This guest post from Crystal is part of the “reader stories” feature at Get Rich Slowly. Some stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success — or failure. These stories feature folks from all levels of financial maturity and with all sorts of incomes. Crystal writes about finding the balance between paying the bills, saving for the future, and budgeting for the fun stuff at the aptly-titled Budgeting in the Fun Stuff.
When people learn that I managed to avoid college loans, I’m often asked how that happened. It was a mixture of work, luck, and help.
Planning for College
For as long as I can remember, I knew I’d go to college. It was a given. I can’t remember my family overtly pushing me that way, but my grandparents and parents went to college, so I was going to go too.
My family is also open about money, so I always just seemed to know that college would be expensive. So, I started babysitting and pet-sitting when I was twelve years old so that I could save for those magical four years of college education.
I also planned to get a “real” job as soon as I turned sixteen. My plans changed, though, when we moved overseas. Because of my dad’s job, we lived in Holland for six months and Argentina for more than two years. I wasn’t old enough to get a work visa.
At that point, I assumed my parents would probably help pay for college. I also knew that I’d need to get a job as soon as we got back…but good plans sometimes just aren’t enough.
We moved back nine months before I was scheduled to start college, and I still had long-distance courses that I needed to finish before I could graduate from high school. I churned out those assignments, applied for scholarships like a crazy woman, and signed up for my first year. That is also when I applied for my first “real” job — as a help-desk attendant for the 24-hour assistance desk in my future dorm.
Putting the “Work” in Work-Study
Luckily, I received a few scholarships, including a very large Academic Achievement Award that covered a big part of my actual class expenses. But my parents covered my dorm room and food for that first year. I also worked at least 20 hours a week at the help desk and applied for other on-campus positions.
By my second year of college, I was engaged. (We met while I was working the help desk!) I was still trying to pay my own way through college, but I kept falling short about $1200 every semester. I was lived as cheaply as possible, splitting a room for $288 to save money, and even staying under $3 a day for food. But making $5.25 an hour just couldn’t cover everything my scholarships left behind.
I worked part-time in the Games Room on campus throughout my last three years in school. During my last year, I was a blackjack dealer for office parties (the legal kind of gambling in Texas, where the players could win raffle tickets for prizes). I also found a third job as a tax-office receptionist during my last semester. I took loans from my parents for whatever my scholarships and my paychecks couldn’t cover.
A Final Piece of Help
By the time I graduated from college (with honors), I was working Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at the tax office; Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5pm-1am at the Games Room on campus; and I was a blackjack dealer Friday and Saturday nights.
In short, I working almost 60 hours a week in three different jobs, commuting to campus every Tuesday and Thursday for my last twelve hours of classes, and ended up owing my parents a little more than $8000.
The week after graduation, we had our fantastic $3000 wedding. I had to give up my two main jobs, so I took the first salaried position I was offered. I’m still there.
A few months after all of that, my parents forgave my $8000 in loans as a late graduation present. I was really broke, but at least I didn’t have any loans. As I said in the beginning, having no student loans was a mixture of work, luck — and help. (I know I’m lucky to have received the help from my parents.)
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Great job on getting through college without student loans. I wish I had been that financially savvy at that point in my life.
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You are an incredibly disciplined and hard working person–I wish more of your generation embraced your ideals. Way to go, and I’m so glad your parents helped you out–especially since they created some of your circumstances, I think it was only fair they chip in. You no doubt will do great things in life!
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Crystal,
Props to you! I really enjoy hearing the stories about people doing the thing that needs to get done, regardless of the difficulty or of what others may think.
I myself went to college right out of high school, when I wasn’t ready. I was kicked out 2x, and I made the dean’s list 2x. I found that it worked best for me to work AND go to school at the same time — I needed the balance that both provide — the practical and the theoretical. It took me 10 years to get my bachelors – which means I appreciate it a lot more than other people I work with. I’ve since returned to school and got my MBA, and I’ve returned to school AGAIN to get another Masters (Healthcare Quality & Patient Safety).
