The Poor College Student

The Poor College Student

College has the potential to be the best four years of your life, but for some people college might be out of their grasps due to financial instability. The average four-year institution can cost upwards of $8,000 a semester in state and leaving students who graduate with loans that can be tremendous. So we can ask ourselves, is college really the only option to those students whose families may be below the poverty line and besides alternatives what struggles do the students face everyday trying to achieve their dreams. Other alternatives to a university are options like going to a junior college, enrolling into an online college, or a 2-year community college. While some of the challenges students face are paying bills, taking out loans, and having to get a part time job to help with their tuition so by the time they graduate they are not totally in debt. 

Most kids growing up are told and even dream about attending a college and pursing their education in order to achieve greatness. However some children are not as lucky due to the fact that college can be very expensive without the help of scholarships, grants, and loans. For the student who is looking forward to a higher education, but financially struggling, it can be hard for them to further their education past the free public education offered. According to David J. Braverman in his book, The Standard & Poor’s Guide to Saving and Investing for College, the costs per year for a state university can be upwards of $11,800 or $36,900 for a private institution (Braverman, 12). So for a family who only makes $40,000 a year that $12,000 is a year takes a big chunk out of their yearly income. 

Luckily going to a 4-year college isn’t the only option for students who might not be able to afford it. One way to improve your education on a budget is to enroll into a community college. Most community colleges offer 2-year degree programs, and then after those 2 years you will have the opportunity to transfer with all the credits you’ve earned to a 4-year college which will save you money in the long run. Another option presented to you is enrolling into an online college, this is much cheaper, because some online colleges offer free trial classes, and more convenient for students who are busy or can’t move off to a college. In the book, Is College Worth It?, the author is a former US Secretary of Education as well as a liberal arts graduate, and talks about how college these days are overpriced and sometimes the education you get might not be worth it. William Bennett states, “In higher education, the prime driver of the growing ed-tech phenomenon is the high potential for online courses to increase access to educational content while lowering the cost” (Bennett, 195). What is being said is that even in today’s universities many classes are turning into online classes and one day all colleges might be online.  

But even with all the alternatives out there some people still dream of being accepted and being able to afford the 4-year university route. The students who are determined to go to college will start looking for cost effective ways to help with the bills that they will be charged with. Luckily the government offers FASFA, which is finical aid and the amount you get varies on your parent’s income and taxes. On top of financial aid sometimes when if the student is living below the poverty line they get offered grants and scholarships which is free money to help pay for college. Sometimes however, financial aid and scholarships don’t cover the costs of tuition and fees so the student must take out loans in order to help. Once a student has made it into college sometimes they are not done and have to continue to do extra work in order to pay their bills and stay enrolled. One good method is to work part time and take advantage of internships and other opportunities the university has. Universities usually offer part time campus jobs to those students who may be below the poverty line and struggling to pay for classes. 

However students having to do extra to remain enrolled in college may be stereotyped and labeled as “the poor college student”. This is because compared to their friends they can afford to go out and spend money on weekends and they have to stick to meal plans instead of fast food for every meal. Another thing that can stereotype the “poor college student” is the car that they drive. Compared to the wealthy college student, the “poor” student’s 1998 Toyota Corolla may not be as nice as the Ford Mustangs or even nicer sports cars. But just because that they are stereotyped as poor, does not mean that they are getting any less of an education or not having the best 4 years of their lives.

So overall the question about is college worth it and are there other options to a 4-year university is that you can do anything in life. You can get a higher education from enrolling into an online college to going to a community college for 2 years then transferring to a university. Plus even though college can be expensive there are many ways the government as well as the university can help pay and keep you enrolled; everything from scholarships and grants, to getting a part time job and internship in order to help pay the bill each semester. College can be the best 4 years of your life and for some people it’s not right for them. But given all the opportunities given to the “poor college student” they can make it into college and be able to further their education in hopes of getting a job that can get them from being under the poverty line to being on top of the world.

Work Cited

Braverman, David J. The Standard & Poor's Guide to Saving and Investing for College. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print.

Bennett, William J, and David Wilezol. Is College Worth It?: A Former United States Secretary of Education and a Liberal Arts Graduate Expose the Broken Promise of Higher Education. , 2013. Print.

Levine, Arthur, and Jana Nidiffer. Beating the Odds: How the Poor Get to College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996. Print.