Last week, we spoke about the cost of college, and how it was causing students to miss meals.
It seems that food is not the only thing that students are struggling to pay for, according to a survey, a worrying 87% have feared having to drop out due to such costs.
Keeping up with the cost of college means that many students take on a job.
According to a survey from the Union of Students in Ireland, 75% of students said that they have worked more than 15 hours a week, while attending college.
The same percentage of students have said that they have worked leading up to, or during, exams.
While working is the only option for many students, the hours required for a college course, along with work outside of the lecture halls can be difficult to balance when students also have part time jobs.
In many cases the jobs are not flexible enough to fit around college hours, causing almost 2 in 3 students to miss lectures due to their commitment to work.
President of USI Kevin Donoghue said it these figures are extremely worrying.
“The cost of education is pushing students to breaking point. It’s unaffordable and the compromises so many students have to make to stay in college, such as working to the point of burnout, ironically restrict their academic success.”
Over 67% of people have said that working while they are in college has negatively affected their academic success.
USI have carried out several surveys, all of which seem to indicate that the cost of college is already difficult to keep up with, which is why there are fears that the proposed increase in student fees could deter some people from attending college.
