<p>Well, you posted “$400 a week”, whether you meant to type that or not. </p>
<p>I think its a mistake to assume that parents who are giving their kids a specific allowance during freshman year intend to keep on paying that for all 4 years. And what about other areas of savings? Suppose the kid drops the college meal plan or moves off campus to an apartment that is less costly than the dorm? Maybe the parents who are paying the allowance are doing it in part to compensate for other costs savings, such as opting for a minimal meal plan. </p>
<p>I don’t know. As noted, I didn’t give my kids allowances while at college, and I had the poor graces to drop the news to my daughter that she wasn’t getting an allowance a couple of weeks after high school graduation. (In my defense, the fact that my daughter had found a good paying summer job played into that announcement – I certainly wouldn’t have wanted her to start college with no funds at all). </p>
<p>But I don’t think $400/month is excessive, depending on specific circumstances related to the campus the student attends-- and what the parent thinks will be included in that. I was absolutely appalled when my son started college and parents were encouraged to put their credit card on file with the campus bookstore for the kids — I expected my kids to pay for their own books – but maybe the parent who is giving the $400 allowance also expects their kid to pay for their own books, whereas some other parent who is paying no allowance or a smaller allowance is handling other costs such as books or their kid’s cell phone. (I did pay cell phone bills for my kids during college). </p>
<p>The parent who posted that she gave her daughter $400/month also said the kid was attending school in Los Angeles, which is a city with notoriously poor public transit options. Maybe the kid has car expenses to worry about. Anyway, I can see a kid going through that much even when living fairly frugally.</p>