The Myth of Working Your Way Through College

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Messdiener, Apr 29, 2015.

Loading...
  1. JP007

    JP007 Member

    Why is working your way through college a myth? I had a partial merit based scholarship, financial aid and made up the rest by working near full time. I graduated w/ no debt and a good start to my career. in the US, if you want something bad enough and work for it, you will get there....
     
  2. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    It's a myth for the current generation. It can be done, but its not as easy as when Boomers were younger, or even when Gen X'ers were younger.
     
  3. gbrogan

    gbrogan Member

    I completely agree that it is not as easy as it used to be but if it is doable in NY, it's hard to believe that everywhere else is just excruciatingly impossible.
     
  4. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  5. GoodYellowDogs

    GoodYellowDogs New Member

    Yes, I'm okay with halibuts!
     
  6. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member


    Let me just say that CUNY schools are incredibly reasonably priced. Look at CUNY Law compared to pretty much every other law school. Is it possible to pay your way to a degree? Of course. Many of us here have worked full-time jobs while pursuing our degrees.

    The "myth" which I was addressing is the one presented in the article. Namely that, in the not too distant past, some kid scooping ice cream over the summer paid an entire year of tuition using earnings form said job.

    While I incorrectly presented my private tuition as state tuition, my original point stands; I think a lot of people received a lot more help than they realize. I'm not talking about a state school keeping tuition low due to state support. I'm talking about the college student who was scooping ice cream also receiving Title IV funds and/or financial assistance from family and/or merit or need based scholarships.

    I'm disputing the myth that we saw in movies like Caddyshack where the plucky teenager is dutifully saving money for college tuition in a mason jar in the kitchen (and losing said jar means that you simply have no other option but to get a job "at the lumber mill.")

    That doesn't mean that you couldn't contribute to your college education with your part-time job. And it certainly doesn't mean that people working full-time and supporting a family are unable of doing the same. And today, I would be very surprised if a person received absolutely NO support and was being forced to foot the bill for the entire education. Even the for-profit schools typically offer merit based scholarships.
     

Share This Page