<p>Musicitylights – I’m sorry you are having a rough time financially. The two best sources for income for my daughter have been Barnard Bartending – and then discovering that work-study at Columbia generally pays a higher hourly rate than work-study at Barnard. Unfortunately Barnard does not give work-study to seniors, so she is not sure what she will be doing next year. </p>
<p>What year are you? I think the meal plan is a tough squeeze financially, so if you are a first year student you may find things easier in later years, as long as you have housing where you can cook for yourself. Once you are off the plan, you’ve got some more wiggle room, as the financial aid is calculated to include meal plan costs, but the meal plan probably is three times as much as it costs to feed yourself.</p>