Working in college (doctors, degree, costs, schools)
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Student loans don't pay for medical bills or daily expenses. Sometimes it's really a curse having a near full scholarship because I don't have any kind of leeway for loans. The government also tops out at $6000 a year in Pell Grants which is less than 1/7 of my overall college bill.
My school is rather small and has so many people who need part time jobs that there aren't enough, I only get 3 or 4 hours at my office job because the office was asked to hire 2 people rather than the 1 that they really needed. Because I have one job and am taking an overloaded course schedule, I cannot find a 2nd job despite pressure from my family, my financial aid officer, and myself.
Not having a car makes it really difficult for the vast majority of my campus. In order to get a job off campus (where the job market is much more open), you need to have a car. In order to have a car, you need money. It's sort of an endless cycle of financial dread.
People should be able to do whatever they want. I work FT and go to school FT...it's not fun, and not really needed, but I do it because I want money for savings. I have 40 units completed in 12 months and a 4.0......anything is possible.
It made me depressed. Do you think people should have to work as well as take class full time?
If you don't, where did we go wrong as a country that this is now expected.
Where did we go wrong as a country that it is expected that people won't have to work while in college? It's far better to take 5 years to complete a degree and not have to borrow money than it is to graduate in 4 with a ton of debt weighing you down right out of the gate.
I worked 30+ hours per week thru college (lived at home, tuition paid by parents) to pay for car, savings and fun money. It took an extra semester but I didn't feel weighed down and got an 3.2 average. It was good practice for the real world.
Where did we go wrong as a country that it is expected that people won't have to work while in college? It's far better to take 5 years to complete a degree and not have to borrow money than it is to graduate in 4 with a ton of debt weighing you down right out of the gate.
Who has the money to go 5 years? After 4 years, you lose your scholarship at my school and I don't have an extra $50,000 laying around for that last year. No amount of hours working will make up for that cost.
Who has the money to go 5 years? After 4 years, you lose your scholarship at my school and I don't have an extra $50,000 laying around for that last year. No amount of hours working will make up for that cost.
Seems to me that, if you don't want to work and don't have scholarships, then, POSSIBLY, you should have selected a cheaper school.
If you don't, where did we go wrong as a country that this is now expected.
Without delving too deep, there's a few reasons why people now have to work their way through college.
Many parents of college-age kids either save up money to pay for the entirety of college for their kids... the rest have spent so much money keeping up with the Jones that their kids have no college fund.
Then again, I don't see why the parents should be looked down on for not paying for their kids college. Basically, many parents put themselves in college and feel that if they did, their kid could and should.
Another reason why kids work: The cost of college has dramatically increased. For people who don't have scholarships, there are grants, loans, and the like to assist with the costs... but there are some things that have to be purchased that may or may not be covered in the earnings. $100+ for each class's book, essential school supplies, etc.
Also, it's better for students to be students while working at a job. A company would rather see somebody who worked their butt off who got a 3.7 GPA than a student who got the free ride through college with a 3.9 GPA. In their eyes, they see somebody who is willing to work and work hard for what they want.
It's not sad that many college-bound kids are working jobs - it's competition.
Oh, and me. I work a full-time job as a programmer while going to college part-time.
Seems to me that, if you don't want to work and don't have scholarships, then, POSSIBLY, you should have selected a cheaper school.
I have a full scholarship (as far as tuition, not covering room and board), but I did not figure into my plans the fact that I would develop a chronic condition that would require extensive medical bills halfway through my freshman year of college and that both of my parents would be laid off and unable to find employment.
With no financial support from my parents (though the occasional check from my grandfather to cover room and board), I am on my own to cover around $1000 in medication and doctors visits a month on insurance- though my family is losing insurance at the end of the year so I don't know where that will leave me. If I take time off of college to work, I will lose my scholarship. As I mentioned, at many smaller schools including my own, there is not enough on-campus employment and if you do not have a car to get off campus (which I do not), you are lucky if you can get more than 5 hours a week of work.
Federal aid AND most college scholarships for merit are only for 4 years- the traditional length of time for college. If you go a 5th year, from a scholarship standpoint you are now a waste of funds so they cut you off. That's not just at my school- it's at most schools and many people decided to go an extra semester or year and realize whoops- they're SOL. Even had I gone to a cheaper school, that wouldn't change anything about my own and my family's financial problems.
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