<p>I can't really work (physical disability), but I'm extremely conscious of that and ask for very, very little money. I'm also a big greenie who believes in recycling just about everything, so I get almost all of my clothes, paperbacks, and other items from thrift stores. I don't buy candy, frozen foods, or anything like that, so I save a lot right there. I swap things a lot, too.</p>
<p>When I turned 18, my parents got me an AmEx card on their account. The only things I ever buy with it are textbooks. I think I'm just a really, really thrifty person. If I don't need it, I don't buy it. We were raised that way in my house, and I'm glad.</p>
<p>it really depends on your lifestyle. some may say 50.00 a week is fine, but others blow through about 30 dollars a day. Depends on location, cost of local food, etc.</p>
<p>honestly, many people work and go to school and still manage to get excellent grades while gaining valuable experience. take what you can get from your parents. there is no 'expected' or 'normal' allowance in college. it totally vaires person to person because every individual and family is different. if you're not happy with the money your parents are willing to give, then get a part time job. it is not impossible to work a few hours a week and still manage wonderful grades and be a part of an array of clubs and students orgs. if you work on campus, you're working with people who have the same intense lifestyle as you, so employers are bound to understand and offer easy work for good pay.</p>
<p>there are so many students who go from never having a job in high school to going through college job-free. when they graduate and enter the coroprate world, they're in for a rude awakening.</p>
<p>why a disservice? I have always been a hardworking person...I've worked every summer since i was 15. I have probably saved up more money (that I've earned on my own) than 99% of people my age. They just like to spoil me :)</p>
<p>whatever, if you've worked hard throughout your life and actually know what it is like to have a job, then i really don't see what the big deal is. </p>
<p>my parents probably couldn't afford $1200 a month on top of college tuition and housing fees, but then again, my parents have always been known to spend conservatively. there's no way they could support my spending that much money each month. </p>
<p>if your parents can afford it, and it's no skin off their back to send that kind of cash, then whatever. while i do think it's a little excessive ( although i consider myself slightly spoiled as well..oh bless being the oldest daughter), everyone has their own spending habits. when I worked full time, i was easily spending that much money each month. but without a job, i've had to deal with less. i'm thankful my parents will help and support me at all.</p>
<p>i think it all depends on where you go to school and what businesses are around it.
my school is in the middle of nowhere (we are close to an hour away from any large-ish money-sucking city) . i mostly spend my cash on late night trips to wafflehouse (one town away), walmart (three towns away), and cheap movies at the university theater (one screen $3-$5).</p>
<p>if i lived in a big city, like i do when i'm at home on breaks, i'd spend much more money. because it just seems to all dissappear! but i think everyone gets a little thriftier in college..i call it PCSS or poor college student syndrome, and it makes you do things like eating uncooked ramen when the dining hall is closed. :)</p>
<p>For Sure. People probably don't realize it, but you're saving money all the time. It's midnight on a Tuesday and you're starving. The dining halls are closed and you dont have a car on campus. Normally, at home, you would just hop in your car and go to the late night diner, or fast food. Instead you eat raw ramen and call it a night.</p>
<p>See. Right there you saved about 10 bucks in gas and food and you didn't even realize it. </p>
<p>oh I thought this included food I don't have a meal plan!!! But after meals and stuff I still have a amount of change to spend for clubbing,etc. Wow yeah 1200 if I wasnt buying food would be crazy...i wouldnt know what to spend it on.</p>
<p>you should be embarrased to even ask for money from your parents. you're a quasi-adult now. If your parents want to drop some money on books, fine. If they shoot you some cash every now and again, thank them for it. But you should in no way have a regular source of income from them. If you worked before going to college you should have savings, or even gifts from family for high school graduation. Besides, get a work study job, 10 hours a week is only going to help your academics by focusing your time.</p>
<p>side note: bern, not to jump on you as I'm sure you're hard working and have saved money (forgive me if I sound preachy) but $1200 a month for just food? You're droppin 40 bucks a day on food? I mean, spend your money how you want, but a box of cereal and milk take care of breakfast for the week and pasta sure as hell isn't 30 bucks for dinner. I lived on about 30 bucks a week last semester (granted I was in prague so prices are most definitely less, but even if you sextuple the prices I'm still well below you).</p>
<p>well i'm not embarassed. college is for learning. i respect people who work during school, but i personally don't think i could concentrate on those two things at once. All of the responses to my query (save a few) have been very helpful and polite, so please don't come here with a chip on your shoulder and suggest to me that I should be embarassed.</p>
<p>yeah, I understand that's what you were asking. But the two issues are inextricably linked...for example, someone with less money wouldnt even bring up the idea of a reasonable allowance. To be quite honest, before you brought up the question I'd never even heard of parents giving kids allowances during college. I can kind of understand that for the first year, as it is a period of adjustment and all. But after that, I think college kids should be on their own to come up with spending money. </p>
