Working students struggle to find balance with school

By Michael Borunda
The Collegian

It is estimated around 57 percent of full-time students in college are also working full or part-time jobs in order to afford to attend college.

The statistics are according to bankrate.com, and also state the amount of students working full-time while going to school full-time has nearly doubled from 5.6 percent in 1990 to 10.4 percent in 2005.

“Almost all my grad students work and go to school full-time,” said mass communication and journalism professor Tamyra Pierce. “I have one full-time student who is working full-time for channel 30 and also a graduate assistant for the MCJ department.”

Pierce, who has worked at Fresno State for four years, said she is lenient when it comes to her working students’ schedules, because she understands how difficult it can be to manage. She also said many of the graduate courses offered for students are available in the night to accommodate students with their schedules.

“There are many factors into why so many students are working and going to school,” said career counselor Aleta Wolfe. “Financial aid has changed over time, making it more difficult for students to receive money. The cost of living has also gone up dramatically within the past 10 years, making it hard for students to go to school without working.”

College costs have gone up five times faster than family income since 1981, according to the College Board. The average grant award per student at a typical public four-year institution has dropped by nearly one-third since 1982.

Wolfe has been helping students find employment both locally and nationwide for 22 years at Career Services. Although Wolfe said she discourages students to work and attend school in order to gain the complete college experience, she also understands some students have no choice in the matter.

Students agree.

“I’m not like a lot of students at Fresno State,” said working and returning student Jessica Torres. “I have to work in order to support myself and my child on my own.”

Torres said she had her child at a young age, which put a lot of her goals on hold, including graduating college. This also gave her more stress and financial trouble. Torres said she plans to graduate in three years with her bachelor’s degree in public relations, while working full-time as a company administrator at a landscape architecture company.

“I don’t like doing both,” said Torres, “but you just have to do what you have to do in order to survive, and for me there is no other option.”

Dori Ponce, 21, is another student who works while attending college.

“I don’t have to work if I don’t want to,” said Fresno City College student, Dori Ponce. She said she plans to transfer to Fresno State next semester. “But I like to have spending money each month, and it’s nice not having to ask my parents for money all the time.”

As for the students who will begin, or continue to struggle between their work and school schedule, Pierce said she suggests working students have good management and organizational skills to better prepare them for the expected work load.

“If you are not organized and you are a big procrastinator,” said Pierce. “You won’t make it as a working college student, or as a college student for that matter.”

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