Good Morning Green Panda Friends. Fall is definitely upon us; it’s time to get out the warm pyjamas and it’s time to exchange our summer flip flops for boots and ballerina flats. Today the discussion in our Ultimate Success Tips for College Students series is finding a balance between education and money. I personally feel that a post secondary education should be available to anyone who is willing to attend college, and anyone who is accepted by a post secondary institution. I think that it is awful that someone who is accepted to college has to decline their offer just because they can’t afford the price of tuition. I definitely think that our Governments (both local and federal) should make college accessable for anyone who wishes to pursue a higher education, but that is a whole other topic.
Dropping Out of College
Many times students move away and go to college with no financial plan or source of income. Many times students just “hope that it all works itself out.” Although this is a great positive attitude, unfortunately it is not reality. Attending college is a very big decision and money is a major part of that decision. Sometimes students can’t attend college because they know they can’t afford it, and sometimes students attend college and end up dropping out becuase it is too difficult to work and study at the same time.
If you can’t afford all of the expenses that come along with going to college you may be forced to drop out. This was my personal experience during my first year of college. After only 3 weeks of attending classes I decided that college was not for me. I was overwhelmed with my new life in a state away from my hometown. I didn’t realize how big of a change it would be to move away from my family, and I didn’t realize how hard it would be to manage working, studying, and paying bills while living life on my own. I decided to take a year off from college, but I didn’t consider myself a college drop out because I always had the intention of going back.
College Decisions
I decided to drop out of college (because that is what it really is) for two reasons, the first reason was that I didn’t like any of my classes and I really had no idea what I wanted to study. The second reason why I chose to drop out of college is because there was a tiered tuition structure in my state. If I lived in my new state for 12 consecutive months without studying in college my tuition costs would drop by almost half the price. In my opinion it was a win-win situation; I still got to experience life on my own away from home, and I didn’t have to (immediately) worry about the cost of going to college.
I always knew that I would have to work while studying in college, not working was not an option for me. So many nights when I was tired from attending classes, studying, and working I always thought about quitting my job…but I never did. My quality of life couldn’t afford the cut in my pay check. My co-workers were some of the first friends I made when I moved to my new college city, if I quit my job I would probably loose some of my friends. If you have to work during college and you are thinking of quitting your job, think about the consequences before you do. Make a pro and con list becuase you definitely don’t want to make a quick decision and then regret it later. Before you quit your job think hard if you can honestly and truly afford not to work during college.
Don’t Forget To Check Out the Other Posts in our Ultimate Success Tips for College Students series!
Should You Work Full Time or Part Time in College?
Be Productive In College, Not a Procrastinator!
Online Courses Helped My GPA!!!
Tahnya is 30 years old and lives in Montreal Quebec. She graduated in 2005 from Concordia University, and she currently works for a major International Financial Institution. She recently launched http://www.mediamadam.ca/. You can follow her on Twitter @TahnyaP.