This article concludes it is now virtually impossible to pay for college by working. The article does not discuss the possible solution of targeting the right colleges for merit aid.
http://college.usatoday.com/2016/08/01/is-working-your-way-through-college-a-modern-day-myth/
No surprise to most of us. We spend a lot of time trying to explain the new reality about this. And feeling for students whose parents buy into the myth.
As I have posted before, what a college must offer today in terms of facilities and services is far greater and more expensive than it was years ago.
Concur with the comments above, but I question the article’s conclusion that a student can’t work his/her way through college in any state. In California, up to a fairly decent middle class income, sufficient aid is awarded to attend UCs so that a part time job could see a student through. It is true that this aid would include federal loans, however.
A generation or two ago, it may have been more possible for a high school graduate to be self-supporting living on his/her own with a high school graduate job, and have some money left over for tuition and books at an in-state public university (perhaps with small student loans), even if s/he had high income parents (i.e. no financial aid) who did not contribute any money. With the significantly worse job prospects for high school graduates and the greater cost of college, doing that is much less possible now than back then.
Back then there were no shame in commuting to college.
My dad talks of jobs paying 55 cents an hour and $100 scholarships that covered a meaningful portion of college costs back in the 50s. But times have changed both on the job and cost fronts. By a substantial amount. May not be impossible but it is a whole lot tougher now.
If you commute the CUNY system in NYC is one a few places left where you can work your way through college. CUNY also have very flexible class schedule to accommodate people working.
Even decades ago I couldn’t have paid for my LAC on my own. My parents covered Tuition/Room/Board/Books and my summer job money covered any expenses at school; beer, pizza, movies, etc.
The article assumes that everyone needs to go to school for 4 straight years, full time, living in the dorms and having the typical college experience. There are ways to pay for college that take longer. There are co-op schools. There is still ROTC. There is working full time and taking night courses. Not everyone can go to a fully supported 4 year college experience, but there are still ways to make enough money to pay for a course or two, and sooner or later you have enough courses to graduate.
I met a nice kid trying to convince my daughter to join ROTC during orientation at her school. He told me that he was one of seven kids, and his parents promised each child one year of college and then they were entirely on their own. They all did it through combinations of scholarships, ROTC, being RAs in the dorms, working traditional jobs during the school year and summers. This wasn’t decades ago, but now. This is a low tuition school, but that should be part of the decision too, how much are the costs that the students are trying to self fund.
Re: ROTC
Even for students interested in careers as military officers, note that (a) only about 30% of young adults meet eligibility standards for US military service, and (b) ROTC does not necessarily mean scholarship.
Playing football doesn’t mean a scholarship for all, or being in the band, or even being Val or Sal, but it might, and for those getting an ROTC scholarship, they might be able to pay for their own college, i.e., ‘working your way through.’
Just because everyone can’t do it doesn’t mean others shouldn’t try.
In Kentucky, through a partnership between UPS and the University of Louisville, it is definitely not a myth.
It isn’t an easy path (night work), but it is a path. You work part-time for UPS as a package handler, and UPS and the state split your tuition. You still get paid, plus there is a book reimbursement, bonuses for good grades, and other perks.
Only for in state tuition rates I believe.
Agree with the article. The costs have gone up relative to available funds. As to “aid” for school- how much of that is loans (post # 3)? I saw a tenfold tuition increase with each successive generation for my mom, me and my son at UW-Madison. I had saved an article decades ago that stated the first two and looked at it when son was of the age. We were lucky- I had enough scholarship and work money to make it through my undergrad degree debt free and translated my hard work plus H’s to pay for son. He recently commented to my H how he was lucky to get the “family scholarship” as he sees so many with so much debt. There has been an increase in family income status among the flagship’s students, a difference from my day. btw- my mom flunked out despite being tops in her HS- didn’t study and girls were discouraged from the STEM classes that would have interested her- so only 2 gens of grads.
@wis75, yes, I believe that even if a student qualifies for maximum need-based FA from the UCs, he/she would also need the maximum federal loans to fill the gap. At 5.5-6.5-7.5-7.5 per year, it would be hard to replace those loans with part-time work.
Some majors do give students the opportunity to make a lot of money at summer internships. Those students could probably fully fund their college educations all on their own, without loans, if they also qualified for maximum FA from a UC and if they worked a bit during the school year as well. This would be a fairly select group of students, however. And, of course, it’s not advisable to count on such income in advance when making college decisions.
Here in Michigan, there are several places you can live where it is a several hours drive to the nearest 4 year. Even CCs may not be in commutable range given our lack of public transportation.
At our directionals, full Pell and direct loans barely cover tuition and fees let alone books, transportation costs, and other living costs (even if living with parents).
We have no state aid.
In NYS it’s still possible. There are parts of the state where it’s difficult to get to a college, but many where it’s not. Many kids can commute to a local cc (tuition is ~$4500/year) or to a 4-year SUNY (tuition ~$8k/year). NYC has the CUNY system and I think tuition is low there too.
Kids who can’t commute sometimes work for seed money then get a shared apartment in or near a college community, get a full-time job, and attend college full-time. I’ve only known a few who went this route, but it was recent so I know it’s still possible.
Anna Quindlen had a great comment in an editorial years ago about how when she was younger you could work your way through college, but these days the only way you could do that was if your job was robbing banks.
The article also assumes no employer assistance. I know a number of people who work at the Apple store, go to school part time, and cover their tuition with employer assistance ($5K, appx), earnings, and a small loan. It is definitely possible to do, but it takes good planning and year-round school to finish in 4 years.
In the late 80s, I had enough saved up from working in high school to pay the $6000 tuition/R/B at my state flagship, for freshman year. During college, earned $150 (clear) per week working in restaurants… this was 2 nights a week during school and 3-4 nights during breaks. I made MORE than enough money to cover the $6K tuition/Room/Board at my flagship, plus my car expenses and partying and clothes. Especially after I moved off campus and the Room/Board was a lot less. And I didn’t even work that much… some kids worked a lot more. And I did not have an ‘easy’ major.
This is IMPOSSIBLE now at a state flagship. No way.