It's nearly impossible to work your way through college

[Deacon923]

In other news, the sky is blue, but interesting to see this piece of common knowledge quantified:

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/04/the-myth-of-working-your-way-through-college/359735/

Paying in-state tuition would require, on average, a full-time minimum wage job for half a year. In 1979 you could pay for in state tuition with a part time summer job.

 

[bigdoublezero]

I'm just going to post #bootstraps here so we can get it out of the way.

Also I'm sure raising the minimum wage would greatly increase the cost of tuition at public colleges.

 

[DeaconOEF/OIFvet]

I did it. Of course, I had some help with Tuition Assistance, and deployments made it to where it took a bit longer to get my BA, than I would have liked.

It's not fun, but it is possible.

 

[deac29]

You can actually work during the school year, too. I worked 20 hours per week during school.

 

[Wakeforest22890]

Millenials are just all about instant gratification. Put in your hard work in school, put in your hard work at a minimum wage job when you can, and graduate in 162 years just like everybody else has done in the past. Don't be #dense guys.

 

[bigdoublezero]

This might come as a surprise to those with a Wake background, but most kids work while they're in school.

Tuition costs have skyrocketed and wages are stagnant. The end.

 

[ImTheCaptain]

work while in college? #nosat

 

[PhDeac]

Like I posted on awaken's thread, many of my students work full-time and come to campus all day two days a week for class. Some work a 9-5 and come right to campus for night classes 2 or 3 nights a week.

 

[TownieDeac]

This might come as a surprise to those with a Wake background, but most kids work while they're in school.

Tuition costs have skyrocketed and wages are stagnant. The end.

Some of my friends had campus jobs, but I think I may have been the only one with an off-campus 30+ hr/week job year round.

 

[bigdoublezero]

Some of my friends had campus jobs, but I think I may have been the only one with an off-campus 30+ hr/week job year round.

Yeah, I worked about four nights a week my junior and senior years on top of on-campus work. Knew very few people who worked off campus. Really weird.

 

[TownieDeac]

And without knowing (with 100% certainty, at least) intimate financial details of my friends, I would say campus jobs were for beer money, not for books or rent or tuition.

I went 50/50 with my folks on tuition, and took out student loans as needed on top of that. Don't know a lot of kids entering around 2005 who were at all like that. Seems like Wake kids in my era were either from families who could afford the bill no sweat, or were getting huge financial aid from scholarships/grants, and then used jobs for living expenses.

I assume this is a different picture from 20-30 years ago, when a different socioeconomic range (or larger # of middle class families) may have been able to afford Wake.

 

[PhDeac]

Yeah, I worked about four nights a week my junior and senior years on top of on-campus work. Knew very few people who worked off campus. Really weird.

How much of your tuition, etc did you cover?

 

[BobStackFan4Life]

Believe it or not there was a time not that long ago when people with a high school education could get a job at someplace like Reynolds that would support their wife and two kids and pay for a house and car and provide a nice retirement.

 

[PhDeac]

Believe it or not there was a time not that long ago when people with a high school education could get a job at someplace like Reynolds that would support their wife and two kids and pay for a house and car and provide a nice retirement.

Yep. And now they're just lazy, right?

 

[BobStackFan4Life]

Yep. And now they're just lazy, right?

I know someone without a high school diploma who got a job in a factory during the fifties. He started at over $8 an hour which is about where minimum wage is today. And the company would provide transportation to and from work, so he didn't have to pay for transportation. This economy has turned into a nightmare for the majority of Americans.

 

[bigdoublezero]

How much of your tuition, etc did you cover?

I covered most of my room and board.

And without knowing (with 100% certainty, at least) intimate financial details of my friends, I would say campus jobs were for beer money, not for books or rent or tuition.

I went 50/50 with my folks on tuition, and took out student loans as needed on top of that. Don't know a lot of kids entering around 2005 who were at all like that. Seems like Wake kids in my era were either from families who could afford the bill no sweat, or were getting huge financial aid from scholarships/grants, and then used jobs for living expenses.

I assume this is a different picture from 20-30 years ago, when a different socioeconomic range (or larger # of middle class families) may have been able to afford Wake.

Seems right to me. Most of my publicschoolfilth friends from high school worked their way through college, on top of big loans.

 

[Liquid Karma]

I worked anywhere from 15-25 hours/week between Intramurals and at The Sports Authority.

 

[DeaconCav06]

I worked about 20 hours a week as an equipment manager but it was an awesome job and didn't really seem like work.

My GF had a full scholarship to UF and worked ~35 hours per week as a Nursing Assistant at the UF hospital.

 

[Wrangor]

I worked about 15-20 hours a week during the school year, and full time during the summer. It did not really dent tuition. But did allow me to eat .

Parents went 50/50 with my in tuition after financial aid was kicked in.

 

[bmoneydeac]

I worked all four years 20 hours/week during school and 35+ during the summer making $6/hour. Pops cut a check to Wake for tuition, I did the rest. I'm glad I did it even if it did cost me some socially.