<p>I'm a college student soon to be a transfer out of state to either UIC or DEPAUL depending on the acceptance letter coming this week. </p>
<p>I am concerned about having to work part time in college, as I am working part time (4 hours a day, 5 days a week) now, and I find work to be a bit of a distraction from the 110% effort I usually put into my studies. I always seem to be rushing my studies and I hate that feeling.</p>
<p>Sure the easy answer would be to ixnay on the work, but the added catch is that I have dance lessons that I plan to take in chicago which would cost me $70/month, and still have yet to decide on the other costs, such as groceries, and other things. </p>
<p>Can anyone else tell me how they (or their children) managed to go to school without working, yet still be able to pay for things outside of school? I seriously need to sit down with someone and go over this "stuff".</p>
<p>Won’t you have a meal plan at school? Groceries should be minimal if you do. You have a LOT more time to do homework in college as you are typical in class for just a couple hours/day in college vs the time you spend in class/riding the bus to school, etc. in high school. 4 hours/day 5 days/week is WAY more than I would let my kids work in high school. Get a job on campus in a quite department and you will often have time to study while you are working.</p>
<p>SteveMA-- wow, I’m surprised by your answer. Usually when speaking of costs people always say buying groceries is much cheaper than the meal plan.</p>
<p>How many hours perweek would you say would be appropriate since 20 hours is obviously a bit much?</p>
<p>We paid for all of our kid´s expenses, which included groceries. I don´t think most UG students pay for their groceries and that´s how they are able to get away with not working. A lot of kids use their summer earnings for spending money. My kid worked 10-12 hours a week, but she used the money for spending money, not to pay for necessities.</p>
<p>I had to work my way through college not only for the extras, but to help with tuition/dorm/books. </p>
<p>My daughter has had to work part time to get money for extra stuff-we pay for all necessities. But gym memberships (she doesn’t like the campus fitness center), travel expenses which don’t involve coming home for holidays, i-tunes, things of that nature, must come out of her own money.</p>
<p>Sorry, but I know of no way to get money for non-essentials other than to work for it. I definitely would not borrow money in the form of student loans to be able to afford things like dance lessons or anything non essential.</p>
<p>Maybe you can take on extra hours during the summer and save up money. Or ask that your family give you money for birthdays/holidays in lieu of other gifts, or gift certificates (if available) to the dance studio. Look for a tutoring job or another on-campus job - perhaps in the bookstore or the library. If you can work late hours -especially in the library - things will be slow and you can study. Having said all that, however, your classes are your priority. I think it is difficult to take a full course load and work a 20 hour job. I did it, but I lived at home when I was in college and that makes a big difference. My son, who is away at school, worked in high school, and plans to work this summer, but he is not working during the school year. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>I’m going to guess that you will be getting a financial aid, correct? Meal plan would be the way to go if you are getting significant aid, as is living on campus.</p>
<p>As for how many hours, that will depend on you and your schedule. Good chance 20 hours/week in college won’t be an issue unless you have a lot of labs, etc. 20 hours/week in high school is too much I think.</p>
<p>Back when I was in college I worked in an on campus job and put in between 40-60 hours/week BUT most of the time I was “at work” I was able to study. I had to be on the job those hours though.</p>
<p>Not holding much hope for this, but is it possible to work at the dance studio, in exchange (part or whole) for the $70/mo course fee? Office work, custodial, anything. It’d have to meet your scheduling needs, but if it could be right before or after your dance studio, it makes an efficiency about commuting to your job.</p>
<p>BTW I don’t consider dance an “extra” if it means the world to you.