I have an awesome job with a great (fantastic) salary and the opportunity to travel… this is directly because of the time management skills and report writing skills that I picked up working and going to school for more than a decade. When I interview job candidates that are fresh-outs from college, I pay WAY more attention to those that have had a job than those that *just* went to school.
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First I have to say that I’m really impressed with Crystal’s work ethic and accomplishments.
Second I want to point out not all colleges will allow students on scholarships to work that many hours. I had a merit-based scholarship and in addition to having to maintain a certain minimum gpa, was not allowed to work more than 12 hours a week because going to college was considered my “full time job” and I wasn’t supposed to do anything to detract from that. So what she did is not always an option for those on scholarship. I did do jobs during the semester when I could and also worked summers, but am very glad my schedule allowed me to experience aspects of college other than classes and jobs.
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Congratulations, Crystal. I teach at a big state university where students who work too many hours are missing the essential “college experience,” which I think is the serious encounter with ideas and thoughtful companions. For many of them, a gap year of working and saving and planning would be better than big loans or working too many hours. Some choose majors depending on the amount of homework involved, which is not a good way to choose. I sympathize with anxious families who are working to manage costs, but the long term and the short term both need to be considered.
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It comes down to choice. I imagine most people saddled with student loans in the 5 figures (or more) wish now they had chosen differently.
Crystal set a goal based on her values.
Crystal – your achievement is commendable! I’m sure you exhibit the same work ethic in your job now as when you were in school.
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@Sarah, I’ve felt bitter before when a post reminds me of my own problems. I understand that. I am sorry that this one did that for you. I really am not advocating 60 hour work weeks for all students – it simply is what I did and it was unique enough to make a great story.
@Carla, I do realize that I was lucky in many respects. If school wasn’t as easy for me and I was just tackling it now at 28, I would probably hit it in small shots 1-2 classes at a time through night courses or online courses while still working so I’d have some financial stability and time to study properly. Anyway, good luck and thank you for commenting!
@jim, yes, my parents could have helped me more. I think they were trying to push the little birdie out of the nest and didn’t realize how hard they were truly making it on me until later.
My parents financial assets, and the fact that the company paid for us to live overseas and reported that as my dad’s income too, meant that I wouldn’t qualify for need-based help unless I had been on my own for a minimum of 3 years or I was married. No FAFSA for me…
@Amy P, wow, you worked and got a ton of experiences! And yes, even if I had taken on some standard student loans to lessen my work load, I’d still want to keep it to a minimum…no more than 1 year’s worth of what I’m expecting to make when I graduate because paying off loans into my 30′s would have just truly stunk for me…it just wasn’t an option.
@Kay Lynn, I give full credit for everything I knew financially at that point to my parents.
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@partgypsy, if I had a full merit scholarship, I would have had the same restrictions. But, if I had that “problem”, I wouldn’t have needed most of my part-time work anyway, lol.
@Kim, I used to. When I was hired, I was the best employee that had ever seen. I’m not being arrogant, I truly worked my butt off. Then they started giving me all the work that wasn’t being done by the cruddier coworkers AND GAVE THOSE SAME COWORKERS THE SAME RAISE AS ME TWO REVIEWS IN A ROW. That’s when I realized they didn’t give a darn, so I started working a lot less (I’m still dang good though) and then found blogging, lol. I put my heart and soul (and 30-40 hours a week) into Budgeting in the Fun Stuff.
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Crystal – it made me sad to read that you hate your job. Change it! (Unless you really, really prefer it because it allows you to focus on blogging.) You’re clearly very smart, disciplined, hard working, resourceful, and a whole bunch of other good things. What a waste for your many talents not to be going toward something that’s fabulous and that you love and that makes the world better in some way! I know it takes a lot of effort to do a job search, but maybe you’ll consider it. There’s no need to do a job you hate (other than very short-term in an emergency). And given your relatively low income (I saw it on your website), it shouldn’t be as hard to replace your job with a vast range of other jobs at which you can earn just as much. Good luck!
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Attending a community college for the first 2 years of your schooling is a great way to reduce expenses by almost half.
Also, encourage high school students to pass AP tests. My son passed 5 tests and that translated to 20 units of college credit.
