<p>I get my pocket money $30 per week from my parents.
However, my friends do not get money from their parents but earn by their own.
Does everyone think that being a college student doesn't have to worry about the money only cares about his studies and asks for hie daily expend from their parents? Or being independent is cool for a college student??</p>
<p>I don’t think there is one answer. It depends on the individual family -their values, priorities, and finances.</p>
<p>My older daughter has no shame. She works while in school, and she is very happy to get a decent allowance from us. She also charges anything that’s not custom and ordinary to our credit card, and to her bursar account. She some how thinks if it’s spread across few accounts it wouldn’t be as noticeable.</p>
<p>Varies from family to family, but, personally, I expect my kids to earn their own pocket money in college. </p>
<p>My parents didn’t let me work a regular job in HS so that I could concentrate on my studies. I picked up part-time work here and there, but the day after I graduated, I had a regular job that I kept for two years. Saved some money so that I could continue to be more self-sufficient once I transferred. By end of my junior year, I had a 32-hour/week job with a lengthy commute, but plenty of money to do with as I pleased.</p>
<p>I think every kid should have some skin in the game. I remember dating my dh at the age of 23 and being appalled that his mom was still paying credit card bills for him.</p>
<p>D1 is going to be a senior next year. We have given her notice that we would stop giving her allowance next year. This is to prepare her to be completely on her own when she graduates.</p>
<p>I received allowance from my parents when I was in college and I expect to do the same for my kids. Part of the “gift” of an education that I’m giving them is the opportunity to concentrate on studies and EC’s without having to worry about a part-time job. I, personally, also have a real ethical problem with my kid taking a part-time job (such as working in fast food, in retail, etc.) for his fun money when that job could go to a kid who really needs it to stay in school. Esp in this economy. I don’t think that’s very nice.</p>
<p>Having said that, other families are free to work it how they like and it’s not my business.</p>
<p>I worked 20 hours a week when I was in my first year of college. I know some people at work that worked full-time while in college and they were in engineering programs. These are people that know how to get things done.</p>
<p>My son has a part-time tutoring job and he just received another part-time job as a research assistant. The head of the department stopped him in the hallway and offered him the job and he starts next week. Having jobs can get you additional jobs and hopefully the work that he has done in college will make it easier for him to get into grad school and get a real job.</p>
<p>Well, I’m biased because my then-boyfriend worked 3 jobs quite literally to put clothing on his back and to be able to afford the most basic meal plan at the college, so the thought of some full-paid kid taking over those jobs because he wants a little spending money doesn’t sit well with me. And I was a full-paid kid and my kids will be full-paid. </p>
<p>As I said, however, I’m distinguishing between the scut jobs that college students might take (working fast food, etc.) and internships or professional opportunities.</p>
<p>We give our s an “allowance” but (a) it comes form the pot of money we have saved for his college, so was already allocated as “college” money and (b) we transfer it from our account into his on-line ING savings account (great deal, btw, if anyone wants a link to open an account, please let me PM it to you). So, if DS wants spending $, he pulls it from the savings account and transfers it into his checking account (the one with the free ATM access-- no service fees). So, if he doesn’t spend the allowance, it earns interest (though not a lot right now, but better than nothing) in his savings accouunt. IMO it has helped both s’s learn to save and to budget. Older s has really become skilled at saving and investing. He has a very nice nest egg at the age of 23.</p>
<p>This is a nuanced issue. </p>
<p>I think all students in college should have a part time job, or in some way be held accountable for at least a small part of their education, such as books, a small portion of tuition, etc.</p>
<p>I do not think parents should pay for Spring break trip money, etc.</p>
<p>At the same time, I don’t think it’s fair for parents to want a kid to put SO much skin in the game that kid is turning down minimum wage research with a prof or volunteer tutoring just so he can make more money at the moving van company, you know? </p>
<p>The amount of money parents give a kid is going to depend on that family’s financial circumstances as well as the individual kid and what would help him/her the best in developing his/her independence and taking the opportunities that come his/her way.</p>
<p>I have met some kids who are all about “concentrating on their ECs and studies” while their parents hand them cash, and a lot of these kids are being done a disservice haha. I’m just thinking of my horribly irresponsible (though he receives good grades) roommate right now, who thinks it’s everyone else’s job to lay out a golden carpet for him while he studies (so he can pay rent, utilities, etc. late) even though everyone else has studies to worry about too! I am sure it is a reflection of the attitude his parents instilled him that “schoolwork comes before everything” that he took way too far. He could use some more responsibility on his shoulders for sure. So I think this attitude works with some kids and not with others.</p>
<p>Also, the idea that a full-pay student is “taking” a job away from someone who needs it is a little silly. My girlfriend actually has to work a lot of hours a week at a high paying job (which she worked very hard to get) to afford her rent, tuition, etc. And she always encourages others to work, too, she isn’t afraid of someone “taking” a job from her. Students who truly need the money will find a job opening on campus or off, at least that is my experience, and those who don’t really aren’t trying hard enough. Maybe my area and campus is less depressed than most, I don’t know, but in my opinion it’s a lot easier for a student to find a job than for the general population to do the same. If you want a job on or near campus and are willing to take anything, you’ll get something.</p>
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<p>Taking jobs away from kids who really need them. I think that sucks.</p>
<p>Just like I think that athletic scholarships when given to rich families who could afford to pay suck, too. I think that’s a scam.</p>
<p>What is “OK” is up to the individual family and their particular financial circumstances, beliefs, etc. There is no right or wrong answer. </p>
<p>Some parents don’t have any extra money after paying tuition, fees, r&b, etc. to give “spending money” to their children. Others may have the money, but decide not to give it, because they feel the children should “have some skin in the game.” And some parents give it so that their children can concentrate on their studies and not have to spend time working at a part-time job or so they can take an unpaid internship instead…</p>
