Money Survey: Part 1

The results of The Tab‘s Money Survey are in, and using your results, we have calculated what the average Cambridge student does with their wallet. Meet Mr and Miss Cambridge…

– He spends £80.36 per week, while she only spends £65.98 (21.8% less).

– He is three times more likely than her to spend “a lot” on alcohol every week.

– She expects to earn £43.7k per year at the age of 30, while he thinks he’ll be making 57.9% more (£69.0k).

– They both think location and enjoyment are very important in a job, but that prestige, money and ethics are only of average importance.

– Their current household income is £68.1k, meaning neither of them qualifies for a Maintenance Grant or Cambridge Bursary.

– One of them gets money by doing paid work during the holidays, while the other relies on savings.

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How much are they likely to spend on booze every week?

Over three times more men than women would say that they spend “a lot” on alcohol every week. Whereas there are almost twice as many girls as guys who don’t spend any money on booze. Either there are more teetotallers among them, or they just don’t have to pay for as many drinks…

“These results emphasise the stereotype that all Cambridge lads are boozers, but I know loads of guys – me included – who don’t drink at all and still know how to have a good time.” – Dan Carter, 1st Year Mathematician, Clare.

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How much are they likely to spend on food every week?

Men are also more likely than women to spend either “quite a lot” or “a lot” on food. This is another major factor in lads spending 21.8% more than girls every week.

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– One of them went to private school, with a current household income of £118.8k. They get £75.99 a week from their parents, whilst spending £81.07. They expect to make £60.8k by 30.

– Meanwhile, the other went to state school. Their current household income is £53.8k, and they receive only half as much (£39.61) from their parents, and subsequently spend considerably less (£66.29) per week. They expect to make 25.5% less (£45.3k).

“[How much money you get from your parents] really depends on the individual person. I don’t get any money from my parents, but went to private schools.” – Melisa Dear, 2nd Year Linguist, St. John’s.

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Fresher Optimism?

Mr and Miss Cambridge undergo a change of lifestyle as they move through their time at Uni. When they arrive in first year, they expect to be making £67.2k by the age of 30. However, by third year, realism has struck, and that figure  has dropped 20% to £53.7k. In spite of this, in the transition from second to third year, they start spending £14.45 more every week.

“As a first year, I thought of my economic prospects as an elegant butterfly fluttering towards the sun of promise. Now I see that the sun of reality is harsh and hot, and has enflamed the butterfly’s wings, forcing it to crash and die, like our true hopes for prosperous employment.” – Richard Eggleston, 3rd Year Geographer, Homerton.

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What You Said

– “I think both student finanace and cambridge bursaries should be altered to place less importance on family income.”

– “Universities should be paid for the work they do: it isn’t right that they make a loss per student in technical disciplines.”

– “My parents are comfortable, but why should that mean that I have to come out of uni with £40,000 worth of debt?”

– “I deliberately chose a cheaper room in college so that I could afford to spend a little bit more on other things.”

–  “I would like to see higher alumni donations, and intend to donate significantly in the future.”

Come back later this week for Part 2 to see The Tab‘s alternative Cambridge rich lists…

With thanks to Jo Hall and James Whittle for their modelling.