My question is to all those who are in college/university or have graduated. How do you afford everything like food, books, and misc. items while being a full-time student living on campus? I think my parents may stop supporting me whenI leave for college in the fall. I want to be prepared if they do. I am pretty spoiled right now because I only work a one day a week. I go to school all day into the night right now so I really don't have the time to work. I care a lot about school, and I care a lot about my homework. I want to find a way to not have to work a lot while I am an undergrad. So, how do you do it?
Well, there are only three options: be supported by your parents, work, or get a scholarship. You don't usually get much of a choice. My advice is, though, not to work too much. If you feel that work is making you do poorly in school, consider taking a lighter course load or doing more work during the summer. I have one friend, an international student, who works nearly full time. He spends all of the money he earns on school, but ends up failing his courses because he's too tired to even show up in class! What's the point?
i thought that would be all there was. i told my parents that if i didn't have support and i had to work a lot i would end up failing and dropping out. and you are right, what is the point if you're not going to have the energy to even go to class.
Where do you live -- as in what country? I don't know what the system is like in Canada. In the US, you can get need-based financial aid -- if your parents can still count you as a dependent, they are expected to pay a certain amount of your educational costs, so that is a factor in how much free money the government will offer you. My dad was unemployed & applying for disability when I went back to school, so we went to see my financial aid officer to get me listed as an independent student, so only my income (not my parent's income) was considered, so I get pretty much all of my tuition covered by federal need-based grants (not scholarships). For my living expenses, well, I've been digging that hole of student loan debt. By the end of the semester I'm generally living on rice & beans, but I have made it thru 4 years of undergrad without working during the school year. I bust my ass during the summer, trying to come up with some buffer money or to pay off the credit card or whatever, but then quit when school starts again. Honestly, I have a decent amount of debt (nothing like the $100 grand some people rack up, tho), but I feel it was entirely worth it. Being able to focus only on schoolwork has allowed me to earn a 3.85 overall gpa, with a 4.0 in both of my majors, and to do an independent research project, both of which look really good to the grad schools I'm applying to.
Here, you can get some cash based on need, but that only comes -after- you've taken the maximum loan possible. And I am not doing it. Loans. Evil.
I'm going to start student loans in the fall, I suppose. I've gone through over a year of school working full-time, and I'm tired. I have financed my entire education taking only small loans from my parents. I can get the student loans, but I'm going into a field that requires a lot of school and won't pay that much. I'm a little nervous about getting into more debt, but I can't work and go to school full-time anymore. I do alot of volunteer work and I'm involved in a couple clubs on campus. It all suffers. I just found out a way to work, get college credit and earn a scholarship all at the same time in 40 hours a week. That all hinges on an interview I have on Wednesday, so wish me luck.
sit down with your parents and come up with some sort of budget/agreement. if you're living on campus, you won't have any rent or house-related-bills, and you'll most likely have a meal-plan, right? so you won't starve, if worst comes to worst you'll only be able to eat out a couple times a week or something. figure out what they're willing to give, and find out how much you'll (roughly) need. if it doesn't turn out to be enough, talk to them about it, and if it's still not enough then perhaps a part-time job would be best. if you eat most of your meals on campus, say you'll need about $X for dining out/groceries/etc, $X for entertainment (like movies or books or etc) $X for gas... you get the picture. will they take care of major expenses, like car payments/insurance, medical things that might come up, car repairs, etc? perhaps you can both come up with some sort of reasonable amount to get each week/month/etc, and then a bit more when needed. say the weather changes and you need a coat or t-shirts. or someone steals your bike. some classes might require you to see plays, attend events or travel... if it's class related, they'd probably help pay for it if they're able to. just talk to them and figure something out. if you aren't going to get scholarships/aid and your parents arent going to give you money, then a job is the way to go. figuring our how much you'll need will help when you're thinking about what kind of job you'll need and how many hours you want to work. living on campus isn't hard when you're unemployed and not being supported... cause you have a place to live, no bills, and the meal-plan keeps you fed. so you wont be cold and starving, at least. it might not be the most fun, but at least you'll get by.
