"Working your way through college"

[DizBelle]

Are the days of "working your way through college" long gone? Is it really feasible for a college aged person (18 - 22) to be able to earn enough to actually pay for school without any financial aid or scholarships?

 

[TinklednPants]

Depends. How are you at pole dancing?

 

[allison443]

I think it could be doable for community college, especially if the student lives at home with their parents.
Are you excluding the use of student loans?

 

[CookieGVB]

Community college - sure. Anything other than that - maybe just the books.

 

[RadioNate]

IMO, those days have been long gone for awhile now.

Unless you take 1-2 classes at a time and take like 10 years to graduate. My neighbor is doing that. I think the max she takes is 3 classes and she still struggles.

My SIL just graduated from college and there is no way she could have done it all on her own. She did most of it but still needed scholarships and loans. She also had tons of AP credits. She went to summer school all 4 years. Sometimes she worked 2 jobs or more. She couldn't do standard FT hours because of varying class schedules. She also had class requirements that conflicted with work schedules.

My DH also had to pay for his college himself. I knew him then and he often worked 3 jobs and had little time for 'social' activities like a fraternity or campus groups. He still ended up with student loans. They weren't as bad as some people's but it still took him about 7 years to pay them off.

ETA - after reading replies. Student loans = financial aid in my book. Also, isn't living at home with your parents getting aid also? Unless you are paying them room and board. I don't know about community colleges in other areas but none I'm familiar with offer 4 year degrees. In this day and age in many fields a 2 year degree is pretty worthless.

I take that back, I guess I do know of some 4 year extension campuses that offer 4 year degrees. They are 'off site' branches of big Universities that offer community based learning. They aren't places with "community college" in the name so I wasn't thinking of those.

I don't know, I still think you need SOME kind of aid. That may be living at home rent free, scholarships, grants, etc but I don't think totally on your own is possible anymore.

 

[pearlieq]

Depends. How are you at pole dancing?

Hee! That's the first thing I thought of too.

But, in a more realistic fashion, say you're an assistant manager at Pizza Hut. If you can keep up a full time schedule, you'll probably make around $20k or so per year, give or take for regional differences.

If you live at home and go to state school, that probably will cover your tuition. It's hard and you won't have much free time, but it certainly can be done.

If you want to go to a private college that costs $50k for tuition, room, and board, then no, I don't think it's realistic for a teenager to pull down that kind of money. At least not legally or with their clothes on...

 

[fussymonkey]

My DH did it, he graduated in '98 though, so a long time ago. He was a supervisor at a video store, lived at home and attended college, graduated in 4 years with no debt, and he paid every penny of his tuition.

I have a freind, too, who did it more recently, but it took him like 8 years. He worked for a company that reimbursed him for college expenses.

 

[Cindy B]

I have a freind, too, who did it more recently, but it took him like 8 years. He worked for a company that reimbursed him for college expenses.

MY DH did that as well. He got every penny paid for community college with reimbursement from work. He has now transferred to a university for his bachelor's degree and work will still pay for it but the "reimbursement cap" will come quicker since classes are more expensive.

He may only do one class in the fall.

 

[Ephany]

As stated before, unless you're living at home and attending a local state/community college, I don't think it's really possible anymore. Many of my friends worked to cover their books/apartments/car/phone etc. but their parents (or loans) were still needed to cover tuition and fees.

Many weeks I had class from 8-5 and had nightly homework to last until 11pm or midnight, with enough left over to fill up my weekend. There was no way I could have taken a full load of courses and worked, it was hard enough to find the time to work part-time. Even summers were full, my school required non-paid internships and volunteer activities as well as summer classes that were 'encouraged' as part of our program. I think it's just not feasible to expect that kids today will be able to work full-time and carry a full class schedule and graduate in 4 years.

 

[pooh6890]

It's very difficult. I have 24 year old twin girls. In Florida we have a Florida Prepaid College Fund. I took it out when the girls were 6 or 7. You can buy credits at then prices to use when they finally go to college. I believe it was $96/month for 5 years for the the 2 + 2 (2 yr community and 2 yr state). All the tuition has been paid thru that. We applied for federal aid every year thru the FAFSA and have received pell grants. One lived at home and one lived away for about a year. That was really costly for me, so she came back home. Our problems started when this wonderful State of Florida began cutting the budget and of course, started with the schools. One of my daughters is FINALLY graduating this fall after she finishes her last class this summer. It took her so long because when they cut the budget so drastically, no classes or professors, thus no space. It's really ridiculous. Anyway, she is finally starting her internship in elementary education in August. Hopefully there will be a job for her after that at the same school. The other daughter has been working full time for the last 2 years and goes to school at night (also to be a teacher). What makes me so mad is that after all this work and money and time, there may not be any jobs, at least here in Miami for either of them.........It sucks! But, back to the original question......yes, you can go to school and work and graduate. It's just takes a lot longer these days. Did I mention how proud I am of them?????

