Spring Break
When Mom and Dad Can't Shoulder Tuition: YU Students Working Through School
Yaelle Frohlich
Issue date: 11/25/09 Section: Features
About 70 percent of Yeshiva University (YU) students receive some sort of financial aid, declares the YU website. With YU's tuition standing at $15,797 per semester compared to the $2,300 of New York's city colleges for in-state residents, most YU students and/or their parents must have strong motivation to join the so-called YU family.
Most YU students have their education paid at least in large part by their families. "I guess the truth is, if I were paying the bills I would most probably not be here," said one student at Stern College for Women (SCW).
However, there is a demographic of YU students who have chosen to attend YU despite being required to shoulder a significant portion of their own tuition or living expenses. Many of these individuals must work while pursuing full-time undergraduate studies. The Observer conducted a survey interviewing these students (whose names have been substituted by letters to protect their confidentiality) about this challenging experience.
L (Sy Syms School of Business (SSSB) '12) and L's parents split the cost of college fifty-fifty. L works about 10 hours per week as an office secretary for the non-profit organization Keren, and also tutors on Sundays for extra cash. "It is definitely more time consuming," says L about working, "…At times I can't attend something socially because I have other commitments, or other times I find myself too tired to socialize. My parents will not let me go 'penniless' and I have never found myself desperate at times, but trying to be more financially independent is tricky when I am a full-time student working a part-time job."
L received a large scholarship from YU and has taken out loans to help defer tuition costs. "After my scholarship," notes L, "YU was significantly cheaper than some other schools I had applied to."
P (SCW '10) is not financially independent from her parents. However, she says she feels obligated to work "to help defray smaller costs with one or two part time/temporary jobs," such as teaching at Hebrew Sunday school and substitute-teaching in elementary schools on Fridays and during college vacations. "During this recession, it was a question whether or not I would continue at Stern," recounts P, who is pursuing a career in Jewish education and maintains that she could not envision herself pursuing her B.A. anywhere else. "Thank G-d, my parents thought it worthy to pursue it and thanks to financial aid and student loans, G-d willing it is possible."
Most YU students have their education paid at least in large part by their families. "I guess the truth is, if I were paying the bills I would most probably not be here," said one student at Stern College for Women (SCW).
However, there is a demographic of YU students who have chosen to attend YU despite being required to shoulder a significant portion of their own tuition or living expenses. Many of these individuals must work while pursuing full-time undergraduate studies. The Observer conducted a survey interviewing these students (whose names have been substituted by letters to protect their confidentiality) about this challenging experience.
L (Sy Syms School of Business (SSSB) '12) and L's parents split the cost of college fifty-fifty. L works about 10 hours per week as an office secretary for the non-profit organization Keren, and also tutors on Sundays for extra cash. "It is definitely more time consuming," says L about working, "…At times I can't attend something socially because I have other commitments, or other times I find myself too tired to socialize. My parents will not let me go 'penniless' and I have never found myself desperate at times, but trying to be more financially independent is tricky when I am a full-time student working a part-time job."
L received a large scholarship from YU and has taken out loans to help defer tuition costs. "After my scholarship," notes L, "YU was significantly cheaper than some other schools I had applied to."
P (SCW '10) is not financially independent from her parents. However, she says she feels obligated to work "to help defray smaller costs with one or two part time/temporary jobs," such as teaching at Hebrew Sunday school and substitute-teaching in elementary schools on Fridays and during college vacations. "During this recession, it was a question whether or not I would continue at Stern," recounts P, who is pursuing a career in Jewish education and maintains that she could not envision herself pursuing her B.A. anywhere else. "Thank G-d, my parents thought it worthy to pursue it and thanks to financial aid and student loans, G-d willing it is possible."
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