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This story isn’t “refreshing,” it’s tragic. No one should have to work 60 hours a week to put themselves through school in our country. College is FREE (or nearly so) in Europe.
This is the story of a young woman who escaped, by the skin of her teeth, landing in tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt. Kudos to her for pulling it all off, but NO ONE should be expected to work a full-time job while attending college full-time. Forgive me for being old-fashioned, but I think students should study.
I’m a little put off by the congratulatory tone of all the comments, which to me imply that there’s something “right” about what Crystal had to do.
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I had a few student loans after college, but made sure that they were the first debt to go before taking on any other debt. Great story, Crystal.
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Good article, the author clearly has a good head on her shoulders. But JD, at the risk of being redundant, I think the title is misleading. Using your explanation, someone whose parents paid for (or loaned enough for) their entire college education would qualify as graduating “student loan free.” That doesn’t seem accurate.
That said, the moral of the story is great. And the title surely isn’t a deal breaker. Just hoping you’ll work to “keep it real” in the headlines.
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I feel conflicted after reading this post.
On the one hand, I really want to congratulate you Crystal — your accomplishment is really awesome. You sound like an absolutely incredible worker, and I’m really happy that things have worked out for you so well. I am genuinely impressed by your story.
But. (And I’m sure you could hear this coming) I’m not entirely sure how much relevance this has for something like 99% of the population at large. I’m an undergraduate senior. I’m not a slouch — dean’s list, probably in the top 10% of my class, both interning and tutoring on campus at the same time, etc — but there’s no way I could handle 60 hour weeks on top of going to school full time (I probably couldn’t handle 30, if I wanted to keep my average above a B+ or so). And without tooting my own horn too much, there are only a handful of people I’ve met at college who do significantly more than I do, much less to the level Crystal has.
Which I think means that this is an accomplishment that’s only possible for someone who is both highly intelligent, and highly driven to a degree that most people never can or will be. It honestly sounds like the intellectual equivalent of running a marathon in two hours flat — something absolutely incredible that I’m quite sure I could never do.
So while I think we should rightly praise people like Cyristal who perform really impressive academic feats (As much, or more so than we praise those who accomplish great things athletically), we should still be cautious about this. Most people can’t be Olympian athletes, and most people can’t work 60 hours a week and graduate with honors (Or at all). And while I didn’t get any particular “You all could be like me if you just tried!” vibe from you — so kudos for being realistic, too — I do feel like we need to acknowledge how unrealistic this is for most people, and how actually dangerous it might be for many to even try. (At this point, I’m talking less even about this article in particular, and more about the incessant Dave Ramsey-esque “Just work two jobs and get through school!” idea that I think is often quite wrongheaded)
And I’ll just leave the discussion about the “college experience” mostly alone — the validity of those arguments depends entirely on how each person defines “the college experience,” and I don’t want to get dragged into a discussion on semantics.
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One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is working full time & studying part time. I went to Uni for a year and hated the lifestyle (can’t stand lecturers) but loved the learning. I left and found a decent paying full time job which then went on to fund the rest of my degree through extramural (distance) learning.
Yes I may have missed out on the social side of uni, but I actually had an awesome social life with those I worked with, as well as high school friends. I finished my degree and also my Chartered Accountant without having to incur any debt apart from the first year which I had paid off after a year of working.
The workplace I was in had development plans in place for me to strive towards and as positions became available for me to grow into, I was encouraged by my boss to apply and move into different areas/levels.
Not everyone can have the discipline to study by themselves but it suited me fine and I was still active in sports, work events and a great social life.
Now 3 years after finishing I have my own house, no debt (other than a mortgage which is being paid down aggressively) and have had many trips overseas. I see friends still struggling to pay student loans and getting other loans for cars/trips etc. Not a life I would choose.
For those students heading off to uni in the near future, do what works for you, theres nothing worse than being stuck in a situation that you don’t like. You CAN change what is happening, sometimes you just have to take the path less traveled.
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@Pat, way to go with your persistence!!! And thanks for giving us college-workers an extra look during an interview!
