<p>Every semester I think my schedule is going to get easier, but it never does. This semester I will be working M/W/F/Sa (~30 hours total), and all my classes are on T/TH, along with a few hours of my work schedule. So the result is that I will be on campus from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM T/TH, with a 45 minute commute on either side. And on M/W/F/Sa I have to be at work by 8:30 AM, with the same 45 minute commute.</p>
<p>Last semester I had class and work M - TH, so I had some pretty long days then too, but at least I had three days without work or school, plus the earliest I ever had to be there was 11 AM. This semester is a little worse with only one day off, and I am hoping to find a third job, so that may go away too.</p>
<p>LOL, sometimes I wonder if it is really worth it.</p>
<p>I assume the jobs are to pay for school, but why didn’t you just take out a loan? If you are majoring in something that will guarantee you a well-paid job right out of school, then you are better off studying harder and working harder in school, graduating early to save a semester or two of costs, and then paying back the loans with ease. With the amount of hours you are putting in doing this, you could easily have graduated in only 3 years.</p>
<p>Of course, if you are majoring in something Liberal-artsy Russian Literature, then the case is different. (I’m not bashing liberal arts majors, but this “plan” doesn’t work well for that.)</p>
<p>I think it’s always a bad idea to take out loans when you can pay your own way, no matter what your major. I know an engineering major who will be graduating with more than $100,000 in private loans, and let me tell you she’s not going to be any financially better off than little old fine arts major me for the rest of her life, despite her pre-professional major.</p>
<p>I’m a CS major, full-time with a 3.69 GPA. I study hard whenever I can.</p>
<p>I do have loans, but I am hoping to transfer to a school on the other side of the country and need to save money for the move. I’m also not willing to take out any private loans.</p>
<p>The long hours are hard and exhausting, but I do actually love my jobs (math tutor and math TA) and I think I will benefit from having them on my resume. I’m fortunate that I’m not trying to flip burgers or something equally tiring while going to school.</p>
<p>That’s a really crappy way to experience college, though I guess if you’re hellbent on not taking out any aid whatsoever, that’s what you’ve gotta do. </p>
<p>Commuting has got to suck, though. Why not get a job closer to where you live?</p>
<p>To me, loans shouldn’t be a big deal. I’m not talking huge numbers like $100,000 at all though.</p>
<p>For my college (starting as a Freshman this fall) I will require a $2,500 loan each semester. That’s 5k a year, so 20k when I graduate. There is a very strong chance that I will start earning some additional scholarships in the future (right now I have no aid and no scholarships whatsoever) so in the end it will probably be more like 13k. I can pay that back in a few months after I start working. But right now, it would be impossible for me to go to school without that 5k.</p>
<p>My current job (Model at A&F) pays slightly above minimum wage, and that makes sense, because I am virtually unskilled, as I have no degree in anything yet. I’ll keep all of this money as my “living money” used for food, entertainment, etc. Any job I have during school is going to be low~ish paying and only enough to pay for small things. It’s not going to pay the 5k, so I would take a loan out.</p>
<p>Once I graduate and get a job starting at 60k (the established median for my degree, from this specific program at this specific school’s graduate class of 08) and maybe higher (inflation), making payments on the loan will be no big deal at all. It will be gone in a year guaranteed.</p>
<p>To me, such a move makes plenty of sense. Taking out 20k a year? Better rethink it. But anything ~5k or less a year makes plenty of sense, as that is a rather small payment for a graduate with a good job, while it is an inaccessible amount of money for a HS graduate to “come up with” every August/September.</p>
<p>It’s actually always a good idea, even if you can pay your own way. You take out loans, which then generate small interest in your back account. It also opens you up to a lot of bursaries and scholarships if you take out aid (at least here). There’s also no interest until 6 months after you graduate (here). Then if you have a bunch of money when you graduate, pay it off.</p>
<p>Regardless, sacrificing years of your life just to avoid debt is stupid. Although apparently the OP is actually taking out debt.</p>
<p>i think part of her point is that her friend took out private loans–those usually aren’t as generous as fin. aid offered through the university & govt. </p>
<p>still, her friend probably will get a decent right job out of college and can start to pay them off. $100k is a lot though. the us school system is screwed up.</p>
<p>If you can avoid debt then go for it. I’d suggest getting a higher paying job to compensate for the number of hours work. I work three days a week and earn enough to pay for college, books, living, bills, and car.</p>
<p>The people in this thread disgust me for encouraging loans simply to have a “college experience.” That just equates to laziness.</p>
<p>this changes things. tutoring is kind of like studying, its enjoyable if you like helping people, and does help your resume significantly. keep up the good work.</p>
<p>I agree with Vehicle… Interest on loans is not money for you, it’s more money you have to pay your lender. </p>
<p>While I do believe that a college education is one of the few things in life worth going into debt for, I don’t think it’s worth ruining the rest of your financial life for four years of fun and partying. You had four years of fun and partying in high school for free.</p>
<p>So taking out loans automatically ruins the rest of your financial life? Kind of like how getting that B in high school Biology was going to ruin the rest of my educational life? Give me a break.</p>
<p>Why pay for four years of education in college? You had four years of education in high school for free.</p>
<p>I hate to think of what your idea of “fun” must be.</p>
Taking out loans because you need to in order to pay the bills is fine. Taking out loans when you dont need to(you have a job to make the money needed) is what’s bad. Even more stupid is where someone in this thread said to just pay off the loans once the person graduates and he has “a bunch of money”, not the proper choice of words and nothing is guranteed in this world(a job sure as hell isn’t).</p>