<p>I was just wondering how much extra money a person needs in college and what for?</p>
<p>sex drugs and alcohol obviously. it depends on the person.</p>
<p>meals off campus - how often you eat off campus will affect how much you spend.</p>
<p>cell phone with text messaging- your plan and what is not included will affect this</p>
<p>Clothing.</p>
<p>trips home/out of town</p>
<p>hockey tickets</p>
<p>concert tickets</p>
<p>music/cds</p>
<p>decorative items for your room</p>
<p>snacks for your room</p>
<p>toileteries</p>
<p>all of your food here is paid for in big red bucks, and you get $500 for the semester. books should account for a HUGE part of your budget.</p>
<p>id say as a freshman, you may want a couple hundred in your bank account just so you can have spending cash, especially for the cafes that only take cash and the occasional use of taxis</p>
<p>Yeah, I put a couple hundred into a college checking account, but I haven’t used too much of it. You can pay for meals with your Cornell ID and non-food purcharses like textbooks can be put on CornellCard (you swipe your ID and the purchase is put on your bursar bill). I really only need cash when I eat out in Collegetown or go to the mall.</p>
<p>so we just need a couple hundred dollars in our bank accounts?
Also what are big red bucks and the bursar bill?</p>
<p>big red bucks are part of various meal plans. you get different amounts based on which meal plan you choose. you can spend them just like regular dollars at many cafes or eateries around campus. you swipe your ID card and this is all registered. you can find out about the different meal plans and their corresponding BRBs here: [Dining</a> - Apply for a Meal Plan](<a href=“Residential Life | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University”>Residential Life | Student & Campus Life | Cornell University)
BRBs are in addition to the more traditional “all you care to eat” dining halls, which are also part of the meal plans.</p>
<p>someone else should explain the bursar bill. I have a basic idea of what it is but I might miss a technicality.</p>
<p>your textbooks, depending on what you study I suppose, could end up being a couple hundred bucks, but once you’re finished with that, you just won’t have very many expenses.</p>
<p>the bursar bill is basically your tuition bill that your parents/you pay. also, any printing you do on campus gets billed to your bursar bill, as well as all cornellcard purchases. cornellcard is just like a credit card</p>
<p>my biggest expenses:</p>
<p>Gannett copays and charges
laundry
books</p>
<p>thats about it…</p>
<p>bumping this up to answer a freshman’s #3</p>
<p>I’d say in order of amount my extra charges were (not inc. meal plan)
- Clothing
- Alcohol (though if you join Greek that’ll change)
- Food/Coffee from off campus
- Medication/Medicine</p>
<p>I bought an awful lot of avocados in college.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Showing your age on that one.</p>
<p>as far as number wise, keep about $500 in your bank account that you can take money out of from an ATM. freshman year, that lasted me basically 2 semesters</p>
<p>and cayuga, your comment made me laugh :] props to you</p>
<p>hey, I didn’t say records…</p>
<p>frankly, a record player will probably make you one of the cooler persons on the floor.</p>
<p>i still own my walkman…would that count too? my biggest dream is to be the coolest kid on campus</p>
<p>walkmans are antiquated. Record players are acceptable retro.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Agreed.</p>
<p>And that’s not just because I own a record player. :p</p>
<p>I prefer the sound of vinyl…I just wish more of the newer artists I’ve taken a liking to would cater to that. Oh well, oldies are way better anyway! :)</p>
<p>
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<p>Agreed. I was just listening to Andrew Bird vinyl last night. Exquisite.</p>
<p>My point was that most college students don’t pay for music.</p>