<p>congrats davidpien! if you are looking for a way to earn a little $ in college without having to commit to an employer, look into the psychology department. often times they will need participants for studies. i have heard many stories of students earning a quick $20 or $30 by taking an hour or two to answer a questionaire or take a test. this may not cut down your college costs a lot, but it could prevent you from having to call your parents for spare cash once they have already paid for college. good luck! and by the way, i apologize for the way certain people have treated you on this board. on paper my dad earns a fair amount of money, but the fact that i am the oldest of 7 children and my mom stays at home to home-school my sibilings is not taken into account. no one can judge another's fincancial situation without living in his or her shoes. again, congrats and good luck! :)</p>
<p>Congrats on Columbia!</p>
<p>You might also look into SAT tutoring (since you are likely qualified).</p>
<p>Like your parents, we will also be scrambling to pay for college this fall - loans, cutting (way) back on expenses, etc. Certainly we should have better prepared - but that's life! Maybe I will start a thread on tasty macaroni and cheese and tuna casserole recipes some day soon.</p>
<p>yummy....please do post your tasty recipe.</p>
<p>Thank you for the kinds words and tips Chelsea and ohio_mom! I'll definetly look into those things for spare cash, I'll need it living in NYC! So many things to do and see!</p>
<p>We are in that boat also. I'm not sure how easy it is to have 160,000 dollars saved. There are many expenses to pay along the way. And our salary was not what it is today the year my child was born. It grew as he did. We prepared (we thought) as we went along but it is impossible for anyone making middle class money to pay full price for a college education. Unfortunately I think a Columbia education is for the very rich or the not so rich (people in the middle it's extremely tough). I'm not so sure (in the long run) it's worth all the debt.</p>
<p>haha, don't try to discourage me now! (deposit is in the mail) :)</p>
<p>It's not just the psych department that needs participants. In my college town Human Development is often looking for interview subjects; Foods and Nutrition needs participants for diet studies (not only do they pay you (hundreds in some cases), they sometimes provide all your meals); my children once got paid for answering questions, having their heads measured and kicking a soccer ball-- the information was used to construct computer models of the effects of heading a soccer ball. Another popular way for students to make money here is selling blood plasma.</p>
<p>thanks for the info, 1moremom, interesting ways to make some spending cash!</p>
<p>It so hard to find the money to pay for something that is so important. It sucks when you have a high income ,but you parent can’t afford to help you or refuse. I have to pay my whole education plus living expense out of pocket without my parents help.</p>