As college tuition rises across the country, parents are becoming less of an expected source to pay for college. In fact, parents are more likely to pay for a cellphone bill then they are tuition according to a new survey released by Citi Group and Seventeen Magazine on Aug. 7.
The survey also noted that four out of five students work an average of 19 hours a week while in college. But just because students are working during college doesn’t mean they’re necessarily footing the bill.
Financial aid is still the primary source of higher education funding at 41 percent, whereas a student paying for their tuition is at 18 percent. 22 percent of tuition on average is paid by parents, which is a relatively low number compared to the 60 percent of parents who say that the only regular expense they pay for their children attending college is their cellphone bill.
“My work money is put towards a savings but it’s also my spending money,” says Nick Maguire, a junior at the UO. “Towards the end of the month though, it turns more and more into my spending money.”
Maguire works at the Knight Library, and he says he works around 15-18 hours a week. None of his money goes towards his tuition though because he was able to get the majority of his tuition covered by financial aid.
“My parents were really adamant for me to apply for my FASFA and to go for any scholarships that I could,” Maguire said. “They’re currently not paying for my tuition.”
Maguire’s parents do, however, pay his rent, which comes out to $400 a month. Jennifer Perry is a student at Rogue Community College in Medford. Because she lives at home with her parents, she doesn’t pay for housing, but she does make up the costs in other fees.
“Since RCC is pretty cheap, I was able to cover most of the cost through financial aid” Perry said. “My financial aid pretty much covers 13 credits.”
But outside of her RCC class schedule, she also takes a class at Southern Oregon University, which she has to pay for out of pocket. She also has to drive there, which becomes expensive the price of gas is factored in. The trip from her house to SOU is approximately an hour and a half. On top of her Ashland to Medford commute, her job is also 45 minutes away from home.
“Gas is probably going to be the death of me,” Perry said. “Between that and going to work, gas is definitely my biggest expense.”
Perry is hoping to transfer to Oregon State University by next winter term, but only if she can save up enough money.
“It kind of sucks because my financial aid probably won’t count for nearly as much at OSU,” Perry said. “Hopefully my parents will be able to help out with the tuition once I’m there. I’m not sure if they will though.”
For more information on the survey, here’s an infographic from The Huffington Post.