@kris, I do think that a balance between long-term choices and short-term reactions needs to be found or kids flounder in college and end up wasting thousands. I am one of the few people I knew in college that stuck with the same major all the way through, which did help save some money as well.
It’s easier to go after something when you know what you want…
@margot, I agree that I should do something I love. That is why I am replacing my job with blogging full time within the next 9-15 months. I already make half of my income online – as soon as that doubles, goodbye cruddy job!
Thanks for the very kind words!
@cerb, great advice!
@imelda, I think most of the replies have been to be supportive of me personally but the majority think that it’s pretty bad I worked so much too. I don’t think I made a bad decision for me personally given my options, but I agree that college costing as much as it does is insane…
@Romeo, thanks and congrats on those loan payoffs!
@Jeff, I’m glad you liked my story. Thanks!
@NZ Chick, if I couldn’t have found the extra jobs, I was seriously considering working my way through college via part-time classes as well. That is a fantastic alternative for anybody who really needs financial stability while pursuing a degree!
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I also worked about 30-36 hours/week while going to engineering school. I definitely couldn’t have worked 60, but in the summer I worked as many hours as possible.
I agree with another poster that you are more efficient when you have limited time, but I did miss out on some of the social stuff. I always worked weekends and despite having a lot of friends I missed out on many weekend excursions and things.
There were definitely times when it felt like all work and no play but I made the most of my time at work. I was a waitress, so it was a very social environment. I did still have $25K in student loans when I was done, but I don’t regret the path I took. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Crystal you did great. You’re an inspiration.
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Congrats to Crystal. I definitely wish I would have taken out fewer student loans when I was in school.
But unfortunately I was one of the students some of the previous posters warned about. Had 3 work-study jobs, was a resident assistant my sophomore year (school paid for my rooming) and a head resident my junior year (school paid for my room and my board), but my grades suffered immensely. I was a biochemistry major which was definitely one of the harder majors at my school (and probably one of the hardest majors at any school). A lot of the time I spent working I should have been studying. I came out of undergrad with only $12,000 in student loan debt (a fraction of what most kids owe) but working less hours would have drastically improved my grades. And let’s not even get into how sleep deprived I was during my last 2 years. Probably should have worked harder during the summer to save up money to offset working less hours during the school year.
The only way I was able to get into a graduate program was to take courses at the school I was working at before I officially applied to the program. After getting A’s in several courses I was able to make the argument that my undergrad grades were a fluke and that I can handle the course load.
So while doing things Crystal’s way is definitely that way to go you have to take into consideration what the students course load looks like.
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I consider myself lucky to have graduated debt free with both a Masters and Bachelors in five years when so many around me were building up a decade’s worth of debt. I entered school with academic scholarships that provided for my tuition and most of my housing. This was only possible though because I chose the “cheaper” state school. Combine that with the money I raised working on engineering co-op (essentially a paid internship) every other semester for my sophomore and junior years and I managed to barely squeak by without having to pick up a part time job. In the process I spent a lot of money and 10x the time helping revive a defunct fraternity which some might have thought was a pointless exercise, but I considered an amazing experience that really expanded my interpersonal and management skills.
Anyway, my advice to students, especially now that they are allowed to cling to mom and dad’s health care plan, is to take your time with school. Work every other semester in a job in your field and take summer classes or a night class while working and you can trim down the debt you might otherwise rack up.
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I loved reading this post. It mirrors what I did in many ways. I also worked at least one job during the 10 years it took me to finally get my bachelor’s degree. At times I worked two jobs, totaling 50+ hours per week while going to school full time. It was tough but it wasn’t impossible. I think it forces you to be organized and disciplined. I’ve been working at least one job since I was only 13, with the exception of 2 months. I often find people are suprised at this.
I would also like to say that while getting a degree is nice, it’s my experience from working that really got my foot in the door places. It’s not often you can find a 23yr old with 10 years of working experience and a full resume.
Also, I worked on helpdesk for about 4 years and that’s where I met my husband as well. It was also how I finally choose my field of study in IT. I love working in IT and haven’t looked back since.
Cheers!
