I’m so tired of the lie “you can work your way through college”.

I’m currently a high school senior and will begin college in the fall. My parents did not save a single penny for my college. Thankfully I got a very good scholarship. It’s a full tuition scholarship at a public university that also covers a lot of my fees. But I still need to pay for room, board, and miscellaneous expenses like text books (I have a 0.25 Fafsa EFC btw since my parents make good money and refuse to help me out at all). <br><br>I’m going to have a rough semester. I need to work so I can pay for my dorm, food, books, etc. so I have a part time job and I also have a second job as a tutor. My scholarship requires a 3.5 GPA so that’s another thing I need to worry about. I have to literally work my butt off just to survive and make sure I have a roof over my head and food to eat. I’m honestly anxious about this and I’m not looking forward to all the stress I’m going to deal with. Last semester of high school I was already working 25 hours a week so I could accumulate some money to afford my dorm deposit, my car, and other necessities. <br><br>Most people can’t work their way through college anymore. It’s just not possible. It takes a lot of time and effort, and I know I’m going to miss out on a lot of the college experience. I won’t be able to join clubs or hang out with friends a lot. I just can’t believe anyone would think it’s possible for students to work their way through college when the cost of living is so damn high. It seems like nobody truly cares that the cost of college is skyrocketing and students are having to take out massive amounts of loans in order to attend college. I wish the US would step up its game and make college more affordable.