<p>Good point, umcp. I neglected to mention that both s’s worked when they were in HS and during the summers. Older s tutored in college and made a nice little side income. YOunger s has a very heavy courseload (20 hrs) so I do not feel he needs to add more on top of that by working to make a few bucks. He has $$ in his savings from his past employment, so has the ability to pull from that if he needs to. HE pays the gas int he car when he drives it, but for now we pay the insurance ( since hes listed as student away from home, it isnt very expensive).</p>
<p>If the campus area has plenty of part-time jobs, then there should be little concern that a student is taking a job from a needy person. After all, the argument could be made that any student earning money for tuition might be taking a job away from a parent who needs the job to feed her kids. Tuition is certainly less important than feeding children.</p>
<p>That said, I think it’s important for kids to earn some spending money to avoid a sense of entitlement and to learn the value of money. </p>
<p>One of my best friends is a retired physician. She could afford to pay for all of her son’s costs during his school years and afterwards if she had wanted to. However, she’s a believer in the “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in 3 years” proverb. That proverb denotes the need to work hard for one’s living. </p>
<p>*
The theory of the proverb is that the first generation starts off in blue-collar jobs, meaning they work hard and create financial stability for their families. They usually do it without making significant changes to their values, customs or lifestyle. The second generation moves to the city, puts on beautiful clothes, joins the opera board, runs big organizations, and the fortune plateaus. The third generation, with no experience of work, consumes the financial fortune, and the fourth generation goes back to working in blue-collar jobs. This is the classic formulation of the shirtsleeves proverb, which is as true today as it has been throughout evolved human history.*</p>
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<p>Pizzagirl, this is exactly how I feel. J. has a budget of $120 per month that he’s permitted to charge to a credit card in his name (I’m the account holder), not including what he has to spend on course books and the like, and what it costs to travel home on vacations. (Plus, he has a small amount of money in a bank account for the rare occasions on which he needs cash.) If he needs something beyond that, he has to ask me. And he’s been very good about staying within that budget. Since I’m the account holder, I can view his expenditures online, 10 times every day if I so desire, but I trust him and generally look only once a month or so, before I pay the bill.</p>
<p>He does understand that once his tour guide job begins, that $120 per month will be reduced by whatever he earns. </p>
<p>In my opinion, there’s no general answer as to whether it’s OK or not OK. It’s up to every individual family. I never worked during either high school or college, since my parents’ viewpoint was that my job was studying, and that <em>that</em> was how I would develop a work ethic. Somehow, I managed to figure out how to work for a living even without having earned money in school, and I haven’t noticed that the lack of previous work experience has detracted from my ability to work for a living (or figure out the value of money) for the last 31 years. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to do that.</p>
<p>My son will have to earn a living for a very long time, probably the rest of his life after school. I don’t see the rush to make him start. Especially given how incredibly hard he works at studying in college, just as he did in high school. He has a better work ethic than I did at that age, by which I mean that he’s less prone to procrastinate than I was. (And still am – why do you think I spend so much time here?)</p>
<p>My opinion is the parents should decide what percentage of the college education they will fund. Spending money is up to the student. I think I’ll pay for 60-75% of the college education of my kids, and they will contribute the rest.</p>
<p>There’s a lot of variation. I felt like I needed to earn money in college because the Cost of Attendence at my school was already very high. I didn’t want to overly burden my parents who were already living frugally to make my dreams possible. But sometimes I would be between campus jobs or have a particularly high credit card bill or some other expense (a vacation trip or something) and in those instances I would ask for a little extra and most times my parents would help out. </p>
<p>I had friends that got nothing from their parents unless it was a loan and then they were expected to pay it back in full. I had friends who never worked and were fully supported by their parents. So there are a lot of philosophies</p>
<p>I don’t believe that students looking for part time work are “taking jobs away from needy students”. First of all, I we are not talking just about on-campus jobs or about work-study jobs. In fact, many of those are not available to “full pay” students. Older s looked at several on campus jobs and there were many he would have been perfect for but thery were earmarked for work-study candidates. One of his roommates had a work study job. Sat at a desk doing nothing but his own homework and playing on his cellphone. Got paid $9/hr. Nice work if you can get it.</p>
<p>Several of the on-campus jobs were posted on line at older s’s school, for anyone to see if they were interested. So if he had applied to one that wasn’t earmarked for work study and he was selected, how is that “taking away a job from another needy candidate”? Some jobs were noted as “preference to work study students” some work study only, and some open to any hard-working self-motivated student. </p>
<p>And I almost forgot-- younger s is volunteering in a professor’s lab this semester. No pay - but experience and opportunity. Oops–he is “working”, just not getting paid. I am fine with that and will continue to provide an allowance.</p>
<p>This is a free capitalist society where the best person gets the job. Just because some parents may have more money, their kids should get treated equally as other kids when it comes to job opportunities. If D1 didn’t have a long list of job experience she probably wouldn’t have been able to get her summer internship. One of her good friends from another top tier school was not able to get a similar internship because lack of job experience. Whereas another friend who flipped burgers in NYC and interned at a sports club also had multiple offers. One job leads to another job, and every job requires previous job experience.</p>
<p>My s works during the summers earning about $4K which has been more than enough to provide spending money during the year. Paying internships have been readily available at his college, we are hoping it holds true for this summer. I think he likes to feel like he is contributing since his education is costing about 200K. He has become more careful about his expenses since he is paying for things. He only has to pay for food if he eats out, as he has a full mealplan (no kitchen in his dorm) and anything else he buys. We buy his books, clothes and all travel expenses (there are many). I will occasionally give him some extra cash while he is home visiting so he can save his money for when he is away.</p>