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What a great post! I made it through undergrad without student loans, but unfortunately my grad degree was too much to handle without them. I see that you had a $3,000 wedding…if only my girlfriend would be OK with that, we might be married sooner than later!
http://www.moneyistheroot.com
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If you have to pay tuition and room and board, you are probably going to need loans of some sort. Most schools are now too expensive to pay your own way on a minimum wage job.
More affordable schools and schools that offer scholarships are great, but they do not always offer the same job placement and networking opportunities. There is sometimes a tradeoff.
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Wow! 3 jobs? I thought I was the only one who worked my butt off while in school. Thanks for sharing your story!
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@David N, not everyone can do what I did, nor would I ask them to try, but it wasn’t a superhuman feat. I am not a genius. I also built up to that 60 hours of work a week. I worked 20-39 hours a week for most of college and only started hitting 50-60 hours my last two semesters because of dealing blackjack two full nights a week and finding the temporary tax office receptionist position.
My schedule was full, I’m not arguing that, but I really do not think I’m particularly special. I simply always had somewhere to be or something to study. Here was my schedule for the last semester.
M-W-F-S I would wake up and drive to the tax office (8am-5pm). I’d take calls and keep the appointment book, but I’d also read my text books and work on my papers.
Monday and Wednesday evenings (6pm-midnight) were when I finished all of my assignments.
Friday and Saturday evenings, I drove to whatever party I was dealing blackjack at (7pm-midnight).
Tuesday and Thursdays I had class from 10am-4pm straight through. Those evenings I worked in the Games Room from 5pm-1am. I used any downtime to catch up on reading.
Sundays were actually pretty open, so I hung out with friends, family, or my fiance. If I had any leftover assignments, I finished them.
That comes to 58 hours a week of work, 6-7 hours of sleep at night (not bad for most college students), 12 hours of business classes, 20-25 hours of studying spread out, and a day of just hanging out when I could.
Yes, I was busy. No, I did not write down my story to try to convince others it was a great idea. But, it isn’t impossible. I am smart but probably not MENSA material. I was an Honors College student and I did manage to graduate with honors, but I honestly think a business major has it easier than any math or science-based major. In short, I was able to do this based on a lot of little things that came together for me. It was unique circumstances, but I would guess that quite a few people could do it who are in similar circumstances.
I am special, but no more than anybody else, lol.
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@First Gen, you are one heck of an inspiration too!
@Aishah, I had a roommate for 2 years that was a Biochem major – you have my complete sympathy. I was surprised my roomie still ha hair…
@Bill, good advice!
@Amy, hello to a fellow help-desk worker (and apparently, that is where all the love is, lol)! I am so glad I wasn’t the only one to pull off so many work hours – it is possible and you even got a great job! I am happy you liked my post – thanks for reading!
@MoneyIsTheRoot, LOL, my husband is a traditionalist or the wedding would have been even cheaper, hahaha.
@Lincoln, yes, everything you said is true. As I’ve said in other comments, I had a unique set of circumstances.
@LaTisha, thanks! I’m glad you made it through too!
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Crystal, while I applaud you for graduating with no debt, this type of article makes me so sad for some children. When I was growing up, it was also a given that I would go to college. But it was also assumed that my parents would pay for it. I believe that part of the parent/child covenant dictates that parents owe their children the basics to enable a certain level of success in life: a loving home, enough food/clothes/shelter and an education. It may be a bit draconian but, if you cannot afford to send your child to college (or to trade/arts school depending on interest), then you should not have that child in the first place.
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Nice article! I must admit though, I loved my college experience. I ended up taking on $36,000 in total for a private school that had tuition costs of $32,000 per year, and that included a semester to London and a semester to Japan–I thought I did well, and wouldn’t change a thing. I received scholarships, grants (my parents were low income), a little help from my parents, and worked. I had a federal work study job during the week, then drove amish on Saturday mornings (for about $120 per Saturday), and then worked jobs on summer and winter breaks. Ahhhhh the college years:).