When l went to university l worked nightshift on the weekends. It was hard, but the bills had to be paid..
I put back money for years before I got to go. I was 32 when I graduated. I took one small loan during my first semester (car repairs) and paid on it all four years. Result: paid off with first post-college check (thank G-d) I also applied for every fee waiver, scholarship, work study, and grant I could find. I worked part time (37 hours/wk) off campus, part time on campus (30 hrs/wk) dod some freelance photo and writing gigs...oh yeah, I had an elementary school-aged kid. My last two semesters I was able to put my Pell grants into a CD for interest (the loan was not accruing any. I think I paid 98 cents in interest) That wound up holding we over between last internship (paid) and when The Oklahoman lifted its hiring freeze three months later. I did work at a parking lot nursery for two and a half months of that. Loved it. lots of roomies will cut your living expenses. research thrifty stuff for ideas on how to feed yourself, and apply for every cent of free money you can find!
Well, I got a loan out for my first year, but now, even in my second semester of my first year, I know I can't do it for the other 2 years, I wouldn't be able to afford paying it back. Luckily, my weekend job just about covers my course fees, with a little left over for travel costs, as long as I don't buy..well...anything else. I don't smoke and I very, very, VERY rarely drink, so I can deal with that. Luckily, I live at home, so I don't pay rent or food bills. Unfortunately, that means travel expenses, and I live a 20 minute train journey away (and then a 20 min walk added TO that). BUt it's better than a loan, I don't want to go down THAT road again *shiver*
<=========== $40,000 in loans. Why? Because I didn't get jack shit from the school or government. A real good friend of mine whose parents have WAY more money than mine got a full ride, essentially because he is from an area designated "Appalachian Ohio." My parents gave me exactly $JACKSHIT towards tuition, so if I wanted a degree, it was loans for me! That being said, I'll say this: I now question whether I should've spent 40 grand on a degree, and that's with one of the best degrees available. IF you are required to support yourself and pay for education, think twice about if it is something you REALLY want and/or need.
I didn't get anything from the government either. I only have one parent, so that means only 1 income. Government hasn't helped me out at all. And now...I probably will never use the degree I get, cuz in the end, I don't want to work for some bigwig to put money in HIS pocket. Me and you, Ryan, will probably end up in the same situation.
Lyndsay....I used to live on around 500 dollars for rent and everything non-school related in Athens...its very cheap down there. I'll still talk to the people I know there and see if we can hook you up with some type of part time job if you want one.
Yeah, I was set for grants and stuff, but then my Dad remarried, making my family too "rich" to qualify for support from the school or government. My parents also don't give me a cent and won't allow me to live at home during breaks, so I have to get an apartment which is a rip off compared to living on campus. So, basically I will be graduating college with upwards of $50,000 in loans, not to mention law school. Basically in the US your family has to make less than $20,000/yr, you have to have a 4.0 gpa, your parents have to help you, or you have to get loans to pay for college.
Eh... I'm really lucky my grandpa is paying for college because I would have to stay instate otherwise and it's STILL expensive (not to mention UGA isn't exactly my idea of a 1st rate school). Right now I'm looking at $40,000 a year, for a minimum of 5 years plus masters and then business or law school. Ick. I've looked into need based fed. scholarships but we have "too much money in the bank" although right now we've been living off of savings for 2 years since my parents haven't been able to find jobs. It's insanely stupid. The only people that ever seem to get scholarships around my school are the athletes.
If you are in Ontario, be sure to apply for osap, you don't have to take it, but you can get some great scholarships. A bunch of my friends each got 3 grand, and i think in some cases it was renewable. They didn't even have averages in the 80;s for them. I was thinking of joing the canadian military to help pay for college. Although I don't want to support war, 8 grand a summer, and burseries for tuition sounds pretty sweet. It's not a very peaceful option, but you could be diverting money away from the creation of real soliders. Though i don't think the military and me would get along very well, so i'll never personally test out this idea.
