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If all goes to plan my teen DD will be going to university in the midwest in fall 2018.
How much college spending money?
If money gets to USA does she have to pay tax on it?
I know international students have limited possibility for work hours and only on campus.
Is a big change from EU to USA so any information on this. Thanks.
I would contact the office for international students at her university to get more information.
A lot will depend on her living arrangements. If she lives in a dorm with a full meal plan that is paid for vs. living in an apartment where she has to pay rent & buy food & household necessities (bathroom tissue, cleaning supplies, light bulbs, etc).
My children have had friends that have had very, very limited spending money & have managed just fine and other friends whose parents sent them enough to go out to eat often, buy loads of new clothes, go to expensive concerts & entertainment on a regular basis and the friends constantly complained that they never had enough money. So, it varies tremendously.
When I was in college there were also both extremes. I had a friend who got $100/mo (we had free room and board) and another who had a unlimited credit card his dad gave him. If it's just fun money I can't imagine more than $500/mo if you also include hair cuts, clothes, etc in that allotment.
Echoing other posters - it depends. When my kids lived in the dorms, they had a full meal plan and didn't need much money. They worked during the summer and so that's where they got money for any extras like concerts/entertainment/eating out with friends. I'd say they spent maybe $200/month? When they moved off campus and got an apartment with a full kitchen (thus responsible for their own food, plus things like cleaning supplies, paper towel/TP, etc.) I sent $400/month.
Also depends on the location. A student going to school in Manhattan is going to have different costs than a student going to school in Iowa City.
If all goes to plan my teen DD will be going to university in the midwest in fall 2018.
How much college spending money?
If money gets to USA does she have to pay tax on it?
I know international students have limited possibility for work hours and only on campus.
Is a big change from EU to USA so any information on this. Thanks.
Monthly
Cell phone maybe $100. It would be more like $50 but yours will likely need international calls and texting. Speaking of get on iMessage or WhatsApp.
Clothing. Likely similar to what she spends currently.
Heath insurance. Likely she will need to sign up for the college health insurance. This is anywhere from $509-$1500 a year. Most of them will want it all at the beginning of the semester but some take monthly payments.
Food. Most schools will make freshman get a major meal plan. That should cover her for almost all of her meals tho service can be very limited on weekends and holidays. Most schools have a Starbucks in every campus center and it gets easy to spend $10 a pop there for a scone and a coffee. Try to have her avoid that habit. I would budget for a combined food/entertainment/misc budget of $200/month. Maybe less.
If you use a bank that has international branches like Citibank it is easier to do the transfers if you have an account on your end in the same bank. There will not be taxes on it coming in just on nearly everything she will buy.
Part of the education at college has nothing to do with what's taught in the classroom. Part of it is about learning to live on one's own, including managing one's money and time. If you just deposit a wad of cash into your kid's bank account every month, you are keeping them in this semi-permanent adolescence.
With that in mind, I personally believe that a student should have to work for their extra spending money. Not a full-time job or anything. But maybe delivering pizzas or working in the library or something 15-20 hours a week.
My daughter first worked in an embroidery shop, essentially working for a little more than minimum wage. Then she wised up and started nannying for two sets of parents. Then she took after her entrepreneurial old man started a small nannying/babysitting service with three really reliable students. She made bank for a college student doing it. Best of all, it didn't cut into her rigorous academic schedule, one where she was taking graduate-level classes.
I guess what I'm saying is to not cripple your children by making their lives easy. Sure, if there's a real problem, you help them out. But you have to teach them how to make it on their own.
If all goes to plan my teen DD will be going to university in the midwest in fall 2018.
How much college spending money?
If money gets to USA does she have to pay tax on it?
I know international students have limited possibility for work hours and only on campus.
Is a big change from EU to USA so any information on this. Thanks.
Impossible to say without knowing exactly which college. Most have the information on the website. What I will offer is this - living in the US is nearly always much, much more expensive than foreign students realize before they get here. Some things they usually don't anticipate: needing a car (you really need one at many schools) and all the expenses associated with a car, like insurance; health insurance and/or doctor visits; utility bills, if not completely covered when living in a dorm. And if living off campus, then usually they don't anticipate just how expensive decent living conditions will be.
Part of the education at college has nothing to do with what's taught in the classroom. Part of it is about learning to live on one's own, including managing one's money and time. If you just deposit a wad of cash into your kid's bank account every month, you are keeping them in this semi-permanent adolescence.
With that in mind, I personally believe that a student should have to work for their extra spending money. Not a full-time job or anything. But maybe delivering pizzas or working in the library or something 15-20 hours a week.
My daughter first worked in an embroidery shop, essentially working for a little more than minimum wage. Then she wised up and started nannying for two sets of parents. Then she took after her entrepreneurial old man started a small nannying/babysitting service with three really reliable students. She made bank for a college student doing it. Best of all, it didn't cut into her rigorous academic schedule, one where she was taking graduate-level classes.
I guess what I'm saying is to not cripple your children by making their lives easy. Sure, if there's a real problem, you help them out. But you have to teach them how to make it on their own.
And on the other hand, lack of funds and needing to work too much is the most common reason why students drop out of school. Especially foreign students, who usually vastly underestimate the amount of money needed, and end up trying to live without a lease, in a filthy basement apartment in a bad part of town, spending three hours getting to campus because they didn't realize they needed a car or more money for a closer apartment, and then driving without insurance because they can't afford it, and then getting sick and not being able to afford the doctor because they didn't get health insurance. Making sure they have enough money is not the same as dumping wads of extra cash in their accounts. OP's kid is a foreign student and can't work.
And on the other hand, lack of funds and needing to work too much is the most common reason why students drop out of school. Especially foreign students, who usually vastly underestimate the amount of money needed, and end up trying to live without a lease, in a filthy basement apartment in a bad part of town, spending three hours getting to campus because they didn't realize they needed a car or more money for a closer apartment, and then driving without insurance because they can't afford it, and then getting sick and not being able to afford the doctor because they didn't get health insurance. Making sure they have enough money is not the same as dumping wads of extra cash in their accounts. OP's kid is a foreign student and can't work.
I think you missed my point. The thread deals with 'spending money,' not renting a decent place or other essentials. My daughter lived in a nice apartment that was on the University's transit line, had a car, and always had nice clothes.
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