 

[PatsMom]

I think it is still possible to work your way through college but I don't think you are going to do it in four years. As others have mentioned, you will probably need to work full time and that will mean you are not taking a full class load. That is how I got through college. I was in the Air Force and took advantage of their tuition reimbursement so my out of pocket costs were very low. Which was a good thing because the Air Force didn't pay enlisted people that much!

DD is going to a state university this fall. She has a job at a local ski area in the winter bussing tables in the bar. And this summer she is doing the ice cream shop at the ski area (they have summer activities, water slide, etc). We expect her to earn enough to pay for her books and her spending money. Other than that it will be a combination of education savings, money squeezed out of cash flow, and loans.

 

[Nik's Mom]

DH and I both worked while we were in college (early 90's), but still couldn't do it without financial aid. I was a financial aid advisor for 10 years, and most of our students received some type of financial aid (grants, loans and/or scholarships). I think it is very difficult to completely pay for it on your own.

 

[Uuaww]

I had help but I worked at the home depot who paid half my tuition for me! along with scholarships and other help I left college debt-free.

 

[Crankyshank]

I tried doing the working through college route and eventually had to suck it up and take out loans or I would never be finished with school.

 

[disbridemimi]

I worked my way through college for my first degree, I worked full time and was a full time student. My grades definately suffered because of this, I was working when I should have been studying. If I had it to do again, I would have studied way more and worked way less and taken out more loans. (I graduated in 2002)

FWIW I am now back in school in a 2 year program at a Community College, and I REALLY feel like its like a high school. They take attendence, hover over everything, its sort of comical. I think going away to live at school is part of the college experience. I know it is not realistic for everyone, but if you can make it happen, going away is a lot of life lessons in living on your own, doing things for yourself and being independent and learning self dicipline. The classes were much harder at my other school, and there were SO many more options for majors, careers, classes that were interesting. At the bigger school, you could take classes that were much more tailored to your interests which really made a difference in academic performance. There were hundreds of history courses on anything from "The Civil War" to "Native American Indians of the Northwest". At the CC I go to, your options would be "American History" or " World History". CC are wonderful if you know exactly what you want to do, but they are very limiting if you do not. For an 18 year old just out of high school, I think a bigger school with more options may help them find out what they want to do with their life. This is just my observation, having done both. I imagine their are nicer CC than the one I attend , at least, I hope there are.

 

[FireDancer]

I worked my way through college and graduated in 2003. I had a job with a mandatory 48 hour/6 day workweek and took between 14 and 18 credit hours. I went to school through summers and graduated in 3 years. I paid cash as I went and got no aid or loans so I got out with no debt. My grades weren't bad, I ended with a 3.8 and a degree in Information Systems. It was not easy and especially at the end I had a lot of days that were work, school, labs, homework, 2 hours of sleep and do it again.

If you are determined and smart you can do it but it was not a pleasant 3 year existence.

 

[C.Ann]

Without any financial aid or student loans? Other than a community college, probably not.. "With" financial aid and student loans? Definitely - if the student wants it bad enough - with or without their parents help..

 

[MrsPete]

Yes, it's possible to do the old fashioned pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps and work your way through college on your own thing -- assuming, of course, that the individual involved has a healthy body and no one else depending upon him financially. However, the person involved must make all the right choices and work extremely hard. Also, some luck (i.e., living close to a college that offers the right program, living in a part of the country where college is less expensive) is often involved.

Some ways people can make this happen:

1. Choose a less expensive college. Maybe a community college, maybe a state school, but the point is that IF money is an issue, you have to choose from what you can actually afford. For most of us, the sky is not the limit, and it's important to recognize that and live with it rather than wish for what we can't have.

2. Choose the right major. This is important in a couple ways: If you change majors mid-way through your studies, it could easily add a semester or a year to your education, and that's a great deal of money. Also, some majors have more scholarship opportunities available to them: teachers and nurses, for example, can fairly easily get a scholarship/loan which is repaid through service (at full pay, of course) instead of with a check. On the negative side, these two majors do require student teaching / student nursing, which are expensive because the student must dress appropriately, have transportation and meals during the "work day", but there's no paycheck. Some majors offer co-ops (i.e., engineering and computer sc) that give the student a chance to work one semester (for pay) in a professional capacity, then study a semester; this does prolong the college years, but it makes the resume look great.