<p>Reading your responses makes me a little disturbed; of course, I don't know you, so I'm just going off of what you've written. I mean, there are a lot of people in the world who would like the luxury of not working during college. They may not think they can concentrate on two things at once, but they don't have the option. So they get through it, and in the process they learn to manage their time. </p>
<p>What you said to another poster is probably true of me- I have a chip on my shoulder with things like this. My background was one of severe poverty until I was about 10, so whenever this sort of question comes up my blood tends to rise a bit. Just realize that when you pose any sort of question related to money (always a sensitive issue, especially for those without any), a few people are bound to be offended or pertubed. Actually, I think that's a valuable thing to know before you head off to college. I apologize again if I'm being impolite or ignorant of some extenuating circumstances on your part...just wanted to provide another perspective, however unwelcome.</p>
<p>The great thing about college is that you come into contact with people from all walks of life, and learn how to respect and live with them. However, it doesn't make sense to me that people would discriminate and be rude to students who are a little better off, when it's so politically incorrect to do so to poor students. I have had people on this website say to me "Upper east side?? You need to get out of your spoiled bubble and grow up!" Imagine if someone said to a low income person "Compton?? You'll probably just bring gang warfare to college" I mean, it just seems to me that it's very hypocritical. I don't think it's very smart or fair to draw conclusions about someone based on a simple address. For all you know, I could live in Spanish Harlem, also on the Upper East Side.</p>
<p>However, I appreciate your comment. Those things never upset me, I always just wonder why some people think its okay to judge <em>some</em>. :)</p>
<p>Honestly, it matters not how much money your family makes. All that really matters is the way you treat others. If you are better off than other students, appreciate your good fortune, and continously thank the ones who support you.</p>
<p>But if you come to college without the option of such an allowance, be careful not to label someone that does receive the gift of financial support as uppity brats. Those who cannot seem to mingle with people outside their financial bracket are close-minded and bitter, whether this person is rich or poor. </p>
<p>Live within your means in college. Do not overindulge because your dorm simply will not have room for piles of new shoes. Be aware that some people will have more money than you, while others will have much less. But this is the beauty of going away to school - diversity.</p>
<p>"well i'm not embarassed. college is for learning. i respect people who work during school, but i personally don't think i could concentrate on those two things at once. All of the responses to my query (save a few) have been very helpful and polite, so please don't come here with a chip on your shoulder and suggest to me that I should be embarassed."</p>
<p>I think you have to keep in mind that you're going to get a large variety of repsonses from people to a topic like this. I don't think anyone intented to come at you with a chip on their shoulder--the approach you took in your original post to your question, however, is definitely going to ruffle the
feathers of the people who feel you're asking for too much (me included).</p>
<p>I think IzzieBear's last comment on this topic is dead on.</p>
<p>I understand why you don't want to work, but I have to respectfully disagree with your approach. I think learning to balance work and school is an important part of the college experience. I did take it easy my freshman year--my only job was working as a light guy in a local nightclub two nights a week, which paid for me to get by, though I did require a little (very little) help from my parents. I did not (and have never) get an "allowance" (and am kind of surprised the kids do...especially at this age). My parents took out a loan to cover my first year's tuition and gave me a couple hundred dollars or so over that course of time.</p>
<p>I went into business for myself during my sophomore year (as a DJ) and worked 2-5 nights a week. During my junior year, I was taking 20 credits a semester and working 30 hours during tax season for an accountant's office. I also paid for every dime I spent--all my loans are in my name, all my books and other expenses come out of my pocket or are on my credit card. </p>
<p>It's hard, it sucks at times, but I think you're cheating yourself by not taking on such a responsibility.</p>
<p>I just dont think criticizing me is of very much help, lol. I respect that you worked, you probably got a lot from it, but why do I have to do things your way? I've said numerous times that I want to focus to school work and ecs, and even though you might not be accustomed to people operating this way, it would be kind of you to respect that. Manners are a two way street, people. </p>
<p>Anyhow, I've got a lot of good advice to ponder, so to Izzie Bear and others, thanks. And to people who insist on only seeing things from their point of view, start living out of your own financial bracket. :)</p>
<p>I believe that I did say that I DISAGREED with your approach--I don't see where I was critical of your choice. You asked how much some of us were subsidized and I answered, respectfully adding that I felt you weren't considering a couple things. No where did I say that you were wrong for doing things "your way."</p>