<p>eyemamom - I can tell you some about S’s expenses, since he’s at UR too.</p>
<p>First - it will probably be convenient for him to have a Chase account, since there’s a Chase on campus.</p>
<p>Meal plan. Consider getting the smallest meal plan (it’s still really expensive!). Most kids find it to be plenty.</p>
<p>Spending money. I’m not sure if my S is the norm, but he doesn’t really get off campus and do much. This year he is in a suite with a little kitchen so he buys groceries (if you haven’t discovered Wegman’s grocery store, you need to - it’s awesome! Go to the Pittsford branch). </p>
<p>We buy books but don’t give him any spending money (we do buy his food). The first year he went through his small savings way too fast thanks to Starbucks. By Christmas he was broke and had to make it all 2nd semester on the $75 he got in Christmas money from relatives. 
He was absolutely broke all semester and we didn’t send him a cent. I put $50 in his bank account before he had to fly home and told him it was there for emergencies and nothing else. This semester he had more going in, and I think he’s a lot smarter about how fast he goes through it. He also TA’s, so he makes some money each week.</p>
<p>Like I said, he doesn’t spend much. They enjoy their kitchen and don’t buy pizzas, and don’t get off campus much to go out to eat or a movie. I’m sure some kids want to do those things more. Not drinking saves a TON of money too! You’ll have to read everyone’s ideas and figure out how you want to approach it. It really depends on what his lifestyle is like. Movies, pizza, clothes, cabs, etc cost as much as he feels like spending! I can say, Rochester doesn’t exactly pull you out into costly adventures! There are free shuttles to downtown or the grocery store, and not a ton of irresistible fun things to do!</p>