On a typical Thursday, Kathryn Grajeda, a UW-Madison junior majoring in engineering mechanics, finishes class at noon and hurries home to work. Grajeda is luckier than many student workers - she can work from her apartment and set her own hours for her job at Total Water Treatment Systems handling data entry and spreadsheets. But the 10-20 hours she works in addition to a 17-credit, six-class schedule is critical, because Grajeda pays for school entirely on her own. When she graduates in 2010, she anticipates $40,000 in debt.
Grajeda described her situation as a Catch-22.
I love my job, but it can be inconvenient because it takes away time from studying,"" she said. ""But I can't feel anything about that because there's nothing I can do about it. I have to work to be here.""
As college costs continue to spiral upward and financial aid packages are more likely to come in the form of loans, parental financial support has become more important for this generation of students than ever before.
*Reality check*
According to Sara Goldrick-Rab, assistant professor of educational policy studies and sociology, the current generation of students cannot put themselves through school.
However, this is not surprising considering the University of Wisconsin System estimates the 2007-'08 school year at UW-Madison will cost $18,190 for Wisconsin residents. The sum is significantly higher for other students: $19,810 for Minnesota residents and $32,440 for out-of-state students.
The amounts include generous estimates: $930 for the year's books, $7,390 for room and board, $500 for travel expenses and an extra $2,180 for miscellaneous expenses. However, Shirley Fischer, director of UW-Madison Financial Aid, said she has heard from students who consider the estimates too low, sometimes even by $10,000.
In the face of monetary needs, many students get jobs, with some holding more than one position. However, the jobs listed on the UW-Madison Job Center Website list an average pay around $8 per hour.
Working 15 hours a week for the entire academic year at $8 an hour (counting 16 weeks per semester) will bring in $3,840 before taxes. That amount will cover a Wisconsin resident's tuition for only one semester (which equals $3,595, according to the UW System estimate), with some spare cash to put a dent in the textbook total ($470 for the semester). Working 40 hours per week during summer and winter break (an estimated 18 weeks) for the same salary would yield an extra $5,760. This would come close to covering the estimated cost of room and board, but a full semester's tuition is still unaccounted for.
Assuming a student worked full time over both breaks, he or she would still need to work 50 hours a week during the 32-week academic year if paid $8 an hour. If paid the more generous salary of $9.50 an hour, the number of work hours needed would lower to 41 hours a week.
If, however, a student is unable to work during the breaks due to an unpaid internship or summer courses, it would take approximately 72 hours per week at $8 an hour for the 32 weeks to cover the semester's expenses. Even $9.50 an hour would still require a near impossible 59 hours per week.
*Working won't cut it*
Fischer said working part time (15 hours a week) ""wouldn't have cut it"" for students in past decades either, though Goldrick-Rab disagreed.
""Things have changed a lot since our parents went to college,"" Goldrick-Rab said. ""In the 1960s and 1970s it was possible to work part time and pay for college. Now, a student working full time at a typical college-student job would be highly unlikely to meet her college costs.""
Many students use the summer months to work full time. Grajeda is among them and works full time during the summer to save money for tuition. She pays for rent and food by working during the semester, and though she's covering the bills, she said federal loans are still a must.
She's not alone. According to the Project on Student Debt from the National Center for Education Statistics web site, nearly two-thirds of students at four-year colleges accumulate student loan debt. In 1992, that number was less than a quarter.
More students are borrowing, and they're borrowing more. According to the web site, debt levels for graduating seniors at public universities have doubled over the past decade. Nationally, students leave school with an average of $17,250 in debt - a 116 percent increase from $8,014 in the early 1990s.
""I have no idea how long it'll take to pay off my debt,"" Grajeda said. ""I guess it'll take however long it takes.""
*A family affair*
Grajeda is the youngest of three kids who attended college in quick succession. All of her siblings were responsible for their own education, but when Grajeda applies for federal loans, the government doesn't ask if her parents are helping her. It assumes they are.
The federal financial aid system is built under the premise that parents contribute. The UW-Madison Financial Services web site states: ""It is a basic assumption of the federal financial aid programs that you and your family bear the main responsibility for paying college expenses.""
The Expected Family Contribution formula is used as a ""measure of your family's financial strength"" and calculates a student's financial need according to their income and the income of their parents, among other factors, including other siblings in college. Parental support is assumed, and the calculated need of a student determines the amount of subsidized aid a student can receive. A subsidized loan is a federal loan that doesn't accumulate interest until six months after graduation.
""[EFC] is not necessarily an accurate calculation,"" Fischer said. ""It acts more like a rationing tool with a lot of moveable parts.""
*How Madison compares*
UW-Madison students from 2005 averaged $18,630 in debt after graduation, according to estimates on the Project on Student Debt web site.
UW-Madison had the highest amount of debt for a Wisconsin state school (followed closely by UW-Stout). The amount may be affected by the EFC formula at work.
According to the UW System Office of Policy Analysis and Research Profile, Wisconsin college students come from families with an average income of $58,000 per year. UW-Madison students' families average $76,000, the highest income levels in the state. This is significantly higher than UW-La Crosse, which came in second with $66,000.
The higher income levels and the perceptions that come with it mean ""no one is crying for Madison students,"" Fischer said.
However, a higher family income generally means a higher EFC. According to the CollegeBoard.com EFC calculator, a Wisconsin family of four with an income level of $76,000, the UW-Madison average, will have an EFC of $17,331.
Subtract that from the estimated 2007-'08 cost of $18,190, and a student's financial need turns into $859. That means the student is only eligible for $859 of subsidized federal aid. Federal loans for more than this amount will be unsubsidized - meaning they'll start accumulating interest immediately.
This hypothetical calculation was based on parental income and an assumed student income of zero, but if parents aren't actually contributing as much money as the EFC anticipated, a student may have a hard time making up the difference between projection and reality.
*The impact*
According to Ruth N. Lopez Turley, assistant professor of sociology, Grajeda falls in line with 44 percent of incoming freshmen nationally who say their parents are paying no tuition.
""Interestingly, students whose parents pay no tuition tend to have a higher GPA their freshman year,"" she said. ""However, working can counteract this effect, as working many hours is associated with a lower GPA.""
For Grajeda, the benefit of being on her own translates into no guilt over maintaining grades to appease her parents.
""I work hard and get good grades for myself. I feel no debt toward my parents,"" she said.
Three out of four full-time college students have jobs, and 46 percent of them work more than 25 hours a week, according to the State PIRGs' Higher Education Project. One in five work more than 35 hours per week.
""Working full time substantially reduces the chances that [a student] will complete a degree,"" Goldrick-Rab said.
And from there the consequences can really spiral: According to the Project on Student Debt, ""borrowers who do not complete their degrees are 10 times more likely to default on their loans and twice as likely to be unemployed as borrowers who complete their degrees.""
However, Grajeda said her independence keeps her focused on her degree.
""I won't spend $50,000 and not do well in school,"" she said.
Overall, Grajeda said she's not bitter about her situation.
""My parents support me emotionally, and there's nothing to feel about [being independent] because there's nothing I can do about it,"" she said. ""I just have to keep my eye on the goal of getting a good job and being a successful person.\
