Students Struggle With Financial Demands of College Life

The high cost of tuition combined with unpaid internships create significant financial hardships for many students. The Temp’s Susan Thomas reports on how they are able to make ends meet.

Students Struggle With Financial Demands of College Life

College students have multiple responsibilities while in school but some have to make time to help pay for financial expenses as well.

Sabina Pawlowska-Kawiiso is an international student from Poland and a junior at Temple University. She’s been attending college in the US since her freshman year and has always been paying for all college expenses. She’s not eligible for scholarships because she’s a foriegn student.

“It’s hard to work and do school especially when I work 40-45 hours per week. But I feel that’s my only way to get through college,” she said.

Kathryn A. Hirsh-Pasek, a Psychology Professor at Temple, claims that the ability to bounce back is key for success. “Is it going to be easy? Not always…but these kinds of situations require-in psychology we call-resiliency,“ she said.

Victoria Lucas is currently a senior at Temple. She has had to plan out her days in order to manage different responsibilities. “I had to schedule my Target days around my internship days and it was very difficult because it was interning, Target, and school-but really it was just prioritizing,” she said.

Lucas’s mother was able to help her up to a certain extent. “She would help me with the majority of the things I needed help with when it came to food and getting my hair done-and things like that which I really had to pick up the slack.”

Austin Koman is a PennState alumni. He has worked internships and jobs while in school. His on campus student union job at the HUB Robeson Center helped pay for college. “So In my mind it was better to sacrifice some free time to have a safety net or some kind of financial security,” he said.