Hi guys,
I will be attending Cornell University this fall and I needed help figuring out how much money my parents should be sending me for things like clothing, social aspects, gym, leisure etc. So to give a basic run-down, our total EFC is around $5,000/yr, and I’ve received grants totaling up to about $60,000 to cover the rest of the cost of attendence. My parents thus will already be paying 5k out-of-pocket out of the total 65k sticker price. Living on campus and a meal plan is also pretty much covered by the grants, so I won’t need extra money for food or rent. Some things I wasn’t quite sure about, however, include
- If I should be receiving spending money by month, by year, by semester, etc.
- About how much spending money will I be needing considering my situation?
- On average how much do parents usually send to their children to spend?
- Is this extra spending money added on the EFC? or is it already included in the EFC?
Thanks for any help or advice you guys can provide!
You will need money for laundry, maybe printing, and toiletries. Your cost to attend ($65K) includes $890 for books and $1810 for misc spend. $1810 probably includes travel expenses and some spending money on campus. Your parents probably won’t have to pay out $5K because you will be able to get an on campus and summer jobs.
As far as how much spending money you will need is personal. There are kids with unlimited allowance, $1000/mon, down to $20-50/mon. There are many kids who get no money from their parents for books or spending money. You need to work it out with your parents on what they can afford. I have been giving my kids few hundred/mon for allowance since they were in high school. I transfer money to their account every month. My kids (older one graduated) probably went out to eat more than other students.
Thanks @oldfort , that was really helpful!
My parents don’t give me any spending money, but they cover all the academic aspects of college for me. They buy my textbooks and put money into my Cornell laundry account at the beginning of the year. They also agreed to get me a gym membership both semesters this past year ($90 a semester, a little cheaper I think if you buy a full year in advance). Other than that, I’m on my own. I work during the semester and during breaks and put most of that money into savings, but I put some into my checking account and use that as my spending money. I personally spend a lot of it on food (I love going out to dinner with friends on weekends), but I also spent some on concert tickets when bands came to Cornell and a little for online clothes shopping (which I limit to only when I have exams as a sort of stress-reliever).
There are plenty of people on campus whose parents send them a monthly or weekly allowance. My parents don’t, but I really don’t find there to be a need for one. I just pay for all my leisure activities on my own.
I do not give my son spending money, but I pay for his books, clothing, and transportation to/from school breaks. He earns spending money during the summer, and as far as I know, it is mostly spent on food or a random concert. I deposit $$ in laundry account as needed, but I doubt that was $100 for the year. (Best not to consider that one too closely.)
I haven’t actually added up the cost of books & transportation but I know that his tuition, room & board came to under $61K this year.
One other random charge is PE class. The charge varies by class but that can be another $100-$200/semester for the first year. I think you may be able to select a PE class that includes the gym membership (fitness classes maybe?)
And the university plans to impose a $350 annual health fee next year, although hopefully they have included that charge in your COA calculation.
You should be able to earn enough spending money as Ithaca is not a very expensive place to attend school. By that, I mean that there are many inexpensive social opportunities. You may discover you need more winter layers and the year wears one.
Best of luck!
My daughter is full pay at Cornell and I pay all her tuition/books/PEfees/board/lodging. Like @oldfort I’ve been giving her allowance since MS through her Visa Buxx. However this semester she had a job and I stopped putting fund into her card. She’s actually very frugal. She had about 4K in her savings and checking account when we dropped her to Cornell last fall from past earnings and graduation gift. She barely touched it. The only time that she withdrew was when she went to spend her fall/thanksgiving/spring breaks to her friend’s house. (We’re from SoCal).
Thank you so much guys! I will take all this into consideration.
DD receives grants similar to yours. We driver her to/from home and keep her on our phone plan; other than that, she pays for all her books and incidentals through her work-study.