Without parents padding the wallet, students manage to scrape by
For many students, college life is a careful balance between gaining independence and preserving the bond that makes homemade cookies and occasional monthly rent bailouts possible.

Without parents padding the wallet, students manage to scrape by

For many students, college life is a careful balance between gaining independence and preserving the bond that makes homemade cookies and occasional monthly rent bailouts possible.

But with the current economy and dwindling job market, dipping into the parental checkbook isn’t always enough. Students are being forced to live and learn at a rapid rate, holding jobs long before they reach graduation.

About 66 percent of the 2007 UI graduating class took out loans to pay for school, resulting in $21,609 of debt. According to a study by the American Council on Education for the 2006-2007 academic year, 75 percent of all undergraduates under the age of 22 have jobs to pay for education costs.

It seems a summer’s worth of flexing burger-making muscles at Jack in the Box or becoming a connoisseur of Egyptian cotton sheets at Bed Bath & Beyond isn’t cutting it anymore. Between summer jobs, their life savings, student loans, and the nice, crisp bills that are slipped inside of birthday cards, some students still find themselves needing more money to survive.

Rodney Dunn, associate director of Student Financial Aid Services said beside the regular paycheck, jobs also benefit student grades and the general college experience.

“Students who work while going to college are more likely to graduate,” Dunn said. “They are more successful, learn better time management and are more responsible. Working is good, but working too much is a disaster.”

When students work too much, their grades suffer and they are often forced to drop out, Dunn said.

“Worst case scenario is [students’] grades suffer so much that they drop out of school after they have borrowed,” he said.

Students in this situation usually end up worse off than if they never went to college in the first place, Dunn said. In an attempt to avoid this, some students abandon their four-year plan to take fewer classes and work more hours.

Sara Pritchett, a third year business student at UI, goes to school part-time and clocks in almost 30 hours a week at One World Café.

“It’s hard balancing school and work,” Pritchett said. “It takes a lot of self control.”

Although she was able to pay for school with scholarship and grant money while she attended Boise State University the past two years, Pritchett now takes out about $5,000 in student loans each semester to pay for tuition.

“I will basically be ridiculously broke by the time I graduate,” she said. “And the economic situation isn’t going to help.”

Regular working hours aren’t the only way students make extra cash. A growing trend is the donation of plasma at BioMedics, a plasma center in Pullman. Plasma is taken from the blood during an extended blood donation process. A single donation can take up to two hours to complete. Donations can be made two times in a seven-day period, averaging over $200 monthly.

“The money is the biggest part,” said Montana Skovlin, a 25-year-old UI student in fishery resources. “But it’s also a very morally sound way of gaining money.”

Skovlin said she overcame her fear of needles to partake in the plasma donating process in September.

“It’s uncomfortable, but tolerable,” she said.

Skovlin is a resident assistant for the UI Living Learning Community and receives free room and board. Plasma donation money is her main source of income.

“I do it just for spending money and gas money … I haven’t really gotten to the point where I am able to save yet,” she said.

While Skovlin opted for an RA position through the university, many others choose to work on campus. Whether they grind espresso beans at Common Grounds, clean the Student Union Building after hours, or serve up rice bowls at Mein Street in the Idaho Commons Food Court, students have their hands in almost every aspect of campus life.

Kristen Pilcher, a junior in ecology and conservation biology, spends her on-the-clock time at the information desks in the Idaho Commons and the Student Union Building. She said she works about 17 hours per week. Although she sometimes works until midnight, she said her grades are holding steady.

“We are allowed to do our homework when it’s slow, like in the evenings and at night before closing,” Pilcher said. “So [the job] doesn’t really interfere with my schoolwork.”

Though she is one of many students who take out loans to pay for tuition, Pilcher said she tries to save about $200 a month for trips and for after graduation.

“I want to pay off my student loans before going back and getting my master’s degree,” she said.

Another campus employment opportunity is financial aid awards. Sophomore Mike Bonham, a student in productions and operations management, opted for UI’s federally based work-study program. Bonham works in the UI International Programs Office.

“I wanted a job for extra money,” Bonham said. “I knew work-study was very flexible with students’ schedules because they know that education comes first.”

There is a cap on how much work-study money each student can earn in a semester — usually $1,000 — making weekly hours low.

“I only work ten hours a week over the course of two days,” Bonham said. “I would work more if I could, but I wouldn’t be able to get a second job.”

Bonham is just one of 695 UI students who have accepted the work-study option this semester, but not everyone who is offered work study accepts it. According to Dunn, that is precisely the way the system is planned.

“The amount of money offered through work study is far more than what is actually available,” he said. “It’s like airlines that overbook their flights. If everyone shows up, they are in trouble. They overbook and plan accordingly. We do the same.”

Dunn stressed the importance of meeting with a financial aid advisor when money is tight. He said every student has an advisor, whether they like it or not, and advisors are more than willing to help.

“If I had to give the students one financial tip it would be that before they leave for the summer, they should know exactly how they are going to pay for the following semester,” he said. “They should know how much money they need to make, what scholarships they need to apply for and whether or not they need to find a richer boyfriend or girlfriend.”