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I was not able to graduate debt-free, but I also went to a pricey private school. One thing that is do-able for a lot of college students to help save on college expenses is to become an RA. This can pay big time especially if you’re attending school in an expensive city (like Boston). Not only do you get free room and board during the year (saved me over $10,000 a year), but often you can continue to be an RA over the summer for the summer classes. By doing this I was able to have a full-time paying internship and have zero living expenses, so I could save up enough spending money for the rest of the year. Though even combining that with an academic scholarship and a lot of help from my parents didn’t get me out debt-free, but I feel like I have a resonable amount for an engineering grad and should be able to have it all paid off in the next 2 years.
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Crystal,
Don’t downplay your achievement – reading your schedule makes me almost cry. Just the amount you slept – I wouldn’t have been able to focus in class AT ALL if I got only 7 hours of sleep/night. (I have been told this is genetic…people need from 6-10 hours of sleep/night, with 8 being just the average.) And the amount you worked! Wow!
I majored in geophysics and was not the sharpest pencil in the box – I probably had to study more hours/week than you worked (60+) just to pass with good marks.
Just FWIW, my strategy for saving money in school was to go to university in Canada and work hard over the summer to pay with American dollars…they charge international students much more than Canadians, but the tuition is still a joke compared to the tuition at US schools. Or at least it was in the late 90s, when the US dollar was stronger.
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Crystal, thank you so much for sharing your story. You demonstrate a great work ethic and a better “whole life” perspective than many college students I knew. I worked 2 jobs for 30-40 hours per week during college and, like you, worked more hours towards the end than the beginning. I graduated from an aerospace engineering program with my bachelor’s and masters degrees in 4.5 years. My scholarships, grants, savings, & work covered the first two years and one later semester, but I did end up with student loans because of my grad degree.
It is absolutely possible to work that much as an engineering student. My husband did it, too, although we had divergent grade expectations; he expected to pass and I held a B+/A- average. Yes, we missed out on some things, but you can’t do everything anyway. We did make time for things that were important to us. Today, we are much better off in many regards than college friends who didn’t work.
@Crystal or JD – Is there any chance to get Crystal’s parents’ story? I would love to read the “other half” of this tale. For instance, when did they decide to cover part of her expenses? How did they save for her and her siblings’ college? How/why did they forgive the loans?
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Crystal, congratulations on finding jobs that fit your schedule and taking courses that allowed you to work and finish without debt.
I took loans/scholarships and working in the summer to finish my degree (about ~30K in debt when it was done). But as an engineering student I had classess, labs and tutorials from 8 am to 5 pm four to 5 days a week and typically 30 to 40 hours of work outside of classes to finish assignments and prep for exams. Working more than one day a week would not have been possible and really I was no fun to be around given how terrible my schedule was.
Grad school was done on a scholarship and stipend. I taught a tutorial four semesters while at school and used the extra money to put against my studen loans (which were not accruing interest as I was at school). When I left school I had ~16K in student debt and had it paid off in about 2.5 years.
Everyone is going to be different and the trick is balance of school achievement, loans, and end goals. I had friends at school that could have worked more and I had friends that used loan money to live a lavish life (for a student). I think everyone looks back and thinks they could have done something differently. You had a goal and you stuck to it. Good for you.
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Wow! That’s crazy! I can’t imagine working 60 hours a week in college. I worked around 10 hours a week and my parent paid most of the college cost. (paid back since.)
I really admire people who can power through work and college, but there was no way I could do that. Great job Crystal, I really admire what you did.
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@Zeynep, I actually don’t believe that. I think parents should be required to feed you, house you, and LOVE you. I think a college education is not a given and no parent should feel bad for not being able to help or choosing not to.
@Amanda, it sounds like you had fun and prioritized in a way that gives you no regrets – that sounds perfect to me!
@Claudia Lynn, being an RA is an awesome opportunity! I applied but wasn’t accepted the first time around and moved off campus after that…
@Ms. K, no crying, lol. I was actually very happy – just a little tired.
Nice Canada strategy!!!
@Lindsey, sounds like you and your husband put in even more work than me! That is what I see as inspiring.
