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My mom always told me about how she had to pay her own way as a young adult, due to her father financially disowning her for taking a scholarship to college (he

My mom always told me about how she had to pay her own way as a young adult, due to her father financially disowning her for taking a scholarship to college (he didn't believe women should attend). That definitely colored my expectations towards asking for support, so I opted to work 20 hours a week or more during my college years to support myself. Even so, I did receive $500 assistance my freshman year towards buying furniture, as well as a used car for 4k (though I sold it after college for 80% of purchase price and gave proceeds back to my mom). I consider myself more independent than my peers because I never requested or took an allowance or payments after freshman year (and my tuition was paid via grants and student loans), but I still know that even my option to work part-time to pay for rent and food was dependent on having that car available, so I still recognize I wasn't as independent as I'd like to believe. I do think most college-age or immediate post-college millenials could be more financially independent if they felt the need for it. I was definitely in the minority of students at my college who worked significant hours while also maintaining a full workload. So many people bought into the idea that school should be a full-time thing, or that their parents wanted to support them so they didn't have to experience crappy jobs - and they really didn't think financial independence was a valuable pursuit on it's own. That attitude persisted after college for some of them. I have a friend living in a very expensive city, who got a masters in a STEM field, but won't apply for jobs that actually are attainable b/c this person believes they deserve better than a mediocre job living in a un-cool city in the midwest, and their parents don't mind footing the rent bill until that dream job pops up somewhere cooler. I was taught that sometimes you just need to take the crappy job as a step towards getting a good one (and it worked out for me), but the people who never had financial pressure to do that don't really see it the same way.

Datenstrom 8y ago
Unfortunately working 20 hours a week on top of full time college still puts anyone who does it at a disadvantage to those who do not. Those 20 hours a week could have been spent on more studies, extracurricular activities, networking, or resting and therefore being more effective at those things. Not that I don't respect it. Also, I suppose that it could be reflected on a resume, although I personally doubt that someone who worked through school would be chosen over a higher GPA, more extracurricular activity, applicant on average. Unless of course the job was an internship.
dsfyu404ed 8y ago
The funny thing is nowadays if you want your kid to come out of school with less debt disowning them is probably a pretty solid strategy. Either way the kid's gonna have debt but if the school/government thinks you're supporting the kid they'll take your money first whereas if they think the kid's on their own they'll give them financial aid first which preserves your ability to write a check 4yr later and wipe out a lot of that debt. Kicking your kid out of the house at 18 well enough to satisfy financial aid requirements is a hard thing to do though.

Datenstrom 8y ago

Unfortunately working 20 hours a week on top of full time college still puts anyone who does it at a disadvantage to those who do not. Those 20 hours a week could have been spent on more studies, extracurricular activities, networking, or resting and therefore being more effective at those things. Not that I don't respect it. Also, I suppose that it could be reflected on a resume, although I personally doubt that someone who worked through school would be chosen over a higher GPA, more extracurricular activity, applicant on average. Unless of course the job was an internship.

dsfyu404ed 8y ago

The funny thing is nowadays if you want your kid to come out of school with less debt disowning them is probably a pretty solid strategy. Either way the kid's gonna have debt but if the school/government thinks you're supporting the kid they'll take your money first whereas if they think the kid's on their own they'll give them financial aid first which preserves your ability to write a check 4yr later and wipe out a lot of that debt. Kicking your kid out of the house at 18 well enough to satisfy financial aid requirements is a hard thing to do though.