I am a rising junior, and I plan to apply to colleges in a year’s time.
I have been applying for summer jobs (as this is a hot topic on another thread) but was not able to land one.
G-d knows I tried.
I am not an “entitled” person, but my parents have said that they will cover my college education, but the other thread I am referring to said that I shall need money for out-of-pocket expenses ($3000 to $5000 a year/semester, idk).
Because I did not have any summer jobs, I have been studying programming on my own (taking a few MOOCs on specialized programming) and math as well. This shall give me skills that I can use to stand out in the crowd when applying for technical internships/coops in college (and they shall pay money)
Few questions:
1- How much money should I budget for semester, provided that I live frugally?
2- When applying for the internships, will employers understand my situation of not being able to land summer jobs and look favorably upon my learning technical skills on my own?
3- Do I HAVE to buy a meal plan or can I just cook on my own in a dorm? How hard is it to cook in a dorm?
Don’t worry. My daughter didn’t have a summer job and she got an internship this summer. She has high GPA and is a head tutor. If you live frugally, you probably need about $1000 per quarter/semester at most, could be a whole year provided that your parents paying for tuition, room and board.
A little trick that helped 15 and 17 year olds nail summer jobs: a letter to each place they applied, expressing interest in the job.
And the 15 year old got hired yesterday, so there’s still time.
In fact, in about a month, the college kids will be heading back to school. Try a new set of applications then. And take a look at snagajob.com . They’ll give you daily updates of employers in your area who are hiring part time.
“How much money should I budget for semester, provided that I live frugally?”
A lot depends on how good the food at your college is. If you end up eating off campus a lot, it really adds up. 3x per week at $10 a pop will add up to $130 at the end of the month.
Depends on what college you go to and how you personally live. You also can get a job on campus, especially if you're given federal work study as part of your financial aid. I put a lot of my money from my on-campus job into my savings, but keep some in my checking. Most of my spending money goes toward buying off-campus meals (during the semester I usually eat off-campus most weekends; I just really love food). I also sometimes use money to buy clothes online, usually as a stress-reliever for me during exams. Then occasionally I'll buy movie or concert tickets, and when holidays or birthdays come around I buy gifts for my friends and family. During the school year I don't work that much, so I made usually $126 every two weeks. I put maybe half in savings and half in checking, which would mean I had the $126 for the month. I almost never spent it all, though. It really depends on you, how much is covered by your college, and how much your parents would cover for you. My parents bought my textbooks and stuff like printer ink, but I bought everything non-academic.
What kinds of summer jobs are you looking for? Programming jobs? I feel like this is where you're going wrong. Most high schoolers don't work real jobs. Work in a grocery store. Work at a restaurant. Work in a clothing store. The goal in high school isn't really to impress future employers with your skills gained at your summer job; the goal is mostly to make money. You'll probably have to work a terrible part-time job making minimum wage, but it will motivate you to get a college degree so you don't have to work that job in the future.
Again, depends on your college. Most colleges require at least all freshmen to have a meal plan. I feel like most dorms in most colleges will have small kitchens in them where you could cook, but I think a lot of people will stay on the meal plan at least until they move into an off-campus apartment where they'll have their own kitchen.
OO. She is CS major, she’s working at a high tech company in SV. She got her job through her school.
She has a job with her college without work study. Work study has higher priority, but you need to pass the screening process too.
As regards to a job: I applied at Publix, Yoghut, and a few other stores as well.
If possible, I want a programming job, but in reality, I know that I am searching for something that’s crappy, because that’s the way the market is. So far, nothing. By beginning of school, it’s too late.