As far as getting my mom or dad to write up their side, I would never ask. We agree that a bunch of things were mishandled and miscommunicated and just generally messed up. They wanted to make sure I was responsible and I sort of hated them for making me prove it like that. It’s taken 5 years to get back to a non-angry place, so I am just letting it go.
@Pam, I think you hit the nail on the head about figuring out the proper balance. Sure, my way worked for me, but it is not the best way for everybody. Thanks for commenting!
@retirebyforty, you could do anything when you don’t see any other options.
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Hey Crystal, I think this showed great determination on your part. Working that hard to put yourself through college is not easy, but I’m sure you feel great after going through it!
I worked both a full time and part time job while going through undergrad and grad school, but still ended up with over $40,000 in student loans!
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Great story! I also worked a ton while in school and was lucky to have a co-op (work placement) every 4 months. With that income I paid for all my schooling and graduated with zero debt.
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@Khaleef, you have $40,000 in student loans but you also have a masters degree…I think that’s a good trade-off if you use it!
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@Pete, congrats!!!
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I commend you for working to pay for your education, but I wonder if this can be a practical course for the majority of students. My father attended the University of California in the 1960s, and he has told me many stories about working for the summer (digging ditches on an air force base) to pay for school. One summer of hard labor would pay for his tuition and living expenses.
By the time I was getting ready for school, it was impossible to find legal, safe work that would cover those expenses. Now, I have three small kids, and the tuition situation only seems to be getting worse. I’m saving now for their educations, and I hope it will be enough to let them get through school without massive debt.
I wonder if anyone has undertaken a breakdown of university budgets over the last fifty years to find out where the money is going. If anyone has that information, I would love to see it.
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My experience was a lot like yours although I suspect that I got off easy going to college a few years back before the inflationary trend hit. I had one-third covered by scholarships, my parents covered a third, and I worked during school and summers to pay for the final third myself. It was tough working all night long and going to class. I would nap when I could and often sleep through the 7:30 class after getting off work at 6 am. But it was worth it.
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I avoided college bills which have made a difference since we currently are paying off my wife’s bill. First I enlisted in the military and received the GI Bill. Second, when I was leaving the military I searched around for employers that had tuition reimbursement and was lucky enough to of found one. I worked full time and went to school at night for 6 years and got my BS in accounting. Overall I say I saved about 20K!
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The comments have been really interesting. I wasn’t sure I would respond to this but there’s just so much to say.
To start with, I do have to say, as some have said, that the title of this post was a bit misleading. It makes it sound like avoiding student loans by getting money from family is better than taking student loans. Obviously every situation is different, and maybe for Crystal this was the better choice, but that’s certainly not going to be true (or even possible) for most students.
Crystal did what she had to do, and luckily for her she didn’t end up with debt. But student loans aren’t all bad. Student loans are bad when they are used to pay for a lifestyle a student (or their family) could never have afforded. Student loans to help with tuition so that the student has time to be at college and reap the benefits are exactly what student loans are for.
I know that in this case, she wasn’t eligible for the FAFSA benefits that I had the good fortune to receive. My college experience didn’t put any burden on my family. I worked through college (about 30 hours a week, not 60, thank god), went abroad, did everything I wanted to do while I was there, came out with loans and got a job that makes me happy, and then paid them off. The loans were only about $17k, which I know is low for this country, and maybe that would be too large a burden for some. But I sort of wonder what good a college degree is if you can’t get a good enough job to pay off a small student loan? I had loans but I never felt forced to take any old job just to pay them off. The loan was completely manageable, while working more hours as a student would have made me very little and taken away so much of the point of being at college in the first place.
I’m not criticizing Crystal’s situation and choices, working your way through college is hard with or without help from the school or parents. But I sort of feel like student loans were created to help avoid situations like her’s, so students have time to get the most out of school and get a job they like after graduation, and then pay the loan back. It’s really sad to hear that she feels stuck in a job she doesn’t like, and yet she didn’t even have loans forcing her to find any old job after graduation…
It’s hard to see what to learn from this article, other than the fact that paying for college is a huge burden on everyone, whether they take loans or not.
