Daily Dimes 12/11/09

Paying for college is hard. Believe me — I know. I have about $18,500 left to pay off from my four years at Seton Hall, and I’m unbelievably lucky that’s all I have left to pay. The school cost, at that time, $35,000/year. I can’t even imagine how much it is now.

Unfortunately, most jobs now require you to have a college degree in order to even be considered. Add all of the overqualified people applying for jobs because they have been laid off, and college seems like the rule rather than the exception.

Colleges, though, are also businesses. They are in it to make a profit, and the rising costs of tuition, room, board, and other fees further complicates matters.

It wasn’t always this way, but stories show that in today’s economic climate it is becoming more and more difficult to finish college — and the ultimate losers in this battle are the ones who are unable to finish what they start.

This story in the New York Times sought to break the stereotype that those who drop out of college, most of the time, are doing so because they are lazy or get too caught up in partying. In many cases, as the story shows, it is because many attending college were doing it on a shoestring anyway, had to support themselves on top of going to class, and just couldn’t juggle it all.

Especially for those coming from low-income families whose parents cannot help in any way, the barrier to completion is even greater. Think about it this way, too: Say you have a child to support, your own place, bills, etc … and college bills on top of that. Remember, you have to find time to study. I’d imagine it’s unbelievably hard.

I’m lucky in that I had help from my parents and no one to support but myself. I’m sure that it would have taken me more than four years to get a degree if I had all these other complications.

This leads many to wonder why students select schools they cannot afford. For starters, it’s hard for anyone to afford any college today without any financial aid. Even community colleges. As this article points out, they can cost up to $10,000 per year, too.

I didn’t want to spend the next four years at a school that I hated just because it was cheaper. That’s why I went to Seton Hall. I loved the campus, liked the programs they had to offer, and it was close to Manhattan. For someone majoring in communication and having aspirations to work in journalism, that’s a major plus. I was fortunate enough to receive enough scholarships and have my parents pay the interest on one of my loans to carry me through until I graduated and started working — many don’t have that.

But, if you want to go to college, you shouldn’t let the cost alone prevent you from going. Here are some suggestions I have:

• If you’re not sure exactly what you want to do yet — don’t waste your money. Get a part-time job and save money until you have a more clear idea as to what you’d like to study. I had some friends who went to Seton Hall and were undeclared majors. $35,000/year and you don’t know what you’re doing? That doesn’t seem right. This isn’t to say once you’re studying at a university that you won’t change your major, but at least know you’re working toward something immediately.
• Apply for any and every scholarship for which you think you may be remotely qualified. Even if you don’t get them, it doesn’t cost money to apply, and you never know what you might win. The biggest scholarship I won came out of nowhere, and I never thought I would even be considered. You’d be surprised how much scholarship money is out there.
• Start at a community college, and then transfer to a four-year school to finish your degree. Yes, community college isn’t free — but it is cheaper than most four-year universities. There should be no stigma or shame in doing this, either. If you can figure out exactly what you want to study at a cheaper cost, I’m all for it.
• Finish what you start. I don’t care if it takes four years or seven-plus. (Van Wilder, anyone?) If you have to take a break to take care of family or financial issues, so be it — but don’t let that permanently derail you from whatever dreams you have.