# Spending Money for College Kids - How much? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 23, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spending-money-for-college-kids-how-much/530134 "2010-02-23T16:14:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spending-money-for-college-kids-how-much/530134/61 "2010-02-25T17:20:58Z")
Upcoming events for UCF [Free music events for February](http://music.cah.ucf.edu/events.php) [Finale for the student short film competition is March 2nd (free)](http://www.facebook.com/pages/Orlando-FL/UCF-Campus-Activities-Board/109657004120#!/photo.php?pid=3497452&id=109657004120) [club sports at UCF](http://www.sportclubs.ucf.edu/) (bottom left see times and locations for upcoming volleyball, Tae Kwon Do, and lacrosse meets. [Weekly swing dance lessons, free for beginners](http://www.myspace.com/swingknights) Not free but damn cheap: [Season pass for the Theatre Dept (9 shows) is $80 for students](http://theatre.ucf.edu/tickets.php) ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spending-money-for-college-kids-how-much/530134/62 "2010-02-25T17:24:51Z")
I went to UK, 94-98. Some stuff had a charge of a buck or two, but a lot of stuff was free. If you wanted to do several things that cost a buck or two in any given week, you could easily skip going to the first-run movie off-campus that week and cover the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Viscera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/258eb7/32.png) [@Viscera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viscera)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spending-money-for-college-kids-how-much/530134/63 "2010-02-28T06:15:16Z")
My parents’ had started a college fund for me, but I believe it was all used up for four years of private high school tuition (Chicago). So, I paid for everything for private four-year university, including tuition, books, dorm, food, etc. Although I did have one decent scholarship (still not sure how I got it, never applied for it, but it was worth about $5k a year). Parents took out a PLUS loan which I had to pay back, in addition to all my regular subsidized/unsubsidized loans (which I am still paying back). I worked a bunch, maybe 20-30 hours a week. In retrospect I do wish I worked less and enjoyed school more, but I think it worked out in the long run. ---
**Author:** ![CutterJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@CutterJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CutterJohn)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spending-money-for-college-kids-how-much/530134/64 "2010-02-28T15:03:06Z")
Its my opinion that, without a job, and personal income going towards tuition, many students simply take college less seriously. After all, its not _their_ money that is being wasted if they slack off or do poorly. There is no immediate personal incentive. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spending-money-for-college-kids-how-much/530134/65 "2010-03-01T14:52:08Z")
> [@CutterJohn](#): > > Its my opinion that, without a job, and personal income going towards tuition, many students simply take college less seriously. After all, its not _their_ money that is being wasted if they slack off or do poorly. There is no immediate personal incentive. I dunno, that really depends on the kid. My roommate had at least one semester where he flunked or got Ds in three classes due to slacking, but he spent the last month of said semester literally weeping at least twice a week about how he was feeling terribly guilty about wasting his mom’s money–where he didn’t give a damn when it was mostly scholarships and his savings paying for it when he failed a few and changed majors a few years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spending-money-for-college-kids-how-much/530134/66 "2010-03-01T15:02:29Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Upcoming events for UCF > [Free music events for February](http://music.cah.ucf.edu/events.php) > [Finale for the student short film competition is March 2nd (free)](http://www.facebook.com/pages/Orlando-FL/UCF-Campus-Activities-Board/109657004120#!/photo.php?pid=3497452&id=109657004120) > [club sports at UCF](http://www.sportclubs.ucf.edu/) (bottom left see times and locations for upcoming volleyball, Tae Kwon Do, and lacrosse meets. > [Weekly swing dance lessons, free for beginners](http://www.myspace.com/swingknights) > > Not free but damn cheap: > [Season pass for the Theatre Dept (9 shows) is $80 for students](http://theatre.ucf.edu/tickets.php) Huh. Guess I was too drunk to find all this stuff back in the day. 'Course, it was also pre-Facebook and just the beginning stages of “visit our website”… > [@CutterJohn](#): > > Its my opinion that, without a job, and personal income going towards tuition, many students simply take college less seriously. After all, its not _their_ money that is being wasted if they slack off or do poorly. There is no immediate personal incentive. It’s not a public high school student’s money being wasted if they slack off, but many of them excel anyway. Having a job may make students more inclined to attend class, but it also makes students tired and less inclined to do anything. It’s a wash in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spending-money-for-college-kids-how-much/530134/67 "2010-03-01T15:30:38Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > I’m pretty sure my parents gave me $0. The expectation was that I would save money over the summers and/or work part time on campus. I’d be inclined to take the same approach with my kids. My parents had the same approach. They covered tuition, room&board, books and meal plan, but I had to earn my own social money (usually through summer jobs and internships). The social scene at my school was a bit different than most. We had like 35 fraternities set up like small clubs with bars, dance floors and sound systems. They weren’t allowed to charge money for their parties so basically you got to drink for free a lot (if you were in the fraternity you paid like $300 a semester in social dues to fund the parties for your house). ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spending-money-for-college-kids-how-much/530134/68 "2010-03-01T15:49:47Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > My parents had the same approach. They covered tuition, room&board, books and meal plan, but I had to earn my own social money (usually through summer jobs and internships). > > The social scene at my school was a bit different than most. We had like 35 fraternities set up like small clubs with bars, dance floors and sound systems. They weren’t allowed to charge money for their parties so basically you got to drink for free a lot (if you were in the fraternity you paid like $300 a semester in social dues to fund the parties for your house). If you go to a Greek heavy school, partying can be pretty darn cheap if not free. Especially if you are a reasonably attractive female. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spending-money-for-college-kids-how-much/530134/69 "2010-03-01T15:53:55Z")
Or even an ugly female as long as it’s getting near last call. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spending-money-for-college-kids-how-much/530134.md?page=3)