Making Yale summers workable

Middle Class Rage
    By Monica Lesmerises

Working for your education is a good thing. I am a big believer in the work ethic, because somewhere along the way my parents convinced me that work builds character; whether by selling my junk at garage sales to buy a metronome for piano practice, or by taking down orders for french fries while dressed as a warped version of a Swiss yodeler to help save for a computer. Part of the realization that hard work held importance involved actually reaping what I had sown. But a more important discovery I gained once I neared college-age was that work was more than just a means to a paycheck--it was about substance.

Unfortunately, upon arriving at Yale I realized that this "advanced" work ethic didn't mean jack. In fact, I discovered that financial aid policies actively discourage hard and rewarding work during the summer.

Let's follow a financial aid student's summer job search. First, he or she might go to Career Services. Flipping through the big red binders doesn't take long when the first criteria is money. Even internships that offer a "living stipend" can be ignored. This is because financial aid students don't just need to financially subsist during summers, we need to make an overwhelming amount for Yale. The amount of pure profit financial aid students need to make in order to meet the summer work contribution is $2,130 for the summers preceding the junior and senior years, and slightly less in the summers preceding the freshman and sophomore years. Not to mention that students must meet self-help amounts for the academic year, totalling $7,700 each academic year for upperclassmen and $5,650 each year for freshmen and sophomores.

So, even a Yalie who has a lucrative summer will end up just above ground zero. Hard work has probably barely covered the $2,130 summer requirement--so much for getting ahead on the next year's personal loans.

You can forget making a difference, or learning new things during the summer. Interested in banking or consulting? Great, because that's the only summer internship you can have. Interested in advertising or publishing? Forget it. Temping and waiting tabl es are undoubtedly the most lucrative summer jobs, and popular ones for students who need to make money. However, it is unacceptable for Yale to expect its financial aid students to spend their summers this way. A policy that forces Yalies to take jobs ba sed solely on money instead of experience is incredibly detrimental. Maybe prospective employers will admire that these students have worked their way through school. But employers will no doubt still prefer a student who spent a summer working within the ir profession.

So what can Yale do? I believe that there is a feasible and simple solution.

Every year, countless alumni donate money to Yale earmarked for financial aid. And every year, no matter if $200,000 or $900,000 is contributed, the same financial aid formulas are used, and the exact same packages are given. Financial aid is unique in this situation. The amount given by alumni for renovations is directly linked to how much renovation will happen, but the amount given toward financial aid means absolutely nothing. The money an alumnus gives is a break to Yale, not a boost to a student.

Alumni who give money towards financial aid are fooled into thinking their donation is making a difference. Their money goes to "Yale financial aid"; Yale then gets to spend less on the already-budgeted financial aid, and more on everything else. This switcheroo of funds is a hoax on the alumni who are kind enough to give to those students who need assistance.

Granted, Yale in some ways must "fix" the level of financial aid, because we adhere to mutually agreed-upon formulas that are standard across many schools. But this is no reason to swallow up contributions into the abyss.

Yale should set up a fund for financial aid students who wish to gain waivers for the summer work requirement. Yes, we can already apply for Mellon Fund money. But if I want to work at Morrow instead of doing senior essay research in Italy, it is curre ntly close to impossible. Additionally, the living stipends offered by Mellon funds and the like are not nearly enough for financial aid students who are expected each summer to generate money for tuition, room and board.

It's about time Yale started rewarding those who want to work hard during the summers, and for something better than a temp agency. College summers are invaluable, and as long as the summer work requirement is hanging over every financial aid student's head, Yale's encouragement of creative summer opportunities remains a farce. Summer opportunities should not be limited only to those who have wealthy backgrounds.

And alumni who want to help Yalies on financial aid directly should have the means to do so, with the expectation that their generosity will make a real difference.

Students who enter Yale with a good work ethic should not leave with a sullied one. For now, Yale has taught me that money is the most important factor when making a job decision, and also that saving money is a hopeless endeavor. Need a down payment for your first apartment? Yale's taken all your summer money, so look forward to asking your employer for an advance (assuming you've successfully convinced some company that doing construction for three summers in college doesn't mean you won't be a fine systems analyst and they should still hire you). Acquire multiple credit cards if you ever expect to have anything (like money for med school application fees or plane tickets to job interviews), and after college, again pick your job based on money if you want to pay off your immense debt--a debt above and beyond the loans in your aid package. In the end, Yale has one of two choices: let generous alumni truly contribute to financial aid students' education by setting up a summer work requirement waiver fund, thus making a small step toward rewarding Yale students with a good work ethic. Or write an apology letter to my parents for corrupting their daughter's values.

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