<p>My d is going to UNC in the Fall. We are willing to give her a monthly allowance to cover personal expenses. She will be on a meal plan and live on campus. The allowance will include anything else she might need. This is our first child going to college so I really have no idea how much would be adequate. </p>
<p>Also, I am not sure if she wants to join a sorority but how much does that cost per year?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I'd like to see the answers on this-My friends who have daughters at Alabama say sorority fees/dues etc are roughly $3,000/semester</p>
<p>^^ Wow. What in the world would that cover, unless the kid lived in the sorority house?</p>
<p>Hold on, let me crack open my excel spreadsheet. </p>
<p>(I did this for only one sorority- the costs are all roughly the same, but check on the UNC Greek website. There's a complete breakdown)</p>
<p>$2060 per semester ($4120 annually) Year 1
$3110 per semester ($6220 annually) Year 2 (in house, so subtract the normal housing expenses)</p>
<p>Not sure if I put the meal plan in those...</p>
<p>My daughter's sorority dues is $750/semester without living at the house. When she lived there sophomore year it was less than school's room and board. $300 of it is for food even though she is not living there. It covers for occasional dinner or brunch at the house. They pretty allow members to drop by for meals whenever they want. $400 social dues is for formals, t-shirts, national membership fee...</p>
<p>The UNC Greek Life website is really useful. They estimate that new member costs average $1500-2300 per semester, for students living in the dorms.
If your daughter is attending a summer orientation, she might find it helpful to go to one of the Panhellenic introductions offered at the same time.</p>
<p>Oh, and if this is helpful, I have a monthly allowance of $200 (excluding cell phone bill) and I think it's very reasonable. I don't eat in the dining hall, so it covers all of my food/misc expenses.</p>
<p>*My friends who have daughters at Alabama say sorority fees/dues etc are roughly $3,000/semester *</p>
<p>The average cost per semester for an Alabama sorority member who lives in the sorority house is approximately $3,400.00. For a member who lives out of the sorority house, the average cost is $2,100.00. Both amounts include the meal plan for the sorority house.</p>
<p>Depends on the CoL in the area.</p>
<p>DD sorority dues are $700 per semester without staying at the house.
DD spends around $350 on the regular meals and $150-$250 on the other personal expenses i.e. around $500 - $700 including meals as the college doesn't have regular meal plans. DD also pays $300 per semester towards the dining option that subsidized meals.</p>
<p>My daughter has a job so she can cover her own monthly expenses. Never too soon to teach em to earn $ on their OWN!</p>
<p>My daughter gets $200 to $300 a month. She is so crafty that sometimes she doesn't spend it all and shifts it into savings. She is not in a sorority. She earned a nice scholarship, so I just send her whatever she needs.</p>
<p>D has always been thrifty and has always been a saver. She's still working down the lump I gave her for first semester. I figured $50 a week, but it has been quite a bit less than that obviously even including the startup bathroom and school supplies costs. But I hear that some kids run out of money all the time, and the boys often buy extra food. </p>
<p>$2000 a semester for a sorority withOUT living in the house gives me the shivers.</p>
<p>My son will attend college on an Army ROTC scholarship. You tax payers will be sending him a stipend each month. Thank you. </p>
<p>As a point of reference for the OP, the amount varies by year:
$300/month Freshmen
$350/month Soph
$450/month Jr
$500/month Sr.</p>
<p>That averages out to $400/month, which is more than we would provide as a parental allowance if he were a "civilian" student. In that case, we'd probably let him have about $25/week.</p>
<p>*You tax payers will be sending him a stipend each month. Thank you. *</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>And we thank HIM for wanting to serve our country! :)</p>
<p>*
$2000 a semester for a sorority withOUT living in the house gives me the shivers. *</p>
<p>It shouldn't. That includes the meal plan. Doesn't sound too bad at all.</p>
<p>It depends on what crowd she hangs out with, and whether and to what extent you want to support the same lifestyle. I don't think you should set a number in stone right now (although you might say "This is the max we can afford"). For example, if it turns out that her friends like to go out to eat all the time, and you feel you can afford to pay for that luxury, then I think it's a question about your values and preferences and how you want to express them. There's no right or wrong answer.</p>
<p>There have been soooo many this type of threads on CC. It sounds like" I have too much money and don't know what to do" to me. </p>
<p>For both our kids, we will give ZERO per month per for all 4 years. We pay our shares of R & B. That is all we could manage. If they want spending $$, they find a job. One job is not enough, get two. oh, btw, they works in summer too. I am so proud of both of them for making it on their own.</p>
<p>Both my kids work summer jobs and also part-time jobs during the school year. They provide their own spending money.</p>
<p>Some kids are heavily into extracurriculars. It's hard for the student body president, the editor in chief of the campus paper, the manager of the college TV station, a varsity athlete at a Division 3 college, etc. to hold down a job too. Those activities might pay off better in terms of future employment than a work-study job. So there's really no "one size fits all' answer to the question.</p>