Is it worth working full-time in college if it means I can go for free?

[umidk505]

I’m currently a senior in high school who’s making their plans for college and I recently found out that if I work at least 3 12-hour shifts at the university I hope to attend, I can have my education payed off in full. I intend on working as a CMA in order to get clinical hours on top of that. Is it worth working that much though? I’m aware that there’s a lot of other things I should try to do as a pre-med and I’m concerned that I won’t have enough time to pursue them.

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[TragicalDrFaust]

Soft no. Your academics need to come first and then add on work/EC's as you can manage them.

I got a "full ride" for tuition but still had to work to pay for living expenses. Ended up working about 15-25 hours a week plus full time Biochem major. My grades were ok but not as high as I could have been. I had no social life. I was food insecure. And this was all while I was living with my mother so not paying rent. Full time entry level work likely won't cover living expenses. You will have to keep your belt very tight.

I'm a DO student now and very proud of myself for putting myself through school and graduating debt-free. But feel I would have had a shot at MD school if I'd taken out loans and focused more on school. My grades would have been better. I would have had more time to study for the MCAT. And I'm sure I would have had more time to spend with friends. Plus there is a value to not agonizing over every single purchase and thinking about how to make everything as cost effective as possible. Living like that put some years on me.

The value of maximizing grades, MCAT and mental health > graduating without undergrad debt, in many cases.

It also takes on a monetary value if your grades/MCAT are such that you have to go to DO school instead of MD. MD school is probably $100k cheaper in most cases. Assuming you get into med school (which we shouldn't, but will) the money you lose in undergrad could be "earned" back by going to a cheaper MD school.

The advantage to the work study is if you're not accepted to med school then at least you have no debt. But I think you're decreasing your chances of being accepted if you do accept the work study.

Hope this helps.

I think the best option for someone who is worried about money is starting at community college then transferring to state uni. That's what I did. My job at Starbucks had a tuition reimbursement program that paid for my community college. Then my grades were good at CC so state school gave me a full ride.

 

[cj_cregg]

I don't think there's one right answer to this. I'd say start college, do your CNA training, take a semester or two to see how much you need to study for classes, maybe find an extracurricular or two that you're really passionate about, see how much time you need to decompress and do things you enjoy and spend time with your loved ones. If you're handling everything okay and keeping your grades up and your mental health in good shape, then maybe think about adding in another job.

 

[LizzyM]

If your goal is medical school, your first concern should be earning strong grades. You can expect a slight decline in sophomore year so start strong and end with a Nike swoop if that very likely sophomore slump occurs.

You can make up for deficits in volunteerism, clinical experience and the like over the summers and even after graduation but bad grades will follow you around like dog sh1t on your shoe.

Consider that many faculty will expect you to put in 2-3 hours of homework for every hour of classroom time. Typical college load for a pre-med is 17 hours of classroom per week (with some of that being labs which are often 1 credit but 2-3 hours). So figure 20 hours engaged in class/lab and another 40-60 hours of prep, reading, writing, studying. In light of that time commitment, how much working can you afford to do in your 168 hours per week? (Keep in mind that you need to sleep, bathe, eat, maybe exercise, too and take care of your mental and spiritual health).

tl;dr: Don't over commit and tank your GPA. You can save money but pay more in the end for GPA repair.

 

[Moko]

I’m currently a senior in high school who’s making their plans for college and I recently found out that if I work at least 3 12-hour shifts at the university I hope to attend, I can have my education payed off in full. I intend on working as a CMA in order to get clinical hours on top of that. Is it worth working that much though? I’m aware that there’s a lot of other things I should try to do as a pre-med and I’m concerned that I won’t have enough time to pursue them.

Don't overload your schedule, otherwise you may end up in a 'penny wise, pound foolish' situation in which your debt is minimized at the expense of your med school aspirations (due to poor grades). The opportunity cost of needing even one year of grade enhancement via a post bac is far greater than any money you might be saving. Just my thoughts.

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

As a former "professional" tutor, the number of students who can work full time and still get high grades is very small. Hell, even part time for a pre-med is a lot. The trend has been shifting towards gap year(s) for a while.

There's no point in racing through only to fail out and then add even more time and likely debt to your plate. Take the damn student loans if you want to be a doctor, or go to a cheaper school. You sure as heck aren't going to be able to work through medical school.

Do you care more about debt or more about being a physician? If you are unsure, then I suggest taking part-time classes.

 

[NITRAS]

So, a “full load” of 16 credit hours takes 48 hours a week if you take to the requisite 2 hours of work for every hour of class. The truth is the majority of first year classes are ridiculously easy. 48 hours of class plus 36 hours of work is 84 hours. Now if you get a job for the university where you can study most of it (my wife got one such job) the math gets a lot easier as you really only need like fifty something hours a week.

Fifty hours a week is really doable with a day and a half off a week, and you will have time to do your shadowing.

Honestly, this should be doable the first year and probably the second year and take it as it goes. If your gpa suffer, it isn’t because there is enough hours to get the work done.

And this silly notion that debt doesn’t matter if you go to medical school is just stupid.
EDIT; maybe not true. If the test was pretty close I’d just chalk it up to it being test variability. If the dimer came back really high, then I’d probably put in a MIDAS.

 

[IlDestriero]

Working essentially full time while trying to be a full time student is a recipe for disaster. High grades are your 1st, 2nd and 3rd priority if you hope to go to medical school. If you can attend without working, you should definitely plan to start that way and maybe add shifts later.

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

I generally have to spend 4 hours per credit hour outside of class to get an A in all of my classes. People who are getting by with 2 my hats off to you. (Granted, some classes took 5 or 6 others took 1 or 2)