The College Student. A former captive who has been freed and released into the wild.
           With newfound friends Freedom, Independence and Money, join the College Student in his or her journey through college.  Responsibility gets lost along the way and has to catch another flight up; by the time it arrives, Independence has taken over and Money is slightly beaten and used up. Parental Contribution receives a phone call and sends help to get Money back on his feet. Independence witnesses how quickly Money has been healed and takes advantage of him again.  Money gets patched up but this time, he is left with some bruises. Then, the vicious cycle continues all over again, with Money always dwindling behind.
           Sound familiar? First time college students can relate to such an experience after their first realization that money in the bank account does not just replenish itself whenever the balance gets low. Parents of college students know the time will come when they will receive that phone call asking for more money. Somehow they know the call will come at some point, especially considering that all their colleagues and friends have already asked them a dozen times if they have spoken to their child and if the child has begged for more money yet.
           For the most part, students in their freshman year of college are experiencing what it is like to be “on their own” for the first time. Having bank accounts, credit cards, and checkbooks all to themselves, with their own names attached, can be a frightful thing to keep in order.  I have noticed that most college students do not even have time to sit down and analyze how much money they have, and how that amount translates into daily, weekly or monthly spending. I am a college freshman, and I believe this to be true for most of us.
           According to an article by Rebecca Gardyn, the Harris Interactive Survey claims “the average college student has about $287 to spend on discretionary items per month, or about $3,444 per year.” Considering that the average college costs for a four-year private university is $22,218 per year (my university, MIT, is nearly double that amount), it seems that college students should be able to handle this amount of money without “going broke,” since this money is discretionary, as described in College Board’s 2006 study Trends in College Pricing. Yet that does not seem to be the case for many.
           According to another College Board study, 2006-07 College Costs,  “over $134 billion” is available in financial aid. This excess of money keeps a college education “an affordable choice for most families.” So why is it that some college students end up with only fifty dollars for themselves for the rest of the semester when the semester isn’t even halfway over yet?
           Have you ever noticed the setup of a college town? Seems like a well-planned-out blueprint, with all the right stores in all the right places. Check out the campus student center—donuts, pizza and burgers, tacos, university bookstore, and grocery store (all cleverly overpriced). Check out what surrounds the campus — fast food restaurants, ice cream stores, shopping malls, more restaurants, pharmacies and clothing stores (all cleverly overpriced). Check out the customers in these places at all times — college students. These wild beasts are people, and they have to eat and shop too! They have to maintain the tradition of the Freshmen Fifteen! They have to call their parents for money!
           Every corner college students turn there are things they can spend money on. With all the stores in close proximity, they are more likely to say “Hmm, I think I can go for a McFlurry right now, or maybe I can get those shoes I’ve been seeing everywhere.” Business owners know that college students are going to spend money on any and everything.  Why not make good profit off them?
           College students or “Educated Consumers,” as Gardyn would call them, are spending approximately “$11 billion a year on snacks and beverages, $4 billion on personal care products and $3 billion on CDs.” What’s the bottom line? People spend money, college students included too.
           I knew prior to entering MIT that living on my own would be expensive. In order to help my parents out financially, I decided to get a summer job after my graduation from high school. I have deemed the amount of money I earned to be substantial and successful considering that I haven’t yet called home begging for more money. Within the past three months, I have spent around $1800 (coming from Miami = no winter clothing). A friend of mine, also from a warm climate, has spent $4000, mostly on clothes and food.
           I notice that at MIT, students are forever spending money. It seems like the lines in the Student Center never die down, unless it is during the hours when students are actually attending lectures, labs and recitations. Since the Student Center on the MIT campus is centrally located, it seems to have more traffic during the day from students taking a break or simply going from class to class than many other campus student centers.
           If you just wait by the doors leading into the Student Center, you will be sure to find a rush of hungry college students on the hour, between classes on the weekdays, ready to get in line for a meal. Depending on your individual schedule and where you eat, you can spend on average $7 to $12 on a meal. If, for whatever reason, you have to eat three full meals in the Student Center, you can end up spending up to $35 just on food and drinks, which can add up to $245 a week if worst comes to worst.
           However, there are alternatives to eating at the Student Center on the campus at MIT. There are food trucks located around the main building of campus where you can buy meals at a cheap price. There are also fast-food restaurants located within ten minutes on foot. If you find yourself stuck on main campus all day, because of a heavy workload or other academic reasons, you can also order from an online campus food website which might turn out to be cheaper than eating at the Student Center. But if there is really no other choice, don’t be surprised if you spend around $35 on food in one day.
           Food is not the only thing that college students spend money on. With all the extra time they have after classes, procrastination and studying, they go shopping, go to parties, and generally just “go out.” A disciplined student can find entertainment without having to actually spend money on something; however, people do cross that boundary every once in a while.
           Financially, college can be a real drag considering the amount of freedom students have with respect to what goes in and comes out of their linty pockets.

NOTE: