How I avoided student loans
When people learn that I managed to avoid college loans, I’m often asked how that happened. It was a mixture of work, luck, and help.
Planning for College
For as long as I can remember, I knew I’d go to college. It was a given. I can’t remember my family overtly pushing me that way, but my grandparents and parents went to college, so I was going to go too.
My family is also open about money, so I always just seemed to know that college would be expensive. So, I started babysitting and pet-sitting when I was twelve years old so that I could save for those magical four years of college education.
I also planned to get a “real” job as soon as I turned sixteen. My plans changed, though, when we moved overseas. Because of my dad’s job, we lived in Holland for six months and Argentina for more than two years. I wasn’t old enough to get a work visa.
At that point, I assumed my parents would probably help pay for college. I also knew that I’d need to get a job as soon as we got back…but good plans sometimes just aren’t enough.
We moved back nine months before I was scheduled to start college, and I still had long-distance courses that I needed to finish before I could graduate from high school. I churned out those assignments, applied for scholarships like a crazy woman, and signed up for my first year. That is also when I applied for my first “real” job — as a help-desk attendant for the 24-hour assistance desk in my future dorm.
Putting the “Work” in Work-Study
Luckily, I received a few scholarships, including a very large Academic Achievement Award that covered a big part of my actual class expenses. But my parents covered my dorm room and food for that first year. I also worked at least 20 hours a week at the help desk and applied for other on-campus positions.
By my second year of college, I was engaged. (We met while I was working the help desk!) I was still trying to pay my own way through college, but I kept falling short about $1200 every semester. I was lived as cheaply as possible, splitting a room for $288 to save money, and even staying under $3 a day for food. But making $5.25 an hour just couldn’t cover everything my scholarships left behind.
I worked part-time in the Games Room on campus throughout my last three years in school. During my last year, I was a blackjack dealer for office parties (the legal kind of gambling in Texas, where the players could win raffle tickets for prizes). I also found a third job as a tax-office receptionist during my last semester. I took loans from my parents for whatever my scholarships and my paychecks couldn’t cover.
A Final Piece of Help
By the time I graduated from college (with honors), I was working Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at the tax office; Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5pm-1am at the Games Room on campus; and I was a blackjack dealer Friday and Saturday nights.
In short, I working almost 60 hours a week in three different jobs, commuting to campus every Tuesday and Thursday for my last twelve hours of classes, and ended up owing my parents a little more than $8000.
The week after graduation, we had our fantastic $3000 wedding. I had to give up my two main jobs, so I took the first salaried position I was offered. I’m still there.
A few months after all of that, my parents forgave my $8000 in loans as a late graduation present. I was really broke, but at least I didn’t have any loans. As I said in the beginning, having no student loans was a mixture of work, luck — and help. (I know I’m lucky to have received the help from my parents.)
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There are 101 comments to "How I avoided student loans".
First of all, let me commend you for all your hard work to get those scholarships and working those three jobs.
That being said, and I’m just curious, but do you feel that working all those different jobs resulted in you missing out on that “college” experience?
I’m not necessarily talking about getting drunk every night, but that sort of freedom that you only get during your years at college.
I’m not saying you should have taken out 100k in student loans or anything. I’m just wondering that, looking back on it, do you regret working SO many hours?
Crystal, good for you!!! Great story. Best wishes to you in your future life. Kudos for “getting it” at the beginning—you will go far.
Josh, living the life of a rich trust fund kid for 4 years when you aren’t won’t get you anywhere but in debt. I’m not sure what you think she missed out on?
It is so refreshing to hear someone who worked their way through college. I did the same for the first 2 years at a community college and then transferred to a big state school (couldn’t work since my commute was 4 hrs per day).
Nowadays I hear so many people say “Students shouldn’t work, they should concentrate on their studies.”
This just show that it CAN be done! Good for you.
My husband and I avoided student loans through scholarships, work, and parental help. But we were in college in the 1980s when things were a lot cheaper. We were despairing being able to do the same for our sons, but it looks like it’s going to work out for our older son who starts college this fall. He’s been awarded academic scholarships to cover most of the tuition to an excellent private college nearby, so he can live at home to save on housing costs. A work-study job will cover the remainder of his expenses, so we won’t have to use any of the money we’ve saved for him for college. He can use that money later for graduate school or a large down-payment on a house.
Now if only his younger brother will do the same!
Karen,
Nowhere did I say she should “be a trust fund kid”…
I wasn’t saying she shouldn’t work through college…but I do believe that there is some sort of “life experience” that you get in college that is very difficult to replicate once you’re out of that environment.
Again, I’m not advocating taking out money to cover every single expense of college, just enough to maybe lighten the workload so she didn’t have to work 60 hours PLUS school.
Every choice you make costs you something. I, too, paid my own way throughout college and graduate school. Luckily, I “only” had to work 30 hours a week to do it, and I quickly figured out that working for a temp agency paid more than typing for a professor. What I gained in self reliance and problem solving ability did cost me something, however.
There was no time for extra-curricular stuff that might have forged future connections in the field, no time for late nite yak sessions with people that might have become colleagues, no time to take the low paying job with a prof who might have become a mentor, and no time to really THINK–too busy rushing to the next thing. My last term of grad school I landed enough scholarships/aid not to have to work–it was academic heaven.
I’m not against some work–tends to focus you on time management skills. But too many hours really do cost you something. The immersion in intellectual stimulation in a peer community that is (should be) focused on learning is not easily replicated once you get out of college. It’s an opportunity that won’t come again.
Kudos to you!
Not everybody can work three jobs in college and still graduate with honors. As a professor who sees the results, I would definitely *not* recommend that strategy to the average college student– many of them would be much better off in the long-term taking on more loans and failing fewer classes. Most kids can handle 10 hours/week of work without hurting their schoolwork, very few can handle more than 20.
Just as a warning to parents thinking that if Crystal can do it, then so can any kid. Crystal is smarter than the average bear. Most kids trying to work 60hrs/week on top of school will take longer to graduate (try 7 years!) *if* they get through at all. A transcript of 2 years of C-Fs and no degree doesn’t help much of anything, even if there’s little debt attached. Especially if they jump from a lucrative but difficult major (engineering) on down to the gut major of the school (communications, political science, liberal arts etc.).
Much better to graduate in 4 years with some debt and live on rice and beans once they’re making a real salary instead of minimum wage. Obviously there’s balance. I like Liz Pulliam Weston’s heuristic to only take out the amount of loans that is the equivalent to one year of the average first year salary for your major in your school.
(Also: I totally overextended myself working first semester in college– got straight Bs. If I had kept that up I would not have been able to get into the graduate program I got into and would not have been guaranteed a job after graduation and might not be making the big bucks now… though who knows, maybe if I hadn’t gotten a PhD I’d be making more, but in a different job. That semester still kept me from getting Phi Beta Kappa.)
Congratulations to Crystal! You remind us that it CAN be done. Even if you had had to pay back that $8K to your parents, that’s a comparatively small debt compared to the huge sums most students leave college with these days.
Better off missing a little bit of that classic (and probably overrated) “college experience” and having the financial security later to enjoy your life unencumbered by massive debt.
I’m a college professor, so I have a front row seat for observing this. Many undergrads are unwilling to rough it even a little bit during college. Some live very, very well on borrowed money: they travel extensively, have nice cars, up-to-the-minute gadgets, etc., and a lot of them also emerge from college with tens of thousands of dollars in loans. My university caters to this luxury mentality by constantly upgrading campus facilities, at great cost to the student, who must make up the difference in increased tuition and fees. Most students would be better off living a little less well while in school so that they could live better later. I think the loan industry capitalizes off of young people’s inexperience and fear of reduced standards of living by encouraging loans well beyond what a student should really take out. Parents are often a terrible influence, too, in that they’re sometimes unwilling to let their babies toughen up about money while in college, which only delays the inevitable day of reckoning until later.
College is supposed to be a temporary experience and a transition into the working world. The dormitories were never supposed to be luxury apartments, but rather temporary housing that met your basic needs before you graduated and moved on. My college dorm was uglier than sin, but it was sufficient, and I’m not still paying for it today.
OK, enough of my rant! I’m impressed by Crystal’s experience and tenacity. It will serve you well in life.
If I had to do it over, I’d get a part time job and work 30 hours or so a week to cover school expenses.
It would involve me not being a part of music ensembles, but that’s the sacrifice I’d have to make not to have debt when I graduated.
Glad to read about your success in avoiding old Sallie Mae!!
The poster had $8K of loans from her parents, which was eventually forgiven. It’s misleading to say she went through college without borrowing (she had student loans from her parents). As the parent of one done with college, one still in college, I wouldn’t want either one to have to work 60 hrs a week to get through school (for either of their baccalaureate programs, it would be mathematically impossible, in fact). Also working so many hours precludes being involved in valuable extra-curricular activities, which helps when applying to grad school or for jobs after college.
As someone who worked through college and grad school and who had life experiences in both I have to say that Crystal did a good thing by leaving school without debt. That’s a great bit of peace of mind to enter the work force with. I do, however, also advocate Josh’s point. College, esp. larger colleges and sometimes being in a larger city, offers a lot of things other than parties. From networking socials that will pay dividends when you’re looking for work. To doing things like different sports or cultural activities that would be next to impossible to do once you’re graduated. I do some work with a martial arts club at the university I work at and their club dues are about $10 a month versus the $100 a month they would have to pay going to a regular martial arts studio. Students also benefit from rush tickets to the symphony at some places and have deep discounts or get in for free at many major museums. This is as much a part of the college experience as coursework. Again, I think it’s a very good thing to work through school. I did it, my wife did it, and most of my friends did as well. I think Crystal did the right thing–and she may well have done these things too, which would make her even more remarkable. If anything, if it sounds like I’m advocating burning the candle on both sides and up the middle in college, I am. College often offers the most access to everything our country has to offer at discount prices and I think taking advantage of it is important.
@Josh, yes, I do feel like I missed out on alot in those last 3 years. My freshman year was pretty normal. I wasn’t a drinker, but I did hang out late with friends, watch movie marathons in dorm rooms, and enjoyed a few Dungeon and Dragons campaigns. I didn’t know who Monty Python was until my senior year of high school, so I caught up, lol.
I couldn’t get FAFSA help since I wasn’t on my own long enough for their rules and I never even really thought about personal loans being a viable option. Looking back, not having tens of thousands in debt allowed my husband and me to buy our house 2 years after graduating with 20% down and still have an emergency fund. So I wouldn’t change a thing. But yes, I do slightly regret having to work so much to accomplish that.
Thanks for your kudos!
@Karen, thank you! I was lucky to have parents who taught me about debt and staying out of it as much as possible early on. 🙂 As far as missing out on some stuff, I did but it was a good trade-off overall for me.
@twiggers, yes, it can be done. I think working so much actually pushed me to study on a schedule as well…I felt like I was doing better (and was making 4.0’s) while I was working 35-60 hour weeks.
@Marsha, good luck with your youngest!
@Danielle, you’re right, it does cost something. But I am sort of getting to reclaim my youth with young-at-heart 40 year old friends and through blogging. Now, in my own house that is 6 years from being paid off, I have movie marathons on Saturday nights, potlucks, and late night yak sessions with my very awesome friends. It did take me 3 years to build up these relationships, but it is possible even if I did have to take a 3 year break from socializing much in school. 🙂
@Nicole, you may be right. I have no idea if working kept my Cum Laude from being a Magna or Suma Cum Laude or not. But I will fully admit that I am smart, but I am not a genius or anything like that.
I think what I did could work out for a ton of students IF they had the same circumstances as me – a business degree did require less study time than engineering for instance AND all of my part-time jobs were enjoyable to me so they didn’t feel like work all of the time.
So no, I wouldn’t suggest all students trying to get as many jobs as possible, but a single 20-hour-a-week job during college may keep a student on track – it definitely kept me to a study schedule that I followed much more closely than I did my freshman year. 🙂
@Michael, thank you! It did serve me well and I appreciate the support. I feel a little bad for the people who take on a bunch of consumer debt in college because those are the people who are going to have it tough when they can no longer get help from parents or easy loans. It’s a trade-off no matter what way you go.
@Tim, thanks! Try having zero regrets – sure, less loans would have been nice, but we all ended up where we are because of past decisions and you seem to be a pretty blessed guy based on what I read during our blog swap last week! 🙂
@BB, yep, I definitely “avoided student loans” but I didn’t avoid all debt…my parents were just kind enough to write it off…
@Daryl, I envy the people who can balance it all in college – no debt, “the college experience”, and great grades. I met a few people who pulled it off and they did seem truly happy. But we all just do what we can with what we have to start with, right?
> How I Avoided Student Loans
> I took loans from my parents
There is a little cognitive dissonance here …
Interesting story, Crystal.
I can’t imagine working 60 hours/week while doing an engineering degree. On the other hand, I remember a lot of wasted time when I was at school.
I love the saying “If you want something done, give it to a busy person”. Maybe a part-time job would force students to be more organized?
I find this to be true for my business – when I don’t have much time, I tend to get things done efficiently. If I have a whole day to “work” – I don’t get much more done. 🙂
@Josh I worked 40+ hours each week through college. At the time, I went to school with a number of kids whose parents felt that working a job would distract them from their schoolwork. I also went to school with a number of trust fund kids who simply didn’t have to work.
During my four years of college, despite working overnight shifts and every spare hour I could fit around my classes, I still found time to socialize and goof off like my fellow classmates. Did I have as much time available for working on my assignments? No. But I actually found that I often produced more work in a given week than my fellow classmates. While it seems counterproductive, severe limitations often sharpen creativity and output. If you have all the time, money, and resources at your fingertips, it’s hard to decide where to begin. But if you’re told you have two hours and limited supplies, it focuses you very quickly towards the options of what can be done, so you start producing work sooner.
In addition, while I held down a few different jobs during that period, my various bosses and coworkers recognized that I was clearly a dedicated hard worker. This developed a network of people willing to go to bat for me. When my fellow classmates and I graduated into an extremely tight job market (in my field, it was worse then than it is now), my previous employers introduced me to a number of people who helped me out, both with finding work to tide me over and with ultimately finding work in my field. While the trust fund kids were fine no matter what, since they generally had housing and allowances to tide them over, many of my classmates struggled to pay their bills for years after college, since they were dropped into a tough marketplace with few contacts outside of school.
In my opinion, while there were times that I resented having to get up and run to work while my friends were able to do what they pleased, ultimately the jobs I held during school helped me out dramatically when it came time to branch out on my own.
Great job Crystal! It is obvious you can do anything you set your mind to given the success of your writing too!
I paid for every dime of my undergrad and graduate school. I worked like crazy (not 60 hours though) while going to school full time. During Christmas and Easter breaks, I worked 14 hours a day to make money for the next semester. I did not feel like I missed out on anything. (Others went on spring break trips that I obviously could not go on.) Referring to Josh’s comment, I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything. You do what you gotta do to attain your goals. If we all sat around thinking about the things we ‘missed’, everyone would be depressed!
Lucky that I live in Slovakia (Central Europe, borders by Czech Republic) where universities are free of charge and parents paying for my food and rent is considered an ordinary standard and not something exceptional…
Great story. Nice to learn where your tenacity comes from. How did studying abroad affect you? That must have been challenging as well.
Missing out of the college experience, perhaps, but you avoided some situations as well. My first year at the dorms, did everything BUT study, almost flunked out! Had some sense, pulled myself out, and put studying first. So depends on how you look at it, glass half full or half empty? 🙂
Congrats 🙂 That’s an awesome feeling, to have no student loan debt. I wish I could say the same.
But that said, I know I couldn’t have pulled off that amount of work in addition to my classes and extracurriculars. As it was I worked about 15-20 hours per week in engineering internships or waiting tables, and still managed to get on academic probation one semester. I turned it around by the end, making the dean’s list, but the amount of time studying outside of class that I had to do for 5 classes increased dramatically (from 10 hrs/wk to roughly 30, not even counting the 20 hrs/wk I already spent in class).
Not everyone can work that much in school – 6 days/60 hours a week while also attending classes, doing homework and projects, and meeting with professors – thats just crazy! Kudos if you can pull it off, I’m just doubtful that it applies to most student situations. Besides, if I had spent all my time working I would never have met and married my husband!
I too was in engineering and it took most of my time. I didn’t party or play much at all, and the most I ever worked was 15 hours a week.
Great story Crystal and congratulations on avoiding student loans. I worked my way through college too, although I didn’t work as many hours as you did. I was fortunate that my parents let me live at home and I commuted to the local university which also saved a ton of money. Was it easy? No. Was it worth it? Definitely yes.
One of the biggest regrets of my life is taking out student loans instead of working my way through college and grad school. I had a toddler and a long commute to school, so at the time it made sense. Now, though, five years out of school and staring down $40k in student loan debt, I could kick myself. I’m starting a second job next month in hopes of paying off the student loans before I’m 35. Congrats to you, Crystal, for making incredibly smart choices!
I also worked my way through college (full-time, minimum wage) and also feel like I missed out. I lived off campus because it was cheaper (though this was the 80s, I was at a Seven Sisters school). So, no late night talks, no extracurriculars, and studying time was crammed in on work breaks and meals at home.
But I got to go to that college, and I loved, and made the most of, my classroom experience. I’ll never regret it.
First – congrats!
Second, as someone who did the work and go to school nights program, I’d like to offer some further options.
If your family is willing, do an at-home “gap year,” working on earning and saving as much money as possible to build up a cushion for your college years. If you want to keep your toes in academically, online classes are a good choice. Harvard has a continuing education program which offers online for-credit classes at about the same per-credit cost as in-state tuition most places. And they are very transferable (especially if you hunt down the ones that are the same class the Harvard undergrads are taking).
There is a tradeoff between low-wage jobs where you are basically hanging out or able to study and higher wage jobs which need your attention. I got a clerical job where they supported my studying (boss was cool with taking vacation days for exams or paper writing) and I even got some tuition reimbursement. It was a position which had had a lot of turnover and I committed to stay for three years until a big project of theirs was done. I would try to get at least one part-time job with a non-minimum wage salary. Saying that you want something lasting four years should help.
Also, I would recommend Cal Newport’s Study Hacks blog/books. He wasn’t around when I was in school, wish he had been. He has very good tips and strategies for getting your studying done in small, focused chunks of time. He does it to be able to do outside projects like blogging and writing books, but the same principles apply to any job where you are mixing short and long / personal and external goals and tasks.
The fundamental concept of Crystal’s story — that it’s better to do anything you have to do to finish college without any loans in spite of whatever you may have to sacrifice — seems a bit wacky to me. I recognize that this blog is about money (and I love your blog, JD), but some experiences are very valuable and irreplaceable. You can’t really do college twice. If you don’t do study abroad while in college, you’ve missed out (and I’m one who missed out and very much regret it).
I would be interested to hear about how having student loan debt has taught people to be more strenuous in their financial management. It is certainly the case for me, and I am proud of my debt because it represents a financial sacrifice in the interests of educating myself, improving my intellect and exposure, and making myself more marketable.
What was your major? I would not have been able to work 60 hours a week AND do well in school as my engineering classes each had about and hour or more of homework on top of classes, some of which were 5 days a week. I worked 15-20 hours a week and went to summer school. I had a scholarship and some assistance from my father and did graduate debt-free. I usually took between 18-21 credit hours a semester – engineering is truly more of a five year program – I finished in 4.5 years…..26 years ago.
Even then, I spent every extra hour focused on my homework – time between classes was spent doing homework. Not much socializing as compared to peers in other degree programs. I took summer classes every summer.
For graduate school, I worked during the day and had classes at night. My graduate program paid for my schooling plus gave me a stipend, however, I had to tailor my thesis to something of use to the people paying my way. Graduate school was actually a bit more easy for me as I was intensely interested in my program and had worked for about 4 years before attending, so knew about 60-80 hours work-weeks doing stuff for someone else. I loved graduate school.
I agree w/ Nicole that most students who work too much in college tend to fail or perform at mediocre levels. There are some outliers out there who are capable of feats of superhuman strength, but usually those with too many responsibilities tend to suffer academically.
20 hours of work a week seems to be a good maximum (it is the legal limit for international students), and if it’s on campus it’s even better, and if you can study while warming up a chair at work it’s even better (I used to be a building supervisor late at night– I just sat at the front desk reading, waiting for trouble to happen, until it was time to shut the doors).
I can see someone burning the candle at both ends in the last semester with one foot out of the door already, but it’s not a sustainable scenario for longer than that.
This is of course a completely different setup than college studies geared towards working professionals. Those assume you already have those responsibilities (and more) and make a point of accommodating a busy life. Which is I think the more viable model for a lot of people. Might take longer, but you can pay as you go.
JD – can you remind me how we go about submitting reader stories to you?
J.D.’s note: Here are the GRS submission guidelines. We’re thinking of adding an actual submission page, too.
I think the easiest way to avoid loans is to prepare for standardized tests in early high school. I got a full-ride (tuition, room and board, and a book stipend) at an in-state (public) university largely for being a National Merit Finalist. By taking the time to work through practice tests and preparation books (a couple of months of serious effort, or a year of occasional effort), it’s possible to go from 70th-80th percentile scores to 98th-99th percentile scores. Obviously, this strategy is unlikely to work for someone starting out with below-average test scores, but it’s a relatively low-effort way for above average test-takers to gain scholarship money enough that they don’t have to take out massive loans or do part-time work during college (though I decided to work part-time anyway to save up for a car).
no parental help/support here in any sense of the word. but after all the hours (3-4 jobs at at time) and the semester course overloads to save money (i finished in 3 years), i finished my bachelor’s degree with only $5000 in student loans. i absolutely wouldn’t recommend that kind of life to anyone though. if i were someone that had to work really hard for the grades, i would not have done well.
the long hours and self-denial were good preparation for graduate school, i guess.
end result though? with my education, i make roughly 6x the hourly rate i did as a student. i paid off those student loans quickly and relatively painlessly. the me of today would gladly give the student version of me another couple thousand bucks if it meant the student could take a couple days off here and there.
I am curious as to when Crystal graduated and how much her total bill for tuition was at the time. There are a lot of commenters saying, “This just goes to show that anyone can avoid student loans if they eat rice and beans all the time,” but the cost of tuition has inflated crazily in the past few decades. While it may be a realistic plan for people attending a state school, for a private institution (or even if you want to go to a state school in a state where you’re not a resident) it’s simply too. damn. expensive to avoid taking on at least a few loans.
I also graduated with no student loans AND had no parental support. I had scholarships, grants, work study jobs and off-campus jobs but never worked more than 20 hours a week. I graduated with honors but also had the dorm experience, fun activities, many professor mentors and made lifelong friends. I went to a University of California campus over 25 years ago when tuition was extremely reasonable for in-state students. It wasn’t that unusual for people to pay for school and their room and board without getting student loans. I cringe when I see how the cost of a college education has massively outstripped inflation.
Nicely done! I wish I had been able to do the same. Still paying off my old student loans. Impressive awareness at that age of what those loans could cost you. I didn’t even think about it. It was just a fact that I accepted “everyone has student loans”, its no big deal. If I had just worked through school and put the money back into my education, I could have graduated with much less in student loans.
Pat
@28 Ashley–
High SAT scores is a big part of the reason my son is getting a scholarship that will cover most of his tuition at a private college. He had pretty good scores on the practice tests, but a few weeks of intensive study brought the scores up 20 percentile points. The extra work is paying off at over $1000 per hour.
You’re right, though, that this works only for someone with above-average scores to begin with.
I think this is a grand exception, and certainly not anything that MOST people should expect–or even strive for. I missed out on a LOT of the college experience (and no I’m not talking about partying and drinking all the time), and I’m still suffering for it. I have one friend from school, no friends from any of my lackluster jobs, no extra curricular activities on my resume (which has certainly impacted my job prospects in a negative way), and health problems that could have been avoided if I had taken the time to get on an exercise routine while the gym was still covered by my tuition. I also missed out on a lot of scholarships because my grades weren’t good enough (B average) and–again–no references or extra curricular activities.
And no, I’m sorry, loans that you get because you are a student are “student loans,” it doesn’t matter who loans the money–parents, family, or bank. I really dislike how misleading the title is. I expect better from this blog.
@Brigitte. I don’t know how old you are but there’s still time to get healthy. Lots of people did not work out during college but do so later. As for extracurriculars, it loses value as you work longer AND you can still volunteer and join groups when you’re out of college. Frankly, in my job search, it was my part-time job that helped me land my first job not college extracurricular activities!
That is just fantastic! Congratulations, Crystal! America would be so much better off if more youth had your work ethic rather than the amount of entitlement that I see in our culture. I’m so impressed with you!
I worked all through college (though only about 20 hrs per week), still had an awesome college experience, and it probably helped me do better in school and after school. Work teaches valuable lessons and helps students structure their time and stay out of trouble. It also helps immensely on the job market. Graduating with a list of jobs on one’s resume, as well as workplace SKILLS, gives someone a major head start on someone who just has a degree and a blank resume.
I love this post. I get so tired of the endless list of excuses so many people give as to why they can’t work more, can’t work while in school, have to take out debt, etc. What a great model this woman is!
@Brigitte: Your post is full of excuses that make little sense. You don’t have health problems because you missed out on using a gym while it was free in college. Endless forms of exercise can be done without a free gym – try free running, walking, exercise DVDs from a library or garage sale, free yoga in your living room, jumping rope on the sidewalk, etc. A lack of extracurricular activities on your resume are not keeping you from getting a job! The JOBS that are presumably on your resume from working during college should be much more impressive to employers than random student clubs or other non-work activities. And I’m guessing that there are other reasons related to your personality for why you only have 1 friend from college and no friends from your jobs. Many people make friends at their jobs. And many people who work during college still make plenty of friends. Your personality seems bitter, and if you stop making excuses for your failures, I’m guessing you’ll have more success in life.
I also worked 30+ hours per week throughout college and graduated with honors. I agree with Nicole though that not everyone can do that.
To answer Josh’s question, I definitely feel like I missed out on “the college experience” but the truth is you can’t have every experience in life, and that was one I knew I couldn’t afford. I was the first person in my family to graduate from college and I never thought it would be a party.
Like the writer, I worked to pay all my own expenses and had some scholarships, but my parents paid the rest of my tuition – about $10000 total over 4 years.
I took loans for grad school and I feel fine about it. I think there’s a big difference between taking loans for tuition and taking loans for housing etc. I would recommend to anyone that they at least work enough to avoid borrowing to pay for living expenses, and if working would have a negative affect on grades, just work full time in the summer and live cheaply all year.
@Mike, exactly – I accomplish more when I’m busy than when I have a ton of free time.
@Everyday Tips, you had way more interesting jobs too! Don’t you have a post about working at a candy factory?
@Valerian, wow, that is pretty cool.
@Buck, long-distance courses taught me to budget my time. How do you think I balance all my sites and my job now, lol. 🙂 Plus, optimism helps. I may not have had a really big social life, but I did maintain an some great friendships and was able to hold on to a great guy. 🙂
@Jen, lol, if I hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t have met my husband. Life is just funny. 🙂
@Dana, my parents offered to let me stay at home too, but we lived about 75 minutes away from my college one-way, so I opted to work my way through as much as I could.
@Andrea, thank you. I’m in awe of anybody who makes it through college or any other big goal with a child. A good kid is a HUGE success so CONGRATS! Good luck with those loans.
@Annemarie, I lived off campus those last 3 years too. I just made sure to fit in as much time with friends as possible.
@Mary, good alternate choices!
@A Knight, this was just literally my story. It isn’t what I think is best, just what happened. Being proud of debt seems odd to me, but if you think that the debt pushed you, then congrats!
@Deserat, oh yeah, I couldn’t have done this if I was an engineering grad. I got a BBA and did not go to grad school. My husband just worked his way through grad school while balancing teaching 8th grade science and it was just painful to watch – I tried to support him as much as possible but it was even harder than what I did.
@El Nerdo, yeah, I didn’t see many other kids doing what I was…I’m an outlier for sure…
@Margot–when I have had multiple interviewers looking over my resume or application say “No extra-curricular in school?” and then pretty well dismiss me when I said “No, I was working at *insert career-related job here* doing *career-related skills/activities*,” yeah I’m going to say that part of my frustrating job search is lack of those entries on my resume. Even now as a manager who interviews people, I want to know what they did with their time. I’ll accept working as an answer though, unlike many managers I’ve come across. I had one guy tell me that not taking advantage of the free and cheaper opportunities for socialization/life lessons granted to students makes someone too stupid to work for him. And frankly it was difficult to argue when I agree with him on some level.
@leigh, if you ever do find a way to go back in time to your younger years, let me know. I’ll drop off real food to college Crystal…
@Christina, I went to an in-state public university from 2001-2005. The total cost of tuition and fees was approximately $30,000 and room and food was at least another $40,000-$50,000 for one year at a dorm and 3 years off campus.
My younger sister is now attending University of Texas and it is about $45,000 for tuition and $50,000-$60,000 over 4 years for room and food off campus. She’s covering it with scholarships, summer internships, and a little help from Mom and Dad too.
@Nancy, congrats on getting a great education at a reasonable price!
@Pat S, I just didn’t think of the possibility of a bunch of loans. I think it was more luck and stubborness on my part than intelligence, lol. 🙂
I’m surprised the title is offending anybody. I thought JD did pretty well. I tried to make it very clear that I indeed got through by working, getting scholarships, AND getting $8000 of help from my parents. It wasn’t supposed to be misleading.
@margot, wow, thank you! I think a 20 hour a week part-time job really is a good idea for a lot of kids.
I definitely would not suggest 60 hours to most students though since it was really hard and I was really lucky to be able to make good grades with a couple of hours studying instead of 4-5 hours per class.
@sarah, it sounds like you had a plan and went for it, congrats!
I, too, managed to get through undergrad with no loans as well as minimal parental support. I did it through a combination of scholarships and working, but would I do it again? Probably not. I’m well aware there were a lot of things I missed out on, not the least of which is being somewhat carefree for awhile, not rushing through just to get a job.
Also, I find the parental support angle of this very interesting. Few people have actually no support from their parents, assuming they go home at breaks, etc. If parents have the means and the child is a motivated student, I think they should be willing to help without the facade of “paying back the loan”.
Good job Crystal! I did think the title was a little misleading-I have no debt from my undergrad, and will be debt free when I finish with my masters in 2012. That’s not because THE DEGREE was debt free though…my parents took the final $16,000 in debt (the first two years paid for by scholarships). They took the loans because they knew I was going to pursue my masters, and would presumably have to pay for it. Luckily, I got an assistantship, providing full tuition and a (very) small stipend. And it’s a good thing too-my husband has $21,000 in student loan debt from his 4 years (where he earned 2 degrees and worked about 20 hours a week).
@Karina, JD explained his title reasoning in the earlier comments. I’m glad you were able to get through debt free yourself as well! Give your parents tons of hugs, lol. I do. 🙂
I got through four years with no debt at all. My “luck” was not through parental loans but through grants and scholarships. I qualified for nearly a “full ride” because my family was impoverished, my mother on AFDC and my father deceased. Hardly the “easy” way to get through college! HA! I’d much rather had a financially stable home. I worked 20-25 hours per week, 40-50 in the summer and lived on the cheap to make it happen.
I know that this story is supposed to help people think about their lives and potentially how to avoid student loans. But as someone who has student loans, this whole story just made me feel bitter. Despite everything Crystal did (and it’s clear it took a LOT of hard work, I don’t mean this to diminish her success), I don’t think that her story means that avoiding student loans is achievable for everyone. For many people in college, working 60 hours a week would be almost impossible. (Forget about finding a room to split with another person for $288!) The system is just bad. I would like to see more posts on unique or new ways of tackling student debt, not ones that remind me that I have it.
@Sarah #46, I know exactly what you mean. In my situation, I worked part-time while in school and that totally screw me academically. Having a learning disability, health issues, rocky home life, and a very poor academic foundation, I had no business working while in school.
Now that I’m in my mid 30’s, I’m almost determined to do the impossible. It would be nice to have articles highlighting people who do/did go to college as ADULTS with challenges such as disabilities, no financial cushion (parents) and/or who is not as sharp as Crystal and have to struggle.
Good job Crystal.
I worked part time through college, got scholarships, help from parents and some loans. Personally I don’t think theres any problems with taking on *some* loans. I think I had about $5-6k total in loans when I graduated. Course college was cheaper then too. I worked at most 30-35 hours one quarter. That was doable but only barely. Theres NO way I could have done full time engineering / comp. sci. courses at my schools and worked 60 hours and gotten decent grades. That is unless the job in question was a ‘non job’ where you sit at a desk (reception, security, etc) and study and they pay you. I have had those at college once or twice and those are pretty good gigs if you can get them.
I do have one point I’m curious about:
Could your parents have helped more? Or did you want to do it on your own as much as possible without their aide if you could help it?
Crystal said: “I couldn’t get FAFSA help since I wasn’t on my own long enough for their rules and I never even really thought about personal loans being a viable option”
Financial aid is primarily about the parents finances. Did you actually fill out the FAFSA? Or were your parents income/assets too high to get need based aid?
Crystal did really well. I don’t think I would have done what her parents did with the loans, because she was working really, really hard, unless the parents had a sudden windfall. I guess I don’t like the idea of borrowing from parents, although it might be a bit better if the parents announced in advance that they would forgive $2,000 a year for each academically successful year.
“I had one guy tell me that not taking advantage of the free and cheaper opportunities for socialization/life lessons granted to students makes someone too stupid to work for him.”
Brigitte, as Bugs Bunny says, what a maroon. That was a really lucky escape for you not to work with him! That was not the path that I took, but you have to be pretty dumb not to understand what kind of focus, discipline, and organizational ability it takes to both study and work big hours at the same time.
I went to USC (AKA University of Spoiled Children) in the 1990s when it was $25k a year tuition, room and board. The first three years, I had full support between academic scholarships and need-based, but by the last year, my parents were doing much better financially, so we had a whopping bill the last year (probably something like $19k).
As a freshman, I tried to work 10 hours a week at the library, but I was in a super intensive honors program (nicknamed “the traumatic option”) with hundreds of pages of hard reading and a paper a week, I was 16 years old, and I was not a model employee (when I had paper deadlines, I tended to call in and skip work). I eventually quit the library job. Although I didn’t work during the academic year, I was carrying two majors (Russian and print journalism), I had a wholesome, inexpensive and rewarding social life, I did a semester abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia, I did my required volunteering for the Peace Corps, I took full advantage of the wonderful resources of the university library, and I had a GPA of at least 3.8 (can’t remember exactly). That said, during the summer, I worked very hard in my parents’ business which was just getting off the ground. For my level of organizational skills, it was easiest to do one thing at a time–either work or study. Looking back, it might have been better to be able to do unpaid internships in journalism, but the way the industry has gone, there probably wasn’t much point. I got out with $6k in student loans. I didn’t pay those off until a few years back, which isn’t wonderful, but it didn’t wreck my life. On the other hand, after my two years in the Peace Corps, I had a free ride to graduate school, so there were no additional student loans. I didn’t do a PhD, but no loans, no regrets.
I’m a SAHM these days, but my husband works on campus and we live near campus, too, so I’ve seen a lot of current student life. I went to a fancy pants school myself, but things are totally different than they were 15 years ago. While tuition is much more expensive, it’s also true that a lot of students live at a level that would have boggled my mind, either as an undergraduate or a graduate student. At move-in time, there are lots of moving trucks on campus, rather than the suitcase and a few boxes in the mail of my day. Locally, there are really posh new student rentals (as well as a lot of expensive dumps). Also, I keep hearing about people who live on student loans, which is a really horrible idea. At most, student loans should cover tuition. You should be able to pay for basic living expenses out of wages.
Great job on getting through college without student loans. I wish I had been that financially savvy at that point in my life.
You are an incredibly disciplined and hard working person–I wish more of your generation embraced your ideals. Way to go, and I’m so glad your parents helped you out–especially since they created some of your circumstances, I think it was only fair they chip in. You no doubt will do great things in life!
Crystal,
Props to you! I really enjoy hearing the stories about people doing the thing that needs to get done, regardless of the difficulty or of what others may think.
I myself went to college right out of high school, when I wasn’t ready. I was kicked out 2x, and I made the dean’s list 2x. I found that it worked best for me to work AND go to school at the same time — I needed the balance that both provide — the practical and the theoretical. It took me 10 years to get my bachelors – which means I appreciate it a lot more than other people I work with. I’ve since returned to school and got my MBA, and I’ve returned to school AGAIN to get another Masters (Healthcare Quality & Patient Safety).
I have an awesome job with a great (fantastic) salary and the opportunity to travel… this is directly because of the time management skills and report writing skills that I picked up working and going to school for more than a decade. When I interview job candidates that are fresh-outs from college, I pay WAY more attention to those that have had a job than those that *just* went to school.
First I have to say that I’m really impressed with Crystal’s work ethic and accomplishments.
Second I want to point out not all colleges will allow students on scholarships to work that many hours. I had a merit-based scholarship and in addition to having to maintain a certain minimum gpa, was not allowed to work more than 12 hours a week because going to college was considered my “full time job” and I wasn’t supposed to do anything to detract from that. So what she did is not always an option for those on scholarship. I did do jobs during the semester when I could and also worked summers, but am very glad my schedule allowed me to experience aspects of college other than classes and jobs.
Congratulations, Crystal. I teach at a big state university where students who work too many hours are missing the essential “college experience,” which I think is the serious encounter with ideas and thoughtful companions. For many of them, a gap year of working and saving and planning would be better than big loans or working too many hours. Some choose majors depending on the amount of homework involved, which is not a good way to choose. I sympathize with anxious families who are working to manage costs, but the long term and the short term both need to be considered.
It comes down to choice. I imagine most people saddled with student loans in the 5 figures (or more) wish now they had chosen differently.
Crystal set a goal based on her values.
Crystal – your achievement is commendable! I’m sure you exhibit the same work ethic in your job now as when you were in school.
@Sarah, I’ve felt bitter before when a post reminds me of my own problems. I understand that. I am sorry that this one did that for you. I really am not advocating 60 hour work weeks for all students – it simply is what I did and it was unique enough to make a great story. 🙂
@Carla, I do realize that I was lucky in many respects. If school wasn’t as easy for me and I was just tackling it now at 28, I would probably hit it in small shots 1-2 classes at a time through night courses or online courses while still working so I’d have some financial stability and time to study properly. Anyway, good luck and thank you for commenting!
@jim, yes, my parents could have helped me more. I think they were trying to push the little birdie out of the nest and didn’t realize how hard they were truly making it on me until later.
My parents financial assets, and the fact that the company paid for us to live overseas and reported that as my dad’s income too, meant that I wouldn’t qualify for need-based help unless I had been on my own for a minimum of 3 years or I was married. No FAFSA for me…
@Amy P, wow, you worked and got a ton of experiences! And yes, even if I had taken on some standard student loans to lessen my work load, I’d still want to keep it to a minimum…no more than 1 year’s worth of what I’m expecting to make when I graduate because paying off loans into my 30’s would have just truly stunk for me…it just wasn’t an option.
@Kay Lynn, I give full credit for everything I knew financially at that point to my parents. 🙂
@partgypsy, if I had a full merit scholarship, I would have had the same restrictions. But, if I had that “problem”, I wouldn’t have needed most of my part-time work anyway, lol. 🙂
@Kim, I used to. When I was hired, I was the best employee that had ever seen. I’m not being arrogant, I truly worked my butt off. Then they started giving me all the work that wasn’t being done by the cruddier coworkers AND GAVE THOSE SAME COWORKERS THE SAME RAISE AS ME TWO REVIEWS IN A ROW. That’s when I realized they didn’t give a darn, so I started working a lot less (I’m still dang good though) and then found blogging, lol. I put my heart and soul (and 30-40 hours a week) into Budgeting in the Fun Stuff.
Crystal – it made me sad to read that you hate your job. Change it! (Unless you really, really prefer it because it allows you to focus on blogging.) You’re clearly very smart, disciplined, hard working, resourceful, and a whole bunch of other good things. What a waste for your many talents not to be going toward something that’s fabulous and that you love and that makes the world better in some way! I know it takes a lot of effort to do a job search, but maybe you’ll consider it. There’s no need to do a job you hate (other than very short-term in an emergency). And given your relatively low income (I saw it on your website), it shouldn’t be as hard to replace your job with a vast range of other jobs at which you can earn just as much. Good luck!
Attending a community college for the first 2 years of your schooling is a great way to reduce expenses by almost half.
Also, encourage high school students to pass AP tests. My son passed 5 tests and that translated to 20 units of college credit.
This story isn’t “refreshing,” it’s tragic. No one should have to work 60 hours a week to put themselves through school in our country. College is FREE (or nearly so) in Europe.
This is the story of a young woman who escaped, by the skin of her teeth, landing in tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt. Kudos to her for pulling it all off, but NO ONE should be expected to work a full-time job while attending college full-time. Forgive me for being old-fashioned, but I think students should study.
I’m a little put off by the congratulatory tone of all the comments, which to me imply that there’s something “right” about what Crystal had to do.
I had a few student loans after college, but made sure that they were the first debt to go before taking on any other debt. Great story, Crystal.
Good article, the author clearly has a good head on her shoulders. But JD, at the risk of being redundant, I think the title is misleading. Using your explanation, someone whose parents paid for (or loaned enough for) their entire college education would qualify as graduating “student loan free.” That doesn’t seem accurate.
That said, the moral of the story is great. And the title surely isn’t a deal breaker. Just hoping you’ll work to “keep it real” in the headlines. 🙂
I feel conflicted after reading this post.
On the one hand, I really want to congratulate you Crystal — your accomplishment is really awesome. You sound like an absolutely incredible worker, and I’m really happy that things have worked out for you so well. I am genuinely impressed by your story.
But. (And I’m sure you could hear this coming) I’m not entirely sure how much relevance this has for something like 99% of the population at large. I’m an undergraduate senior. I’m not a slouch — dean’s list, probably in the top 10% of my class, both interning and tutoring on campus at the same time, etc — but there’s no way I could handle 60 hour weeks on top of going to school full time (I probably couldn’t handle 30, if I wanted to keep my average above a B+ or so). And without tooting my own horn too much, there are only a handful of people I’ve met at college who do significantly more than I do, much less to the level Crystal has.
Which I think means that this is an accomplishment that’s only possible for someone who is both highly intelligent, and highly driven to a degree that most people never can or will be. It honestly sounds like the intellectual equivalent of running a marathon in two hours flat — something absolutely incredible that I’m quite sure I could never do.
So while I think we should rightly praise people like Cyristal who perform really impressive academic feats (As much, or more so than we praise those who accomplish great things athletically), we should still be cautious about this. Most people can’t be Olympian athletes, and most people can’t work 60 hours a week and graduate with honors (Or at all). And while I didn’t get any particular “You all could be like me if you just tried!” vibe from you — so kudos for being realistic, too — I do feel like we need to acknowledge how unrealistic this is for most people, and how actually dangerous it might be for many to even try. (At this point, I’m talking less even about this article in particular, and more about the incessant Dave Ramsey-esque “Just work two jobs and get through school!” idea that I think is often quite wrongheaded)
And I’ll just leave the discussion about the “college experience” mostly alone — the validity of those arguments depends entirely on how each person defines “the college experience,” and I don’t want to get dragged into a discussion on semantics.
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned is working full time & studying part time. I went to Uni for a year and hated the lifestyle (can’t stand lecturers) but loved the learning. I left and found a decent paying full time job which then went on to fund the rest of my degree through extramural (distance) learning.
Yes I may have missed out on the social side of uni, but I actually had an awesome social life with those I worked with, as well as high school friends. I finished my degree and also my Chartered Accountant without having to incur any debt apart from the first year which I had paid off after a year of working.
The workplace I was in had development plans in place for me to strive towards and as positions became available for me to grow into, I was encouraged by my boss to apply and move into different areas/levels.
Not everyone can have the discipline to study by themselves but it suited me fine and I was still active in sports, work events and a great social life.
Now 3 years after finishing I have my own house, no debt (other than a mortgage which is being paid down aggressively) and have had many trips overseas. I see friends still struggling to pay student loans and getting other loans for cars/trips etc. Not a life I would choose.
For those students heading off to uni in the near future, do what works for you, theres nothing worse than being stuck in a situation that you don’t like. You CAN change what is happening, sometimes you just have to take the path less traveled.
@Pat, way to go with your persistence!!! And thanks for giving us college-workers an extra look during an interview!
@kris, I do think that a balance between long-term choices and short-term reactions needs to be found or kids flounder in college and end up wasting thousands. I am one of the few people I knew in college that stuck with the same major all the way through, which did help save some money as well. 🙂 It’s easier to go after something when you know what you want…
@margot, I agree that I should do something I love. That is why I am replacing my job with blogging full time within the next 9-15 months. I already make half of my income online – as soon as that doubles, goodbye cruddy job! 🙂 Thanks for the very kind words!
@cerb, great advice!
@imelda, I think most of the replies have been to be supportive of me personally but the majority think that it’s pretty bad I worked so much too. I don’t think I made a bad decision for me personally given my options, but I agree that college costing as much as it does is insane…
@Romeo, thanks and congrats on those loan payoffs!
@Jeff, I’m glad you liked my story. Thanks!
@NZ Chick, if I couldn’t have found the extra jobs, I was seriously considering working my way through college via part-time classes as well. That is a fantastic alternative for anybody who really needs financial stability while pursuing a degree!
I also worked about 30-36 hours/week while going to engineering school. I definitely couldn’t have worked 60, but in the summer I worked as many hours as possible.
I agree with another poster that you are more efficient when you have limited time, but I did miss out on some of the social stuff. I always worked weekends and despite having a lot of friends I missed out on many weekend excursions and things.
There were definitely times when it felt like all work and no play but I made the most of my time at work. I was a waitress, so it was a very social environment. I did still have $25K in student loans when I was done, but I don’t regret the path I took. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Crystal you did great. You’re an inspiration.
Congrats to Crystal. I definitely wish I would have taken out fewer student loans when I was in school.
But unfortunately I was one of the students some of the previous posters warned about. Had 3 work-study jobs, was a resident assistant my sophomore year (school paid for my rooming) and a head resident my junior year (school paid for my room and my board), but my grades suffered immensely. I was a biochemistry major which was definitely one of the harder majors at my school (and probably one of the hardest majors at any school). A lot of the time I spent working I should have been studying. I came out of undergrad with only $12,000 in student loan debt (a fraction of what most kids owe) but working less hours would have drastically improved my grades. And let’s not even get into how sleep deprived I was during my last 2 years. Probably should have worked harder during the summer to save up money to offset working less hours during the school year.
The only way I was able to get into a graduate program was to take courses at the school I was working at before I officially applied to the program. After getting A’s in several courses I was able to make the argument that my undergrad grades were a fluke and that I can handle the course load.
So while doing things Crystal’s way is definitely that way to go you have to take into consideration what the students course load looks like.
I consider myself lucky to have graduated debt free with both a Masters and Bachelors in five years when so many around me were building up a decade’s worth of debt. I entered school with academic scholarships that provided for my tuition and most of my housing. This was only possible though because I chose the “cheaper” state school. Combine that with the money I raised working on engineering co-op (essentially a paid internship) every other semester for my sophomore and junior years and I managed to barely squeak by without having to pick up a part time job. In the process I spent a lot of money and 10x the time helping revive a defunct fraternity which some might have thought was a pointless exercise, but I considered an amazing experience that really expanded my interpersonal and management skills.
Anyway, my advice to students, especially now that they are allowed to cling to mom and dad’s health care plan, is to take your time with school. Work every other semester in a job in your field and take summer classes or a night class while working and you can trim down the debt you might otherwise rack up.
I loved reading this post. It mirrors what I did in many ways. I also worked at least one job during the 10 years it took me to finally get my bachelor’s degree. At times I worked two jobs, totaling 50+ hours per week while going to school full time. It was tough but it wasn’t impossible. I think it forces you to be organized and disciplined. I’ve been working at least one job since I was only 13, with the exception of 2 months. I often find people are suprised at this.
