Working Under Pressure

Working to avoid borrowing

Any way you slice it, college costs today are expensive. Statistics released by The CollegeBoard estimate the cost of a public, four-year university at roughly $12,000 a year. (Double that — and then some — for private, four-year colleges. Their costs average about $26,000 a year.)¹

"Students today have to work simply to make ends meet," said one education official.

And, according to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, many students today are working more in order to borrow less².

The "Undergraduates Who Work" portion of the 1996 "National Postsecondary Student Aid Study" estimates that of the 50% of undergraduate students who work, 31 percent did so an average of 25 hours a week. Twenty percent of working undergrads are married and 14% reported having dependents³.

The study reports that roughly 35%, or about one-third, of working undergraduates had also taken out a student loan — borrowing, on average, about $4,250 a year⁴.

The report also shows that the fewer hours a student worked, the more they were apt to borrow. In comparison, the more hours a student worked, the less likely they were to borrow. Students who reported working 39 or more hours a week borrowed, on average, just $3,810 each year⁵.

The academic price

The bulk of the study focused on how a student's job affected their academic performance and, perhaps more importantly, their academic persistence, or their ability to maintain continuous, uninterrupted enrollment.

Roughly 40%⁶ of working undergrads said their work schedules limited their class schedule and 36 percent reported that their choice of classes was reduced because of scheduling conflicts with their jobs.

As a whole, the study concludes that one in four undergraduate students⁷ who work to pay for their education-related expenses are adversely affected by the amount of time they spend working.

In addition, one in five first-year students who worked full time did not attend school for the full year. In comparison, only one in 20 first-year students who worked 15 hours or less failed to complete a full year⁸.

The bottom line, the study says, is that a student's success rate increases when they can devote more of their time to their studies. Essentially, the report shows, borrowing more may be the answer.

"It appears that borrowing enough to reduce the number of hours a student needs to work to no more than 15 hours per week may increase a student's chances of completing his or her degree," the study said.

The Capital for Knowledge® Loan Program is designed — in many ways — to meet the needs of today's working student. With flexible terms that don't require a full or part-time enrollment status, a competitive pricing structure, and interest rate reduction rewards for on time and automatic payments, the program is a leader among today's alternative education loans.

And, because it's offered to you, and your family members — free of charge — as an NAHB Student Chapter member, it's now easier than ever to manage your job responsibilities while you reach for your educational goals.

To apply online, or to discover how the Capital for Knowledge Loan Program can help you and your family, simply visit us online at www.capital4u.com, or call toll-free at 888-651-LOAN (888-651-5626).

¹Collegeboard.com: Breakdown of College Costs
^2-8 U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics: Undergraduates Who Work: National Postsecondary Student Aid Study [ return to top ]