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Lifestyles
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ing through the Teeth
fewer A&M students are relying on Mom and Dad to foot the education bill
Practice»
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By Stephen Wells
Staff writer
sociation::
I'll be heldr
tssociatir
r n elementary school, a person’s job was
1 cleaning up their room to earn candy. In
.middle school, it was taking care of the
rd for extra money to go to the movies. In
meeting orfch school, it was sacking groceries to pay
Project w! ra car and clothes. In college, students
L33 Koldus lay work for extra cash for the weekends,
lit for some A&M students, their job is pay-
Practicew Igfor their education.
oftheAcaiFor students like Dean Piper, a senior
rience neilechanical engineering student, the deci-
3n to pay for their own schooling is a vol-
Uary one.
“It’s not that I have to pay for school,”
iper said. “My parents would pay for it if I
ked them to. I prefer to pay for my own
lucation.”
Piper said working his way through col-
cussed fe|ge is a matter of pride and independence,
ary’s Studq "Part of why I pay for college is just so I
mid say that I did it myself,” Piper said,
iome of it is an accomplishment thing.
iation-Nd me of it is just not having to depend on
eting v. : lyparents.”
Mary's S: For other students, working while going
tm. |school is a financial necessity. Eric Alza-
iri, a junior history major, said working
jllowsliip;luring school is the only way he can attend
Ifrom8:30: :hool.
1. For detail “I’ve got a grant in addition to my mon-
35. yfrom working,” Alzafari said. “Without
legrant, going to school would be impos-
Society ible. Including the total cost of going to
beturerat' chool here and my living expenses, work
n Ruoff-’Ai ays for about 50 percent.”
lammal® Working through school is not confined
ions. callAl orare individuals. Bob Lawson, Assistant
[7. lirector of the Financial Aid office, said
18M itself employs many students.
;iub: Tliere “We have about 12,000 student workers
17 p.m.ill in campus annually, about 600 to 800 of
|iod’’ dinner ifeh are on financial aid,” Lawson said.
1-9798fof Different students find different ways to
lake ends meet. Piper works during the
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summer to save up for school, then works
as a resident advisor during the school year
to keep up an income. The amount of time
invested is not as much as others may think.
“I’d probably say I get more vacation
time during school than during summer,”
Piper said. “Being an RA isn’t much of a
drain on time.”
Having a part-time job off campus can
take up a lot of time, though.
“Where anybody else can go to class and
study on their own time, you’re taking these
big chunks of time out for work that you
can’t study in,” Alzafari said.
Alzafari schedules his classes to maxi
mize the time he gets to work and study.
“I go to class for two days a week on
Tuesday and Thursday pretty much the
whole day, so I don’t work on those days,”
Alzafari said. "Any other days I want off be
sides those, I just have to ask.”
Sometimes having a job means compro
mising between what a student wants and
what they need.
“What’s bad is that when I want to do
something like go to [Bonfire] Cut, I have to
take the day off and not get paid,” Alzafari said.
“It actually costs me money to go to that cut.”
The stereotypical poor college student is
a reality for students who pay their way
through school.
“The money is just like getting by,” Alza
fari said. “I’m not exaggerating at all — it’s
just enough to make it along. As opposed to
other people whose parents may pay for
them to go to school and they just work to
make a buttload of money, I’m working just
to go here.”
Piper said students working their way
through college just need to make good fi
nancial decisions.
“The major expense in my life is school,”
Piper said. “I try not to spend money on
things I don’t have to. I do things like living
in a less expensive dorm, not going out to
eat when I don’t have to — things that cut
down the cost of living.”
A part time job is usually not enough to
pay the costs of school. For those who need
a little more, financial aid is available.
“There’s a variety of ways a student can
actually finance his college education,”
Lawson said. “I look at it like purchasing a
car or a home or any other asset. You’re buy
ing an asset in education.”
Sources are readily available for students
seeking financial aid. The second floor of
the Pavilion has a repository of over 5,000
sources for scholarships. The financial aid
office has aWeb site at http://faid@tamu.edu
where students can find information about
part time employment both on and off
campus. They also have job listings for any
employer who wants a job opening posted.
“There is no central location off campus
for students to find part time employment,”
Lawson said. “We’ve been providing a ser
vice for students where we post the job op
portunities that are made known to us. We
are greatly expanding this service.”
Lawson has advice for students who are
considering applying for financial aid.
“Assess your situation,” Lawson said.
“See what you can afford to do and what
your expected income will be when you
graduate and then do it. If you can’t figure it
out by yourself come in and get help from a
counselor. I have seven counselors at your
beck and call.”
While it may prove to be difficult at times,
Lawson insists that any student who really
wants to go to college can afford to do it.
“If a student really wants to come to col
lege and to come to A&M, he or she can,”
Lawson said. “The resources are available
and the funding is available.”
Piper believes any student can pay for
their education if they apply themselves.
“Honestly I think that working their way
through college is something the average
student can do. I think part of why I do it is
because I’m stubborn and don’t want help
from my parents. It’s something everybody
can probably do for whatever reason, but I
wouldn’t recommend that everybody try it.”
\NGf
|3 (iw
If
Personal, Friendly Bankers
Made Homestead a Leading
Financial Institution. After
the Merger with P&M,
These Same People Will
Have New Muscle.
Homestead Savings has joined forces with P&M State Bank of Hearne. That
means more financial muscle for local customers and a continuation of personal,
hometown service from people you know and trust.
kictitf The key people at P&M’s branch offices in Bryan and College Station (formerly
^ branch offices for Homestead Savings) will be the same. And there will be new
faces to provide new services in soon-to-be-expanded facilities.
P&M is a 90-year-old solid, stable financial institution with roots deep in the
Brazos Valley. They are well known for being personal, involved, concerned
bankers. Their customers are as loyal as they come. And they fit right in with the
way Bryan-College Station people like to bank.
P&M brings a larger loan limit, an expanded list of products, an aggressively
priced savings interest schedule and facilities expansion in the near future.
When you drop in either of our B-CS locations, you find some things haven’t
changed: Bill, Olivia, and the staff are still at their desks, doing business as
usual. And be sure to meet Jim Scamardo, a former College Station banker who
is executive vice president of P&M and manager of the B-CS branches, among
other duties.
If you like personal banking with a local flavor, P&M will be the place to
I Homestead.
I
smf
Hearne • 122 W. Fourth Street • 279-3438
College Station • 2553 Texas Avenue • 693-1063
Bryan • 3601 E. 29th Street • 779-3601
Member FDIC/Equal Housing Lender 111
■
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THURSDAY November lo.Kffl
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