Financial aid should reflect reality

There’s always a catch, isn’t there? The prospect of college for me, and for so many young adults upon the conclusion of their high school days, signified a golden opportunity for independence.

But as I quickly learned, independence ““ after factoring in textbooks, system-wide UC tuition increases, and rising living costs on the Hill ““ is not cheap.

And finding a positive source of supplemental income, while managing the burdens of studying and attending classes, does not come easy when financial aid packages prove limited.

There needs to be an adequate financial solution that can bring about a sense of stability for self-supporting UCLA students.

Currently, students are offered two options to earn an independent income: finding an on-campus job, which can be facilitated through the work-study program under the financial aid office, or getting a job off-campus.

Both choices, however, have severe setbacks that force students to either compromise earning a sufficient income or sacrificing precious time that should be spent studying or attending classes.

Although it provides jobs that are conveniently located on campus, the work-study program limits a student to working 20 hours a week while classes are in session.

While this rule was originally designed to prevent students from cutting into time spent on academics, the constraints of on-campus wages and the work-hour limits do not provide students with sufficient earnings.

And the alternative, finding a job off-campus, also has its downfalls.

Los Angeles’ lack of a sound public transportation system can leave very few viable job opportunities outside Westwood. Even if a student is fortunate enough to own a car, there is no preventing the wrath of L.A. rush hour traffic or the monetary strains of rising gas prices.

Outside jobs also do not consider work-hour limits, which can lead many students to over-exert themselves while school is in session.

Unfortunately for these hardworking Bruins, the benefits of earning higher wages at a job outside of UCLA can have adverse effects on a student’s financial aid package.

The UCLA financial aid office computes a student’s rewarded financial assistance on a number of factors, including the student’s income.

Thus, if a student obtains more revenue from an off-campus source, his or her resulting financial aid offer could be decreased.

This element of the financial aid calculation could deter many students from seeking off-campus job opportunities, although they deem the additional income as necessary due to increased tuition costs.

Although financial aid packages try to take outside expenses into consideration, it is extremely strenuous for a self-supporting student to manage day-to-day costs when a huge chunk of their earnings are set aside for tuition.

UC students are continually feeling the fiscal weight of higher education and no longer reaping the benefits of attending a public state university.

It is not enough for a UCLA student to scrape together meager wages at a work-study job, especially when hours are limited.

It is also unfair for a student to have to forgo his or her essential responsibilities as a student in order to maintain a higher income, while simultaneously jeopardizing a given financial aid award.

However, there are plenty of outside options for Bruins to gain fiscal support to help alleviate the weight of college costs.

Applying for merit-based scholarships and grants can add additional assistance that can be set aside for textbooks and educational fees, so outside income can be used for other essentials such as groceries and gas.

Or perhaps the problem can be lessened if students are aware of other job options out there, which Bruins can research at the UCLA Career Center through career fairs or workshops.

But even with these student-based alternatives, it’s now more important than ever that financial aid consider a student’s job circumstances ““ on- and off-campus ““ when determining the final reward package to offset recent increases in tuition fees and housing costs.

E-mail Chung at lchung@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.

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