that’s a good amount. My kids didn’t spend nearly that amount as 1) they didn’t have it, and 2) many things were included in their student fees, like all sports admissions, many student activities, even some concerts and movies. One had ‘flex dollars’ on her dining plan so could get pizza, smoothies, coffees, etc at no additional cost.
$200 US is a lot in the Midwest. I would start out less and increase if necessary. Too much money encourages overspending and may lead to trouble.
You could also give $100, and then have any necessities or supplies ordered through Amazon on your charge. If she has to order clothes or toiletries, she’ll think about it before just spending the money in her pocket.
The COA figures published by the individual university are a good place to start. That should cover everything but transportation and medical expenses. Our kids always managed to spend significantly less than that amount, and still managed to purchase clothes, toiletries, etc.
A foreign student (with an F1 visa) can still work up to 20 hours/week on campus. My parents typically pay for my textbooks and flights home while I cover my phone plan, laundry, clothes, toiletries, snacks, and entertainment. I spent around $150/month freshman year (but around $450/month sophomore year when I started spending a lot of money on one of my extracurriculars).
It also will not cover food during short breaks that the student spends on campus – an expense I mentioned earlier. For a student who does not have access to cooking facilities and equipment or to a grocery store within walking distance, it may be necessary to eat all meals in restaurants during breaks – and the cost of doing that can add up quickly, even if the student eats exclusively in fast-food places.
This varies SO MUCH by school. At me kid’s LAC, unlimited food at every single meal is covered if she wants it. There’s a shared kitchen down the hall. She can walk to a store to get yogurt or whatever. Her res hall and dining hall remain open during all holidays, except for a couple of days at Christmas - maybe. Tons of events, speakers, club meetings, dorm get-togethers put on by RAs etc offer free food.
Some kids won’t have that stuff covered, they may have partial meal plans or no food stores nearby.