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@92 Sarah
That is a really great and thoughtful comment. I agree 100%.
Though, as another commenter mentioned, EVERYONE is eligible to fill out a FAFSA form. Many people are eligible for financial aid even if they think they aren’t. Getting people to fill out the FAFSA is something the government has made great strides on over the past couple of years and has had a positive effect on college attendance as people on the margin who thought they weren’t eligible for aid end up having enough money to go. (There’s a study with a bunch of famous education researchers partnering with H&R block that finds positive effects.)
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How i avoided student loans…. really, i sure wish my parents would of given me 8k. So disappointed on how this story ended.
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I’ll agree with those who have complimented the OP on her work ethic. It’s a good one.
But I also agree with those who claim the title is misleading. It is. Borrowing $8k is borrowing $8k, no matter what the source, and having it forgiven is even better. The OP did not avoid student loans, no matter how much JD wants to spin it. Sorry.
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@Nicole, I filled out FAFSA with my own info and was denied because I hadn’t been on my own long enough to skip my parental info section and my parents refused to fill in the form.
@Alily, I’m surprised even $8000 in student loans wasn’t suprisingly low to you. If it makes anyone feel any better, I would have and could have paid off that $8000 by the end of my graduation year since my husband and I continued living CHEAP in a $399 efficiency apartment and I wasn’t willing to pay 5% interest for very long…
As JD explained in one of the first comments, he put a lot of thought into that title since I was so upfront that luck had a lot to do with my experience.
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Well, its good to see that somebody is able to work that much, both at school and at a different job.
My experience, which I`m going through right now, is not as rose coloured. I started 4 years ago, appliying for University in Social Economics, while I had a full time job. This was (and still is in the Oil sector) a job where I had to work 2 weeks and 3 weeks of, so basicly I was working two full months each semester. 5 months on, 7 months off..
While I was making very good money, starting at $40.000 increasing to $100.000 over the course of 4 years, my grades where going downhill, because study habits were poor, I did not feel i got enough time to study and my love for the field died 2 years into the 4 year degree.
Now, I`m burnt out, I have not finnished my degree ( I lack several points to finnish it), I dont want to work in that field, and I don`t pressume anybody would hire me with the poor results. And Im stuck in a job I don`t really have a future in, or particularly want to be doing..
I have $4000 in debt, and still live like a student, so my savings rate is 75%.. while my grades are hovering above 2. Right now Im thinking about having year of from School, maybe try again next year.
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Congratulations for doing it the right way. It’s an inspirational story that should be shared with high school students.
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I really like the idea of working for college. I earned money during my college years and it helped offset my expenses.
We had always saved. We started saving $ for college for both my kids when they were infants. They started college with about $35K or so in the 1990s. My daughter spent all her college fund in 2 years at Northeastern University (a private school). She used student loans to finish. My son finished undergrad and 2 years grad work at VA Tech (a public school) and still had money left over when he graduated.
There is a message here about public colleges.
I strongly encourage kids to work while in school and to think really hard about what they want to do when they graduate. Studying subjects that are interesting and intellectually challenging may be fun and personally rewarding but unless you have some way to use the skills you’ve learned in school to make a living, you’ve pretty much wasted your time.
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I have to agree with Sarah’s comments on page one. This is clearly an exception to the rule and not an advisable strategy for about 99.9% of students.
I graduated with about $30K in student loan debt. About half my tuition was covered by scholarships and grants. I did work study programs, including Americorps (which gives you a tuition credit in addition to a paycheck), and used money from working during high school and over the summer to pay part of my tuition. My parents helped where they could, but they just don’t have the means to help as much as Crystal’s parents did.
I actually wish I had worked less during college for two reasons. First, I would have been able to do more internships, which are really important for getting a job when you graduate. Second, I probably would have had better grades. My grades are high enough to get a job in my chosen field, but I am going to law school next year. I am going to a great school, but if my GPS had been even .2 higher I would be in a position to either attend one of the Top 10 schools in the country or get substantial scholarships at the school I am attending. In the long run it probably would have been worth it to accrue another $8K or so in loans from my undergrad education.
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