By Stephen Clarke

           

As summer arrives, bringing sunny days, warm nights, and a marked lack of schoolwork, many graduating high school seniors are already looking toward the start of their college career.  For most, it is a time of excitement, but their feelings are often hampered by the realization that they must find a way to pay for their education.  The prospect of borrowing $25,000 a year for at least 4 years is rather daunting, considering the fact that if the student has a job at all, he or she is probably making close to minimum wage.  In reality, for many college graduates, student loans are the thing that most hampers them from having early success in their chosen profession.  To cut down on the costs, students have several avenues from which to obtain money.  The first and most obvious one is financial aid. 

 

Each year, the federal government allots massive sums of money for the explicit purpose of funding the college educations of those who might otherwise not be able to attend a university.  The form that all students must complete in order to apply for financial aid from the government is known as the FAFSA – the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.   The FAFSA should be available at all high schools in the nation, and in addition, there is a website that allows students to complete the application electronically.  (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov) 

 

The other form that most private colleges and universities require is the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE, which many schools have agreed to use in order to cut down on the number of forms for each school’s application.  This form should also be available in most guidance offices, but it carries with it a fee for each school to which the student requests it be sent.  It, too, is available online through the College Board’s website. (http://www.collegeboard.com/article/0,1120,6-30-0-405,00.html)  The PROFILE application is for non-Federal need-based aid, which private colleges offer as a supplement to the government’s aid. 

 

The best kind of need-based financial aid available from the government is in the form of grants, which do not need to be repaid.  This is typically offered to those students who are largely unable to finance their college education.  More common is the student loan, which is tailored to the needs of the student as based on their responses to the FAFSA and PROFILE.  The student loan, like any other loan, must be paid back with interest sometime in the future. 

 

The third financial aid option, and the one that provides the least amount of money, is the work-study program.  The Federal government established the work-study program to allow students to feel a part of paying their way through college.  At many schools, students obtain campus jobs, and the income they make from those jobs is funneled directly toward their tuition and room & board payments.  Several of my friends participate in the work-study program, and they have jobs ranging from repairing computers in one of the graduate school buildings to mopping the wrestling mats after practice.  Campus jobs pay fairly well, because the campus minimum wage is several dollars per hour above the state minimum wage.  The bad thing about the jobs, however, is that the money is often directly channeled to the school, preventing the student employee from ever truly appreciating the earnings of his or her labor.

 

The good news is: there is an alternative.  Around most college campuses, there is a proliferation of the kind of business that looks to hire college students.  This is logical, as the businesses gravitate toward large talent pools.  These businesses include restaurants, retail stores, bars, and even hospitals.  These are ideal places for students to be employed—they are close to campus, they often cater to the student crowd, and they understand the needs of the student employee.  A recent study indicates that eight out of ten students work while pursuing an undergraduate degree in college, and students are more likely to use funds earned during the academic year to finance their education than they are any other sources, like financial aid or parental support, although the others may be higher in dollar amount.  Students who hold jobs while attending school on average work about 25 hours per week, which is quite a long time when classes and extracurricular activities are considered. 

 

The fact of the matter, therefore, is that student employment is a reality.  In high school the percentage of students who hold after-school, weekend, or summer jobs has been found to be close to 85 percent.  If you’re considering the prospect of working during high school, you should also know that students who work between 10 and 20 hours per week during the school year have statistically higher grade point averages than those who do not work at all.  The truly motivated student finds time for the things he or she wants to do, and employment is often one of the top priorities after school.  Those who work in high school are more likely to work in college, and financing their college education is a top reason for undergraduates to look for employment. 

 

If you’re worried that you’ll be among the minority if you find a part-time or summer job, the statistics show clearly that the opposite is true.  Working conditions have improved and wages have risen in recent years, and there is truly no time like the present to start looking for a job.  Perhaps the best part about working in college is the increase in spending money.  Most students I know have tight budgets and are constantly searching for sources of extra money.  There ARE jobs available that could provide them (and anyone) with that extra boost of cash that will make the difference between McDonalds and the local steakhouse on their next date.

 

While academic, athletic, and other scholarships are perhaps the most satisfying ways of financing a college education, the reality is that most students must look to other sources of revenue.  Grants, loans, and even work-study are usually reserved for those who most desperately need them, so for many students whose parents’ income is too high to qualify for need-based aid but too low to pay for all of the students’ costs, employment is the best choice.  Whether to pay for college, to purchase a car, or merely to have some extra spending money, a part-time or summer job is a terrific way to have a steady income while still attending school.  Certainly, if financial aid is available to you, and you feel it’s in your best interest to accept it, do so, but if for some reason the financial aid you receive is not sufficient to pay the tuition bill, remember that you won’t be alone if you get a job.