I would also like to say that while getting a degree is nice, it’s my experience from working that really got my foot in the door places. It’s not often you can find a 23yr old with 10 years of working experience and a full resume.
Also, I worked on helpdesk for about 4 years and that’s where I met my husband as well. It was also how I finally choose my field of study in IT. I love working in IT and haven’t looked back since.
Cheers!
What a great post! I made it through undergrad without student loans, but unfortunately my grad degree was too much to handle without them. I see that you had a $3,000 wedding…if only my girlfriend would be OK with that, we might be married sooner than later!
http://www.moneyistheroot.com
If you have to pay tuition and room and board, you are probably going to need loans of some sort. Most schools are now too expensive to pay your own way on a minimum wage job.
More affordable schools and schools that offer scholarships are great, but they do not always offer the same job placement and networking opportunities. There is sometimes a tradeoff.
Wow! 3 jobs? I thought I was the only one who worked my butt off while in school. Thanks for sharing your story!
@David N, not everyone can do what I did, nor would I ask them to try, but it wasn’t a superhuman feat. I am not a genius. I also built up to that 60 hours of work a week. I worked 20-39 hours a week for most of college and only started hitting 50-60 hours my last two semesters because of dealing blackjack two full nights a week and finding the temporary tax office receptionist position.
My schedule was full, I’m not arguing that, but I really do not think I’m particularly special. I simply always had somewhere to be or something to study. Here was my schedule for the last semester.
M-W-F-S I would wake up and drive to the tax office (8am-5pm). I’d take calls and keep the appointment book, but I’d also read my text books and work on my papers.
Monday and Wednesday evenings (6pm-midnight) were when I finished all of my assignments.
Friday and Saturday evenings, I drove to whatever party I was dealing blackjack at (7pm-midnight).
Tuesday and Thursdays I had class from 10am-4pm straight through. Those evenings I worked in the Games Room from 5pm-1am. I used any downtime to catch up on reading.
Sundays were actually pretty open, so I hung out with friends, family, or my fiance. If I had any leftover assignments, I finished them. 🙂
That comes to 58 hours a week of work, 6-7 hours of sleep at night (not bad for most college students), 12 hours of business classes, 20-25 hours of studying spread out, and a day of just hanging out when I could.
Yes, I was busy. No, I did not write down my story to try to convince others it was a great idea. But, it isn’t impossible. I am smart but probably not MENSA material. I was an Honors College student and I did manage to graduate with honors, but I honestly think a business major has it easier than any math or science-based major. In short, I was able to do this based on a lot of little things that came together for me. It was unique circumstances, but I would guess that quite a few people could do it who are in similar circumstances.
I am special, but no more than anybody else, lol. 🙂
@First Gen, you are one heck of an inspiration too!
@Aishah, I had a roommate for 2 years that was a Biochem major – you have my complete sympathy. I was surprised my roomie still ha hair…
@Bill, good advice!
@Amy, hello to a fellow help-desk worker (and apparently, that is where all the love is, lol)! I am so glad I wasn’t the only one to pull off so many work hours – it is possible and you even got a great job! I am happy you liked my post – thanks for reading!
@MoneyIsTheRoot, LOL, my husband is a traditionalist or the wedding would have been even cheaper, hahaha.
@Lincoln, yes, everything you said is true. As I’ve said in other comments, I had a unique set of circumstances.
@LaTisha, thanks! I’m glad you made it through too!
Crystal, while I applaud you for graduating with no debt, this type of article makes me so sad for some children. When I was growing up, it was also a given that I would go to college. But it was also assumed that my parents would pay for it. I believe that part of the parent/child covenant dictates that parents owe their children the basics to enable a certain level of success in life: a loving home, enough food/clothes/shelter and an education. It may be a bit draconian but, if you cannot afford to send your child to college (or to trade/arts school depending on interest), then you should not have that child in the first place.
Nice article! I must admit though, I loved my college experience. I ended up taking on $36,000 in total for a private school that had tuition costs of $32,000 per year, and that included a semester to London and a semester to Japan–I thought I did well, and wouldn’t change a thing. I received scholarships, grants (my parents were low income), a little help from my parents, and worked. I had a federal work study job during the week, then drove amish on Saturday mornings (for about $120 per Saturday), and then worked jobs on summer and winter breaks. Ahhhhh the college years:).
I was not able to graduate debt-free, but I also went to a pricey private school. One thing that is do-able for a lot of college students to help save on college expenses is to become an RA. This can pay big time especially if you’re attending school in an expensive city (like Boston). Not only do you get free room and board during the year (saved me over $10,000 a year), but often you can continue to be an RA over the summer for the summer classes. By doing this I was able to have a full-time paying internship and have zero living expenses, so I could save up enough spending money for the rest of the year. Though even combining that with an academic scholarship and a lot of help from my parents didn’t get me out debt-free, but I feel like I have a resonable amount for an engineering grad and should be able to have it all paid off in the next 2 years.
Crystal,
Don’t downplay your achievement – reading your schedule makes me almost cry. Just the amount you slept – I wouldn’t have been able to focus in class AT ALL if I got only 7 hours of sleep/night. (I have been told this is genetic…people need from 6-10 hours of sleep/night, with 8 being just the average.) And the amount you worked! Wow!
I majored in geophysics and was not the sharpest pencil in the box – I probably had to study more hours/week than you worked (60+) just to pass with good marks.
Just FWIW, my strategy for saving money in school was to go to university in Canada and work hard over the summer to pay with American dollars…they charge international students much more than Canadians, but the tuition is still a joke compared to the tuition at US schools. Or at least it was in the late 90s, when the US dollar was stronger.
Crystal, thank you so much for sharing your story. You demonstrate a great work ethic and a better “whole life” perspective than many college students I knew. I worked 2 jobs for 30-40 hours per week during college and, like you, worked more hours towards the end than the beginning. I graduated from an aerospace engineering program with my bachelor’s and masters degrees in 4.5 years. My scholarships, grants, savings, & work covered the first two years and one later semester, but I did end up with student loans because of my grad degree.
It is absolutely possible to work that much as an engineering student. My husband did it, too, although we had divergent grade expectations; he expected to pass and I held a B+/A- average. Yes, we missed out on some things, but you can’t do everything anyway. We did make time for things that were important to us. Today, we are much better off in many regards than college friends who didn’t work.
@Crystal or JD – Is there any chance to get Crystal’s parents’ story? I would love to read the “other half” of this tale. For instance, when did they decide to cover part of her expenses? How did they save for her and her siblings’ college? How/why did they forgive the loans?
Crystal, congratulations on finding jobs that fit your schedule and taking courses that allowed you to work and finish without debt.
I took loans/scholarships and working in the summer to finish my degree (about ~30K in debt when it was done). But as an engineering student I had classess, labs and tutorials from 8 am to 5 pm four to 5 days a week and typically 30 to 40 hours of work outside of classes to finish assignments and prep for exams. Working more than one day a week would not have been possible and really I was no fun to be around given how terrible my schedule was.
Grad school was done on a scholarship and stipend. I taught a tutorial four semesters while at school and used the extra money to put against my studen loans (which were not accruing interest as I was at school). When I left school I had ~16K in student debt and had it paid off in about 2.5 years.
Everyone is going to be different and the trick is balance of school achievement, loans, and end goals. I had friends at school that could have worked more and I had friends that used loan money to live a lavish life (for a student). I think everyone looks back and thinks they could have done something differently. You had a goal and you stuck to it. Good for you.
Wow! That’s crazy! I can’t imagine working 60 hours a week in college. I worked around 10 hours a week and my parent paid most of the college cost. (paid back since.)
I really admire people who can power through work and college, but there was no way I could do that. Great job Crystal, I really admire what you did.
@Zeynep, I actually don’t believe that. I think parents should be required to feed you, house you, and LOVE you. I think a college education is not a given and no parent should feel bad for not being able to help or choosing not to.
@Amanda, it sounds like you had fun and prioritized in a way that gives you no regrets – that sounds perfect to me!
@Claudia Lynn, being an RA is an awesome opportunity! I applied but wasn’t accepted the first time around and moved off campus after that…
@Ms. K, no crying, lol. I was actually very happy – just a little tired. 🙂 Nice Canada strategy!!!
