College is gonna cost you $120 a month in Starbucks drinks

[bigfoot]

 http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/09/01/432222772/back-to-school-back-to-the-piggy-bank?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20160827

And the article assumes that parents will be footing this bill of course - not the students.

Also at least $1000 a year for the smartphone. 

They did finally suggest a thrift store for clothes.  But not for furniture, appliances, etc.   


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[Papa Mustache]

So there is only one way to live life in America - and that is apparently the most expensive option on the menu... ;)

Was it like that 50 years ago? 75 years ago? IOW is there any hope that our collective IQ might go up a little in the future?

[GuitarStv]

They need the 120$ a month worth of Starbucks to wake up from the hundreds of dollars of weed and booze that they imbibed the night before.  Geeze, don't you want them to learn anything at school??

[TheGrimSqueaker]

So there is only one way to live life in America - and that is apparently the most expensive option on the menu... ;)

This pretty much sums up the spendypants mentality. They truly don't differentiate between moderately priced but functional options and options that are downright bad or dangerous. Only the most expensive option or set of options are "good".

[slugline]

Even the cheapest plans these days cost about $1,000 a year.

For smartphone service? That's called not even trying. . . .

[Travis]

Even the cheapest plans these days cost about $1,000 a year.

For smartphone service? That's called not even trying. . . .

Sums up most of the author's remarks (furniture, laptop, alcohol, Starbucks). Sounds like he needed to say "hell no" a little more often.

[Goldielocks]

Oh, Boy.  DD Enters grade 12 next week. 

Whatever happened to college students paying for their extras (starbucks, alcohol, school supplies) themselves?

[Travis]

Oh, Boy.  DD Enters grade 12 next week. 

Whatever happened to college students paying for their extras (starbucks, alcohol, school supplies) themselves?

Whatever happened to the poor college student who survived on dumpster diving and table scraps?  15 years ago when I was in college the richest student I knew of was a guy who didn't need a roommate, and even he was still poor enough that he had to get creative furnishing that apartment.

[MoneyCat]

That article makes me laugh almost as much as this article from Gawker (before Hulk Hogan ran wild on them) all about how Millennials apparently don't make their own sandwiches: http://gawker.com/millennials-incapable-of-making-their-own-sandwiches-493149635

[exterous]

Whatever happened to the poor college student who survived on dumpster diving and table scraps?  15 years ago when I was in college the richest student I knew of was a guy who didn't need a roommate, and even he was still poor enough that he had to get creative furnishing that apartment.

No idea. One of the biggest surprises to me from seeing a recent 'move in week' spectacle was how much the mini fridges have changed. I had a tiny one with no freezer that could fit a 6 pack of bottles if you took them out of the box and didn't mind them 3 of them rolling off the shelf when you opened the door. Now it seems everyone has the giant two door ones

The other big one was how many trucks\trailers I saw labeled with "U-Haul". I saw only a couple when I moved in\out from people with compact cars but it seems to be more of the norm now. I'm glad I didn't know how deprived my college experience must have been...

[Goldielocks]

Ah, move in day...  I recall that if all of my stuff did not fit into one elevator move, there was NO chance of it fitting into the room... and I shared a kitchen area with 4 others (needed my own dishes / pots).   

I used to chuckle watching those with more than one load, knowing that a good portion of it was going to be going away with the vehicle again.

I guess dorms / rooms are a lot larger now?

[Papa Mustache]

Our dorms didn't have elevators and alot of us moved in with what would fit in our 1980s car backseats. Back then a dorm room outfit wasn't much. School supplied the furniture. We supplied a microwave, mini-fridge and something to keep in the closet that held our food. Oh, and clothes.

What do 2016 students take to school now besides computers?

[clarkfan1979]

Starbucks was very popular with the college students in Florida when I taught there. The students would complain about being broke but they often had Starbucks and bottle water from the vending machine.

The kids in Hawaii are a lot more frugal. It's mostly refillable water bottles and coffee from home.

[zephyr911]

Well duh. If you get a mocha one time you're clearly going to need one every day of every month.

[LeRainDrop]

Well duh. If you get a mocha one time you're clearly going to need one every day of every month.

I think it's really short-sighted not to build in an escalation factor.  Surely as the semester goes on, the kid's gonna need more daily coffee.  And just wait till finals hit because that's when the need is really gonna pump up!

[Papa Mustache]

Five cups of 10 cent coffee (made in your own machine with plain grounds) to get through a tough study session vs five Starbucks.

Hmmmm.... Tough to decide.

[druth]

I feel very lucky that most of my base fees for college were covered.  Dorms, meal plan, tuition.  Basically anything billed by the school, but I had to pay for anything else.  I think my parents would have laughed at me if I had said I wanted money for more regular Starbucks trips.  I still did go to Starbucks and buy new clothes and go on trips with my friends, but I also had a job for pretty much all of college.

I think the author is just severely out of touch.  The "poor college student" stereotype exists for a reason.

[thegardener]

And if you are going to Starbucks, who says you have to get venti skim lattes and caramel macchiatos anyways? My first two years of college I had no access to the internet, so I went to Starbucks and similar coffee shops in search of wifi. I'd order a small green tea, get free refills (gold card), and work the rewards points to my advantage. Even if I went every day (and I didn't), I would have never spent $120 on Starbucks. Maybe more like $10 or $15 dollars a month. Well worth the ability to do homework when you can't get internet service at home.

[MgoSam]

Well duh. If you get a mocha one time you're clearly going to need one every day of every month.

I think it's really short-sighted not to build in an escalation factor.  Surely as the semester goes on, the kid's gonna need more daily coffee.  And just wait till finals hit because that's when the need is really gonna pump up!

It's not just that, but also that it becomes a habit. I recall multiple people that would come in to morning classes with a cup of coffee. Not all are ordering just black coffee, and some are going there multiple times a day.

Additionally, there are a lot of meetings that occur at coffee shops, such as project meetings, student organizations, meeting with friends, and of course, dates. This all can add up if not careful.