Student Spending at Kalamazoo College

A recent study conducted by two Kalamazoo College students has brought to light some interesting information on average student spending at Kalamazoo College.  51 K College students were randomly selected to fill out a survey regarding what they spent their money on (entertainment, groceries, alcohol, etc.…) and where that money came from (their parents, job, savings etc.…). The results of this study, though by no means conclusive based on the small sample size, still offer some interesting statistics.

On average, students spend about $16 per week on groceries with women spending about $14 more on them than men do. Also, both spend about $9 per week on meals out, $32 on entertainment, and only $5 per week on alcohol. The alcohol statistic is surprisingly low, which could be because of some anxiety about admitting to underage drinking. The statistic that states that women spend more on groceries per week than men do is not too surprising because women at K do seem more likely to want to cook their own food than the men do.

As for where students get their money from and how they go about paying for things, 73% of students surveyed listed their debit card as their primary form of payment, followed by 12% for their credit card and 12% for cash. Another place that 61% of students get money from would be from their jobs on campus. One of the most surprising statistics recorded would be, of the 51 K students surveyed, those who are only-children receive $14 LESS, on average, from their parents than students with multiple siblings do. That statistic could be affected by the student’s parental income as well as whether or not the student with the multiple siblings is one of the youngest (generally, the youngest siblings receive more things from their parents than the older siblings do).