I was so lucky that my company paid for my college education back in the 80s. Don't know of too many companies that still do that. I worked 8-4 in NYC then went to school from 6-9pm 4 nights a week and all day saturday. Have no idea where i got all that energy from! DS and DD are both in college now and they have loans and both work to pay for their college.
Looking back, I also question just HOW I did it! There's a reason you go to college when you're young.
I literally feel so strongly about paying for college for my kids that my DH and I contribute to a 529 every month, and we don't have kids yet, with none on the immediate horizon.
We did the same thing, even back when we were barely making ends meet. Now that our oldest is in high school, we're so glad that we did.
Not true. The brutal truth is that you can tell which kids are going to graduate from college on time by the time they're in 9th or 10th grade. You can look at your kid's friends now and tell. The kids with internal fire and drive and inquisitiveness succeed. The kids who don't, don't. It has remarkably little to do with how tuition is paid, though there is a correlation between family income and graduation rates, and that probably speaks to a correlation between expectations ("it's not if you're going ... it's where") and the education levels and jobs of the parents.
As a high school teacher, I won't say this is 100% true . . . but I'd say that by the time 9th grade is done, you could predict with probably 80% accuracy who's going to make it in college and who isn't. The ones who don't read, who skip school, who aren't motivated, who don't have much of an idea of what they really want to do . . . they may go for a semester or a year, but they won't graduate, and it's evident in high school. My students come back to see me year after year, and I hear who's doing well, who's "partying" too much, and who's back at home in disgrace -- and in
most cases, I could've predicted it.
What your post shows is that minimum wage and college costs vary widely by state . . . I think people have the idea that state schools cost about the same in each state and that minimum wage is about the same in each state. Obviously this isn't the case!
Oh, I know this is true! That's why our NC state schools are full of people with northern accents. It's cheaper for those students to pay out-of-state tuition than in-state tuition in their own home state!
One thing that is good for students to know is that many private schools are a lot more generous with merit and need based scholarships than state schools. A student shouldn't just assume that their State U will end up costing less.
This happens SOMETIMES, but it isn't going to be true for every person. It's worth looking into, but every college-bound student should investigate all his options carefully.
The big problem right now is the economy. Who would you hire? A student that keeps changing their schedule because they "have" to have a class, (or need to study for finals) or someone who was always available? It's a no win situation for the student.
Scheduling isn't all that big a problem. Students who need to work know that they should schedule morning classes so they'll be free by mid-afternoon for a 3-11 shift. They know that scheduling one night class per week will eliminate them from only one evening's work and will free up their day schedule. It's not rocket science. Likewise, employers near college campuses know that they can get cheaper labor by putting up with schedule changes that only need to be addressed once a semester. No one needs to take time off to study for finals; part of being both a worker AND a student is learning to juggle your time so that you can meet all your obligations -- people who are going to have to work just start studying sooner.
For those that qualify, the best option is work study--but it's usually only available as part of the financial aid package. The work is generally 20 hours or less, and the employer (the school) understands about a student's occasionally shifting schedule.
Work study is a mixed blessing. As you say, it's easy for the student: The on-campus offices are super-understanding about schedules, and they'll even let students come in to work 2-3 hours at a time -- it's true that off-campus jobs will not be so flexible. However, the job pays minimum wage. You can stay in that same job from freshman year to senior year, and you're still going to be making minimum wage. A student who chooses to work the night shift in a factory, who opts to load UPS trucks, or who waits tables in a high-end restaurant can earn as much in 2-3 evenings as the student who plogs along at a work study job for a whole month. Work study's fine for the student who just needs pocket money, but the student who needs to pay tuition needs a real job.
Exactly. And I probably ought to set the record straight. I'm totally biased in the direction of working very hard at SCHOOL, (rather than begging for 5 more hours at a part time job) and graduating rapidly. I don't seen any benefit in dragging out school for many extra years. It wasn't always easy, financially, but we filled out the FAFSA each year and did our part as parents.
I agree that in an ideal situation the student should make school his top priority. I've emphasized that with my daughters from a young age. Right now I'm pushing my high schooler to understand that good grades NOW = scholarships and more opportunities in the future.
But we're talking about a kid who HAS TO do it all on his own and has no financial aid, no scholarships, no parental support to fall back upon -- I think this is a fairly unique situation because most kids have SOME type of help. We're talking about worst-case scenerio, and in that situation the student may HAVE TO beg for five more hours of work -- he's living close to the edge. He may have to accept that he can't finish in four years. Though I had some financial aid and some scholarship money, I myself WAS this student. Having NO support from my parents -- not even health insurance -- often I had to choose between preparing adequately for class or working a few more hours. It was a lose-lose situation, but I did make it though. I earned two degrees in five years, and I graduated with honors. It's not the situation in which I want my daughters to go through college.
