Thinking back to the summer before freshman year of college, given that summer is right around the corner, I was getting worried about how to afford to pay my loans and other expenses. I personally thought that going to college was the end of the era in which I asked my parents to pay for my stuff. My mentality was that since I’m already old enough to move out, I was old enough to support myself. I also did not like the idea of being another financial burden for my parents. Before summer came along, I was applying to jobs left and right. The thing about jobs is that there are opportunities out there, but it is who you know that will help you get that interview.
This is when I also noticed how important it is to network with your classmates, because you honestly never know who knows who and if they will help you get a future job. The moral of the story, my very close friend had an older brother who worked in this boat architecture company in Chicago; we were able to get jobs over the summer because of him. Once summer came I took as many shifts as I could because this was going to be covering the majority of my college expenses. I never really went out that summer with friends in order to save money, but when I did I always made a budget for myself.
I would add that before college started, I was looking at St. Olaf’s work-study opportunities. I found some that were of interest to me like working at the Admission Office or working at the coffee shop as a barista or working for a specific department as an administrator. I did all 3 jobs throughout my freshman year, which really helped me pay my loans. During freshman year, when I went out with my friends, I would use the money I earned during the summer and again budget, but the money that I made at school I would keep there as a saving account. In reality, I used that money to pay off my loans so I did not touch it until I had the full amount to pay it off. What also helped was talking to people who may be your advisors or the financial aid department to see if there are any scholarships that you can apply for. This was a great help, as I was able to pay off my subsidized and unsubsidized loans in my second year of college. Ultimately, I did as many hours during the summer and try to get as many hours of work-study.