I don’t suppose it can be taken for a credit as PE?</p>
<p>I’m just looking for some overlaps or efficiencies to save you time in your weekday.</p>
<p>Except for those who are wealthy and have parents willing to share the wealth, I don’t know anybody who doesn’t work at least seasonally. Most work almost full time summers and then a few hours a week during the school year, too. </p>
<p>I do not want to be a debbie downer, but I don’t know that it’s possible to get through without some kind of income from work.</p>
<p>You could make it through the semesters without working if you get seasonal jobs and work as much as you can over winter and summer breaks. </p>
<p>You may also be eligible for work study, and some schools have open positions for students who are not eligible for work study or who want to work more hours than their work study pays for. At my school, few students wanted to work in the cafeteria, so they offered higher rates and would pay for more hours than some work study students had allotted to them. A lot of students who work in the library and other offices get some (or a lot) of down time to read and study while working. </p>
<p>It is all about time management and what you can personally handle. I worked full time through most of my college career (I was a full time student, as well), and I still graduated with honors. But I wasn’t into the party scene and was very careful about my deadlines. During finals week I gave a lot of my hours to coworkers so I could have more study time.</p>
<p>Work your butt off during the summer and save as much as you can. It should be enough to last you through the academic year. You may have to work during your long winter break to refill your money supply for the Spring semester. This is the way my kids earned the money they needed for books, entertainment, gas, extra food, personal items, etc.</p>
<p>Some colleges require those who live on campus to have a meal plan. And at my D’s college, even if you live off campus, you have to have an abbreviated meal plan. So you should check with your college, once you decide where to go to school.</p>
<p>Agree with others that money has to come from somewhere…and if you don’t have parental support, you’ll have to earn your money somehow. It could be summer savings, temp jobs during the holidays (bartender for parties, for example). Some schools have a program where a student can come early and be part of Dorm Crew (cleaning). If you don’t want to work during class time, then you’ll have to arrange to work during non-school times.</p>
<p>There are some jobs that lend themselves to studying while working. My first college work study was to take IDs in the pool/rec room. I basically studied with an occasional interruption to take an ID and give out pool cues.</p>
<p>Later I was a receptionist without responsibilities other than buzzing the door to let people in and occasional message taking.</p>
<p>You might see if something like that can happen. Maybe, in fact, at the dance studio, someone to staff the front desk, if there is one…?</p>
<p>Working 20 hours a week would have been tough for me in college … but 8-10 hours (4-5 hours twice a week) was very doable for me … I believe 8-10 hrs/wk is expected from most students on financial aid so anyone working that amount has a lot of company.</p>
<p>I agree with the posters who said that getting at least a summer job is the way to go. The other consideration is to really look at your expenses. It is very easy to frit away hundreds of dollars per month on “extras”. A big part of having enough money is really watching what you spend. Get into the habit of living frugally - eat in the cafeteria on the meal plan if you have one or cook at home instead of eating out at restaurants, look for free activities to do on weekends, limit your non-essential purchases such as clothes, etc. If you are working at a summer job for $10 an hour for example - look at a $30 piece of clothing or dinner out as 3 hours worth of work as a way to decide if it is worth spending the money.</p>
<p>My daughter worked 15-20 hours per week all throughout college (quite a bit of it on weekends.) Not because she ‘had to’ but because she wanted money for luxuries parents wouldn’t fund - and because it would help with post graduation jobs/grad school apps. </p>
<p>If you qualify for work-study, a lot of those jobs are pretty easy, during which you can study a bit.</p>
<p>Just work less. My D easily handles 8 to 10 hours a week at her work-study job. See if you can find a job with shifts on weekends, so during the week you can study and get involved in other activities, clubs, etc. Research shows that students who work at least a little actually do better than students who don’t work…maybe because of the need to be structured and manage time well. Anyway, figure out the bare minimum you would need to earn each week, and just work for that. Then, increase your hours on vacations, summers, etc. Definitely look for on-campus work…saves commuting time to begin with. See if you can find tutoring or even teach dance to other students for a low cost through the fitness center or something if allowed. My D is certified in Zumba, and there are no Zumba classes around at her school…so, for just a couple bucks per class per student (college kids are poor, after all) she will make a nice little income! Be creative, and you may find a niche for yourself where you can determine how much or how little to work!</p>
<p>I typically worked about 10-15 hours a week my Freshman-Junior years… and about 40-50 hours a week in the summers. My senior year was a little bit different for the first semester because I was still working my summer job at home as well as my part time job at school so I was working about 40 hours a week while taking 18 credits. Working during school will definitely teach you time management. I usually feel like I get so much more work done at work then some of my co-workers because I’m very efficient and great at managing my time.</p>
But my dad normally gives me a little money every month.</p>