3. Choose to live at home during college. Of course, this isn't an option for everyone because everyone doesn't live within striking distance of a college. I wouldn't consider it "financial aid" to continue to live with parents who have been supporting you for years and who are willing/able to continue giving you a room in which to sleep -- assuming, of course, that you're going to school. If you're just loafing around, then it's mouching.

4. Search for jobs that'll provide the most help with college. For example, the best thing I did financially during college was to get a job as a Resident Advisor in the dorms. It didn't pay money (but then, I also didn't pay taxes on it), but it gave me a free place to live and -- except for the first and last two weeks of the school year -- the work was only a couple hours per week. This job also paid HALF my tuition, greatly reducing my bills. Colleges hire people for all sorts of jobs, and these jobs often come with big price cuts. Could you work as a secretary? a maintenance worker? cafeteria staff? Other options that could work for the right person: Work as a live-in nanny for free room and board, military service . . . even food service at least gets you free meals on occasion. Similarly, my high school daughter is in a program at school that'll allow her to earn a CNA (Certified Nursing Assitant) license before she completes her high school diploma; she'll be able to work as a low-level nurse during her college years (while working towards a BS-RN degree), which will pay more than a job at the mall AND will give her valuable experience. Typically you have to SEARCH for these jobs; they aren't as "visible" as wait-staff work or salesclerk at the mall jobs.

5. Work hard. Really hard -- as in sweaty jobs. Most teens tend to gravitate towards jobs that, honestly, are pretty easy: Retail at the mall, etc. Those jobs don't pay well because, well, they don't have to. Anyone can do those jobs. Instead look for manual labor jobs. When I was in college I knew more than a few people who loaded trucks at night for UPS. It was HARD WORK, but those people made a great deal of money. I also knew a number of people who worked on the assembly lines at IBM putting together computer components. I worked as an all-night security guard for a while. It was miserable, lonely work, and I went to class exhausted the next day -- but I did all my studying in the middle of the night, and it was what I needed to do at the time. I also worked in a factory for a while -- that was also miserable work and I hated every second of it, BUT it paid about twice what I could've earned at a fun sales job, and I needed that money.

6. Choose cheap living arrangements. Yes, four girls CAN share a two-bedroom apartment. Yes, you CAN do without a car if you live on campus. Eating out is a luxury. Spring break trips are a luxury. The problem, of course, is that most families are not raising their children to understand the difference between needs and wants, so once they're out on their own, they have trouble doing without things . . . and the result is often debt. Along the same lines, look for other ways to live cheaply: Share textbooks, print at the library, eat Ramen Noodles instead of pizza, avoid using shopping as a hobby because it inevitably leads to spending. This also means accepting that you can't always do the "fun stuff" that's available: You won't be able to take advantage of the study abroad semester, even if it IS a great opportunity.

7. Avoid debt. A college student who's working hard and is making all the right choices CAN make it, BUT if he ever gets into debt, it's going to become overwhelming. Paying off yesterday's expenditures -- whether they were necessities or luxuries -- is going to tip the scales to the "can't do it" side.

8. Realize that for most people who are "doing it on their own", there isn't going to be ONE BIG SOURCE of income . . . rather, it's going to be a patchwork of resources, and those resources will change year to year.

 

[MrsPete]

If you are determined and smart you can do it but it was not a pleasant 3 year existence.

For me, it WAS fun. Oh, don't get me wrong, I worked ALL THE TIME -- emphasis on ALL THE TIME -- and was very often exhausted. But I don't remember feeling that it wasn't pleasant. The worst part for me was the lack of security; I often had less than $100 in my checking account, and I knew that if something had gone really wrong in my life, I had no safety net. I think that's why I NEVER considered student loans an option -- I always saw that as making things more difficult tomorrow, and I'd rather work hard today rather than mortgage tomorrow.

BUT at the same time, I loved the newness of being out on my own, taking care of myself, responsible to no one. And I loved that each time I "clicked off" a semester towards graduation, it was ALL MINE.

The biggest surprise to me was that life didn't get easier after graduation! It took me years to reach "comfortable", even without college debt hanging over my head!

 

[Free4Life11]

I don't really think it's feasible or possible for most people. Sure anyone can hold down a job while in college, but a job that makes enough to pay tuition/fees and living expenses would be pretty tough. I also don't really see the point because I don't think taking out some loans is the worst thing in the world.