Money: you don't need green to be Old Blue

Most people I know try to rationalize their feelings about the amount of money they're spending on college. We're all familiar with this rationalization: it's okay to spend a ridiculous amount of money on your college education because it is a solid investment in your future. The salary your Ivy League degree will help you snag will most likely make your loans seem insignificant in five or 10 years. I'm certainly one of these rationalizers, and I feel that although my Yale degree may not guarantee me a high-paying job right after graduation, its value will eventually exceed the cost of my current student loans.

Even so, as anyone who has to worry about funding an education knows, money is a critical issue when it comes to selecting a college. What do you do when your safety school offers you much more aid than your first-choice school? Are the professors, the resources and the students at Yale really that much better than they are at cheaper colleges? Attending Yale means making some difficult choices about spending money when you don't have very much of it.

This is not to say that it's impossible to attend Yale if you weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Yale has a need-blind admissions policy, and awards aid on the basis of need, not of merit. Plenty of students at Yale receive financial aid (about 35 percent of the class of 2004, for example). Nevertheless, many of those students receiving aid still find it difficult to meet the cost of a Yale education. While some students receive generous grants from Yale, many others must worry about working 15 hours a week at a work-study or off-campus job and eventually paying back $20,000 in loans for each year of college in order to supplement a Yale scholarship.

Splitting the bill Yale costs $35,270. Here's a sample financial aid package. These statistics are based on a family with a combined income of $70,000 and net assets from savings and home equity of $110,000. The student has $1,000 in savings. —Yuka Igarashi Expected family contribution: $13,650 From parents: $11,500 From student assets: $350 From student: $1,800 Total self help: $3,520 Term-time job: $1,000 Federal Stafford Loan: $2,520 Federal Perkins Loan: $0 Total gift aid: $18,100 Outside scholarship: $2,500 Yale Grant: $15,600

For incoming freshmen who need to work part-time, often the biggest worry is figuring out how to maintain a normal life while juggling challenging classes and a job at the same time. Of course, Yale is very demanding academically, and my job does take up a lot of time, but it is important to participate in activities and to have a healthy social life as well. Personally, I have found that working does not mean giving up a well-balanced life. It does, however, mean learning to set priorities and to manage time effectively.

It's true that I don't have as much free time for extracurriculars as many students do, but it's not as if I don't have any time for them at all. I have still been able to experiment with lots of activities and to enjoy the things I love. I also find time to go out with my friends at night. And while it has sometimes been difficult to get all my homework done, I feel that this comes along with having a well-rounded schedule-plenty of my friends who don't have part-time jobs have trouble getting their work done, too.

Furthermore, the qualities exemplified by holding a part-time job in college-dedication, hard work and time-management skills, among others-are all qualities future employers will look for when they are hiring new employees. Working in college is good preparation for working in the real world.

I realize that I am running a risk by taking out the number of loans that I have, but it's a chance that I have to take. I need to make the most of the opportunities that I have, and I can't let my financial situation stop me from achieving everything I can in life and at Yale.

Graphic by Sarah England.

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