@Lindsey, sounds like you and your husband put in even more work than me! That is what I see as inspiring.
As far as getting my mom or dad to write up their side, I would never ask. We agree that a bunch of things were mishandled and miscommunicated and just generally messed up. They wanted to make sure I was responsible and I sort of hated them for making me prove it like that. It’s taken 5 years to get back to a non-angry place, so I am just letting it go.
@Pam, I think you hit the nail on the head about figuring out the proper balance. Sure, my way worked for me, but it is not the best way for everybody. Thanks for commenting!
@retirebyforty, you could do anything when you don’t see any other options. 🙂
Hey Crystal, I think this showed great determination on your part. Working that hard to put yourself through college is not easy, but I’m sure you feel great after going through it!
I worked both a full time and part time job while going through undergrad and grad school, but still ended up with over $40,000 in student loans!
Great story! I also worked a ton while in school and was lucky to have a co-op (work placement) every 4 months. With that income I paid for all my schooling and graduated with zero debt.
@Khaleef, you have $40,000 in student loans but you also have a masters degree…I think that’s a good trade-off if you use it! 🙂
@Pete, congrats!!!
I commend you for working to pay for your education, but I wonder if this can be a practical course for the majority of students. My father attended the University of California in the 1960s, and he has told me many stories about working for the summer (digging ditches on an air force base) to pay for school. One summer of hard labor would pay for his tuition and living expenses.
By the time I was getting ready for school, it was impossible to find legal, safe work that would cover those expenses. Now, I have three small kids, and the tuition situation only seems to be getting worse. I’m saving now for their educations, and I hope it will be enough to let them get through school without massive debt.
I wonder if anyone has undertaken a breakdown of university budgets over the last fifty years to find out where the money is going. If anyone has that information, I would love to see it.
My experience was a lot like yours although I suspect that I got off easy going to college a few years back before the inflationary trend hit. I had one-third covered by scholarships, my parents covered a third, and I worked during school and summers to pay for the final third myself. It was tough working all night long and going to class. I would nap when I could and often sleep through the 7:30 class after getting off work at 6 am. But it was worth it.
I avoided college bills which have made a difference since we currently are paying off my wife’s bill. First I enlisted in the military and received the GI Bill. Second, when I was leaving the military I searched around for employers that had tuition reimbursement and was lucky enough to of found one. I worked full time and went to school at night for 6 years and got my BS in accounting. Overall I say I saved about 20K!
The comments have been really interesting. I wasn’t sure I would respond to this but there’s just so much to say.
To start with, I do have to say, as some have said, that the title of this post was a bit misleading. It makes it sound like avoiding student loans by getting money from family is better than taking student loans. Obviously every situation is different, and maybe for Crystal this was the better choice, but that’s certainly not going to be true (or even possible) for most students.
Crystal did what she had to do, and luckily for her she didn’t end up with debt. But student loans aren’t all bad. Student loans are bad when they are used to pay for a lifestyle a student (or their family) could never have afforded. Student loans to help with tuition so that the student has time to be at college and reap the benefits are exactly what student loans are for.
I know that in this case, she wasn’t eligible for the FAFSA benefits that I had the good fortune to receive. My college experience didn’t put any burden on my family. I worked through college (about 30 hours a week, not 60, thank god), went abroad, did everything I wanted to do while I was there, came out with loans and got a job that makes me happy, and then paid them off. The loans were only about $17k, which I know is low for this country, and maybe that would be too large a burden for some. But I sort of wonder what good a college degree is if you can’t get a good enough job to pay off a small student loan? I had loans but I never felt forced to take any old job just to pay them off. The loan was completely manageable, while working more hours as a student would have made me very little and taken away so much of the point of being at college in the first place.
I’m not criticizing Crystal’s situation and choices, working your way through college is hard with or without help from the school or parents. But I sort of feel like student loans were created to help avoid situations like her’s, so students have time to get the most out of school and get a job they like after graduation, and then pay the loan back. It’s really sad to hear that she feels stuck in a job she doesn’t like, and yet she didn’t even have loans forcing her to find any old job after graduation…
It’s hard to see what to learn from this article, other than the fact that paying for college is a huge burden on everyone, whether they take loans or not.
@92 Sarah
That is a really great and thoughtful comment. I agree 100%.
Though, as another commenter mentioned, EVERYONE is eligible to fill out a FAFSA form. Many people are eligible for financial aid even if they think they aren’t. Getting people to fill out the FAFSA is something the government has made great strides on over the past couple of years and has had a positive effect on college attendance as people on the margin who thought they weren’t eligible for aid end up having enough money to go. (There’s a study with a bunch of famous education researchers partnering with H&R block that finds positive effects.)
How i avoided student loans…. really, i sure wish my parents would of given me 8k. So disappointed on how this story ended.
I’ll agree with those who have complimented the OP on her work ethic. It’s a good one.
But I also agree with those who claim the title is misleading. It is. Borrowing $8k is borrowing $8k, no matter what the source, and having it forgiven is even better. The OP did not avoid student loans, no matter how much JD wants to spin it. Sorry.
@Nicole, I filled out FAFSA with my own info and was denied because I hadn’t been on my own long enough to skip my parental info section and my parents refused to fill in the form.
@Alily, I’m surprised even $8000 in student loans wasn’t suprisingly low to you. If it makes anyone feel any better, I would have and could have paid off that $8000 by the end of my graduation year since my husband and I continued living CHEAP in a $399 efficiency apartment and I wasn’t willing to pay 5% interest for very long…
As JD explained in one of the first comments, he put a lot of thought into that title since I was so upfront that luck had a lot to do with my experience.
Well, its good to see that somebody is able to work that much, both at school and at a different job.
My experience, which I`m going through right now, is not as rose coloured. I started 4 years ago, appliying for University in Social Economics, while I had a full time job. This was (and still is in the Oil sector) a job where I had to work 2 weeks and 3 weeks of, so basicly I was working two full months each semester. 5 months on, 7 months off..
While I was making very good money, starting at $40.000 increasing to $100.000 over the course of 4 years, my grades where going downhill, because study habits were poor, I did not feel i got enough time to study and my love for the field died 2 years into the 4 year degree.
Now, I`m burnt out, I have not finnished my degree ( I lack several points to finnish it), I dont want to work in that field, and I don`t pressume anybody would hire me with the poor results. And Im stuck in a job I don`t really have a future in, or particularly want to be doing..
I have $4000 in debt, and still live like a student, so my savings rate is 75%.. while my grades are hovering above 2. Right now Im thinking about having year of from School, maybe try again next year.
Congratulations for doing it the right way. It’s an inspirational story that should be shared with high school students.
I really like the idea of working for college. I earned money during my college years and it helped offset my expenses.
We had always saved. We started saving $ for college for both my kids when they were infants. They started college with about $35K or so in the 1990s. My daughter spent all her college fund in 2 years at Northeastern University (a private school). She used student loans to finish. My son finished undergrad and 2 years grad work at VA Tech (a public school) and still had money left over when he graduated.
There is a message here about public colleges.
I strongly encourage kids to work while in school and to think really hard about what they want to do when they graduate. Studying subjects that are interesting and intellectually challenging may be fun and personally rewarding but unless you have some way to use the skills you’ve learned in school to make a living, you’ve pretty much wasted your time.
I have to agree with Sarah’s comments on page one. This is clearly an exception to the rule and not an advisable strategy for about 99.9% of students.
I graduated with about $30K in student loan debt. About half my tuition was covered by scholarships and grants. I did work study programs, including Americorps (which gives you a tuition credit in addition to a paycheck), and used money from working during high school and over the summer to pay part of my tuition. My parents helped where they could, but they just don’t have the means to help as much as Crystal’s parents did.
I actually wish I had worked less during college for two reasons. First, I would have been able to do more internships, which are really important for getting a job when you graduate. Second, I probably would have had better grades. My grades are high enough to get a job in my chosen field, but I am going to law school next year. I am going to a great school, but if my GPS had been even .2 higher I would be in a position to either attend one of the Top 10 schools in the country or get substantial scholarships at the school I am attending. In the long run it probably would have been worth it to accrue another $8K or so in loans from my undergrad education.