Private education price tough on tight budgets

By Sarina Caragan

"I definitely just feel tired," sophomore Veronica Rodriguez said after running around to attend three classes and work two shifts.

She began her Wednesday at 9:15 a.m., with two back-to-back classes ending at 11:35. She managed to squeeze in an hour-long workout and a quick lunch before jetting to her day's third class at 1 p.m. At 2:15, she clocked in a few hours at Kids on Campus, the Santa Clara-affiliated preschool and childcare center, and then tutored from 5:30-6:30. After dinner, homework, and 30 minutes rest, Veronica began her third work shift of the day at 9 p.m. at the Swig Hall service desk.

But long work hours are necessary if you're a student at a private university, where tuition, room and board costs nearly $40,000 — a high sum that doesn't incude textbooks, health insurance, or any social expenses — and you have to pay for all of those expenses by yourself. And that is what Rodriguez has to do.

According to Santa Clara's Office of Institutional Research, about 5 percent of the Santa Clara undergraduate population is declared financially independent. However, that 5 percent only includes those students who follow a strict set of criteria outlined by Federal Student Aid. In order to be considered an independent student, you must fall into any one of these categories: 23 years of age or older; a graduate student working toward his or her master's or doctorate degree; married or a parent; a military veteran or actively serving the U.S. Armed Forces; considered a foster child, a ward of the state or an emancipated minor; or homeless.

In other words, that 5 percent doesn't include students like freshman Leticia (name has been changed), whose mother cannot help her pay for tuition, and who risks dropping out of the university every quarter because she can't come up with the few hundred dollars she owes the Bursar's Office in order to lift the hold that prevents her from registering for classes.

Nor does it count freshman Lauren Byrne, whose parents' decision not to help pay for college expenses forces her to take out $16,000 a year in personal loans and work over summer and winter breaks in order to make enough money to cover the costs of tuition, textbooks and personal expenses.

Santa Clara's tuition is $37,368 per year. Standard double rooms, such as Rodriguez's room in Swig Hall, costs an additional $12,375 per year – resulting in an annual grand total of $49,743 in tuition, room and board. Factor in an additional $600 per quarter for textbooks, an additional $1330 per year for student health insurance, approximately $730 for on-campus residents' transportation costs and $2250 for personal expenses, and the financial burden comes to roughly $54,653 for a single year. Compare this to the $28,000 required for undergrads in the UC system.

In order to pay for her expenses, Rodriguez works three to four jobs throughout the academic year. She, along with 28 percent of the full-time undergrads, works on-campus.

"[Balancing work and school would] be fine if there were more hours in the day. I'm tired a lot; I can go to sleep so easily. But it's hard to find time for homework, especially since I have a double major. That's more what's stressful. I don't really see the job getting in the way; I just don't have a lot of time to focus on my classes, as much as I'd like to. I mean, I'm still getting good grades, but I'm not used to getting B's. I haven't got them [yet], but I feel like one of my classes this quarter I'm going to."

For the 2010-2011 academic year, about 1700 undergrads – approximately 34 percent of the total undergraduate population – received about $38 million worth of need-based scholarships and grants. On average, Santa Clara students receive about $26,000 in annual financial aid packages, which include both need-based and merit-based grants and self-help awards, including loans and work-study awards. As an incoming freshman, Pamela Suarez's financial aid package left a $6000 difference – more manageable, but still difficult to deal with on her own.

In order to pay off $6000, she applied for nearly 20 private scholarships offered by various groups and foundations, including the Sonoma County Foundation; Univision, the Spanish-language TV network; and other organizations based in Sonoma County. "I received eight scholarships," she explains. "They were small amounts — 500, 1000 dollars — but all of those together allowed me to pay for this year."

Although scholarships cover her tuition, room and board, Suarez still works as a student assistant at the university's Office of Finance to pay for textbooks and other expenses. "The thing is, when I make money, I save it; I don't spend it because I need that for books and stuff," she explains. "I don't buy anything when I go to the mall. I hardly go out with my friends. I'd love to, but I can't."

"I didn't start work until October, and I definitely saw that my grades slipped a lot once I started working. I would work 12-14 hours a week, and I had that much less time to do my work. I ended up missing some of my morning classes because I would be so tired from having to stay up late. It definitely took a toll on my grades. Actually, this past week, I haven't been going into work because I was sick, and I also had a lot to do. And I found that, right now, I'm actually on top of everything. I haven't been having to wake up early to go to work, then go to class — I've had that time to sleep in or get some [school] work done.

"One thing I miss is having more leisure time without work. If I had more time, I would be able to be more involved and join more clubs, like the Youth Empowerment Program. I think I would be happier."

Contact Sarina Caragan at scaragan@scu.edu.