<p>the average college student spends $2600 a year on beer . . . that’s $50 a week EVERY week. How much are they drinking??? Even if you are picking upscale microbrews, that’s 30 bottles a week! ($10/6-pack = 30 bottles).</p>
<p>I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised to learn that students spend $50 doing shots at some bar or other, but I’m having a hard time with that much for beer.</p>
<p>Even still, how do you spend $50 a week on alcohol? And actually it’s more than that because this is just based on the two semester school year. So assuming it’s 15 week semesters (I’ll throw breaks in, too), it’s well over $70 a week. That’s ridiculous. Also- the average student isn’t in Greek life. Plus, where do the students even get the “$23k” ish a year for these things? I don’t think that average cost of Room & Board is $8k (admittedly, I could be wrong on this but it just seems way too high).</p>
<p>I guess if you go to the bar three nights a week, that’s a $16.66 tab per night, which doesn’t seem too abnormal. And I know a LOT of people who do that. Plus you have to factor in the bottles you buy every two to three weeks for pregaming.</p>
<p>Yeah, this chart is ridiculous. I consume an average of 300-400mg of caffeine (equivalent to 4-5 cups of coffee) every day, and even my caffeine costs don’t add up to their projected coffee costs. Not to mention, I ease off it during the breaks when I get to enjoy plenty of sleep.</p>
<p>The same applies for beer. It seems like they’re actually doubling the costs or something.</p>
<p>The average college student spends $2600/year on alcohol? Yeah right. Maybe if you go out to bars/clubs in Manhattan every week but otherwise no. Most college students who drink take advantage of bars specials ($3 pitchers, $2 Long Island iced teas, etc.), which makes going out fairly reasonable. In my heaviest drinking semesters, I’d be spending $400/semester. </p>
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Room and board at most private colleges is $12k-$14k. Which of course is why you live off-campus.</p>
<p>I don’t think the average college student has an extra $2K a year to spend. This must be a certain group of kids that were targeted. I know many kids who are scraping for an extra $200 a year for spending money.</p>
<p>I can see how alcohol costs can make it that high. That’s only a $25 tab on both Friday and Saturday night each week. When I spent a lot of time partying, that was a low-budget weekend, and the beer at bars around here is pretty cheap ($2.75/bottle for Bud Light on average). Not to mention a lot of people that go to parties end up getting at least one 18 or 24 pack to take with them, throw in a bottle or two of booze for the pregame, and it adds up quick. </p>
<p>Strangely enough, I see some of the stats on that site kinda low. $750/year on clothes. I spend $200 in a weekend if I really go shopping and I’d say I do that about once a month or every other month at least. Then, consider seasonal wardrobe changes, and the amount goes up pretty drastically. I guess because I’m female, the prices are higher, so I’m assuming this is lower due to averaging in males, whose clothes cost less and tend to shop for clothing less often. </p>
<p>The food budget also seems kinda low to me. I easily spend $50 a week on just groceries (granted I do not live on a campus with a “meal plan” or anything, so this is to actually stock my fridge and cabinets with food I can cook). Then add in a little fast food, and that number goes up, and throw in a sit down dinner with friends on a random night (let’s call it a $23 bill, without tip, if I have a decent pasta meal and a couple of beers – but I guess part of it would go towards the alcohol budget then, huh?).</p>