PAYING FOR COLLEGE ON A MINIMUM WAGE SALARY
Students without financial aid or additional help will have difficulty paying for tuition and living expenses for a full academic year at Ball State. The minimum wage in Indiana is $7.25 an hour. If a full-time student only paid for school with a minimum wage job, how many hours would they have to work each week?
Both in-state and out-of-state students working minimum wage would have to work overtime in order to pay for schooling, room and board and fees for the school year.
An out-of-state student would have to work 134 hours per week during the school year, and an in-state student would have to work 72 hours per week to pay for Ball State tuition, room and board and fees.
In-state students would have to work 35 hours per week while out-of-state students would have to work 96 hours to pay for just tuition. Both numbers are above the maximum 20 hours per week that university student employees are allowed to work.
This month, Indiana University raised its minimum wage to $8.25, starting during the 2014-15 school year.
Jim McAtee, the director of the Career Center, said he does not know of any plans Ball State has to raise the minimum wage.
Ball State’s minimum wage is $7.25, the same as the federal and state rate.
Jessica Golden, a freshman advertising major, works as a computer lab assistant. She said she works daily for a total of 11 hours per week.
She said she doesn’t have trouble finding time to complete her schoolwork.
“A lot of the time I have a chance to do my schoolwork while I’m working,” Golden said. “So, it doesn’t interfere too much and it kind of gives me a chance to get away from school work too if I want to.”
If she had to pay for her own tuition at Ball State only working the job she has now, Golden said she would not be able to pay for it.
“It’s minimum wage, so it would probably not,” she said. “I make less than $200 every two weeks.”
Brelynn Woodrick, a senior telecommunications video production major, said she works 15-20 hours a week at Bath and Body Works. Her parents are paying for her tuition, but she will pay them back in full, without interest, after she graduates.
She said it was hard to balance work and school, but she feels lucky she is able to pay for college in this way.
“They basically just want to teach me responsibility,” Woodrick said. “So they definitely make me work my butt off.”
Woodrick said she has been working for six years now, so she is used to the routine. She said having to work without her parents there is harder.
“When I lived at home I had help,” she said. “It’s difficult because when you’re in high school your parents will help you out because you’re trying. Here in college, my parents are just kind of like, ‘Well this is your time to grow up and you need to realize what’s important and what’s not, financially.’”
She said when she is working, it’s hard for her to get things done.
“My major ... is very project-oriented, so instead of studying for a test late at night, I have to do my projects during the day,” Woodrick said. “I have to plan out every single moment of my day just to make sure I get everything accomplished.”
Woodrick said if she had to pay for tuition with her current wage, she would not be able to afford it.
“I probably would get loans and stuff then,” she said. “I give people major props who do actually pay for their own tuition and don’t have help from their parents.”
McAtee said for some students, working while in school could be difficult at first. He said it is possible for students to work full-time, but it isn’t ideal.
“There’s a lot of demands on students and on student time,” he said. “I think it can be hard at times for some to juggle school and work.”
Despite this, McAtee said it is beneficial for students to have a job.
“Those who work and in particular work on campus tend to stay in school at a higher rate than the rest of the university,” he said. “Also, while working in school, they get the opportunity to develop transferable skills that employers are looking for.”
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