Financial Support from Families

Paying for College
1

<p>My daughter is a jr at a lovely school surrounded by a city that has been decimated by budget cuts: understaffed schools and hospitals, parks that need upkeep, diminished social services. She gets a big chunk of merit aid, and we can afford the rest. This year, however, we have changed the rules.</p>

<p>Normally she would get extra money from us or from a minimum wage job–of which there are few. This year we pay her $12/hr for volunteer work in her community. She is currently a staffer in an ER, working with families, getting supplies, sometimes translating. This work has shaped her in a way that no other job or school experience has. She generally logs 40 hours a month, still finding plenty of time for school and social life.</p>

<p>If you can afford to do this, it makes an amazing difference to your child and his or her community.</p>

2

<p>Several colleges and universities do something very much like this through the Bonner Scholars Program [In</a> the News](<a href=“http://www.bonner.org/]In”>http://www.bonner.org/) Some students at Guilford College earn their federal workstudy money by serving in various volunteer capacities in the community. I don’t know how it works at the other schools, but it is a great way to encourage community service.</p>

3

<p>Stanford does this.</p>

4

<p>Don’t all schools do this? My daughter’s school (a state U) has on campus WS jobs, off campus WS jobs for non profit type organizations such as Govt labs and the fire department, and community service type WS jobs such as tutoring at local schools and working at Domestic violence shelters. I had assumed it was the norm everywhere.</p>