This past spring has been an unsettling experience for all of us! (I mean, come on, is it not summer yet?!) Many state and local authorities are becoming less restricting on social distancing, and many parts of the economy have opened up. As of now, UTA is planning to open its doors to students in August (with some safety restrictions of course) which means our students still have their future to look forward to. Whether you are taking a class this summer, working, holding an internship, or taking a well-deserved break, there are some ways you can financially prepare for the coming semester.
This month we have invited Tatiana Rivera, a current graduate student of Sociology at UTA, to talk about her personal experience with finances while receiving her B.A. in Political Science from UTA in 2018. As an alumnus and current student, Tatiana shares many of the concerns and fears we all experience as students:
“Every summer was a toss-up. For the first two, I spent them volunteering and doing what I could as my dad didn’t want me to work. But every May I painstakingly agonized over what loans to accept from those I had applied for. See, my family was not in the best economic state. My brother worked a full-time job, but my dad was jobless throughout most of my undergrad degree. When he did have a job, money was not being saved, but being used on all the late bills. We scraped by, and I decided that what was left of my loans and scholarships, I would give to him. So, every March I applied for scholarships through the UTA website. I would receive $1000 and $500 of those went to my dad. The other would go to a savings account in my name so that if we were in a terrible economic situation, I would be able to help again. I took trains and busses to get to school to save money. We were on food stamps for the first two years of my undergrad. I never directly applied for loans, but when I filled in my FAFSA either in December of the prior year or January of the next, I always clicked on the button that said I would like to receive them. I would get loans that were $15K and some that were just $2k. But I took them all to help my family.
I got a job when I turned 21 (I started my undergrad at 19). It didn’t pay much, but it was there to help with the daily needs, like food, gas, and my train pass. Though my dad didn’t want me to get a job, I felt the need to. We couldn’t live off my loans, my brother’s measly paycheck or, later on, my dad’s private insurance checks. Those were saved for the big expenses – our rented townhomes, car payments, water, electricity, the one Costco trip at the beginning of the month, and some sent back to family in Puerto Rico. We were getting by and that was the most I could hope for.
There was never a conversation of, “Should I apply for this scholarship or this loan?” with my dad. It was always known that I would apply/request them. I had a duty to help my family; the one that sacrificed everything to move us from Puerto Rico to give me a better education. After I got my job, I started saving by myself. I didn’t know how to budget, how much to take out my $100-$300 paychecks for savings, or how not to get excited at being able to buy fast food for the family.
If there is anything I would recommend to parents is to encourage your student to start saving and budgeting as soon as possible. What took me years to learn (as a current 25-year-old), I could’ve learned from the very beginning. UTA has an Office of Money Management, where they show students how to budget their loans, scholarships, and paychecks. I wish I would have reached out sooner. As a first-generation college student and 1.5 generation migrant, everything was new and confusing. These resources could have helped me make better decisions and ultimately teach my dad what he also didn’t know.
For students specifically, I would recommend to visit your professors often and establish a good rapport, because they are the ones who are going to write you the letters of recommendation for scholarships. They can also recommend scholarships to you. But also, pay attention to your department’s and college’s emails as they contain information about scholarships and funding for research you can apply for.
Don’t make the same mistakes I did and am now paying for. I am in so much debt, it’s not even funny. Pay off your loans little by little if you can. Save and budget to do so. Save and budget to buy yourself something you really need. For me, it was a car when I was 23, almost 24 years old.” – Tatiana Rivera June 2020
Thank you Tatiana for providing such an honest and personal experience!
Parents: if you’d like more resources and information on how to better manage school loans applying for scholarships, please check out these useful articles from our UTA Parent Portal!
- How to Avoid These Common Student Loan Mistakes
- Share with Your Student: Breaking Down The Student Loan Repayment Options.
- 5 Scholarship Application Tips for Your Student
College finances are not easy to address and there are many steps and options to take into account. The summer months are the best time to research and prepare for your future finances. If you feel confused as to how to move forward, UTA offers many resources through the Financial Aid Office. Please keep in mind that their phones may be very busy during this time, but if you email them, they are good about returning those emails promptly. UTA also has a Student Money Management Center that can help with budgeting, saving, credit awareness, and financial independence.
We hope you have a wonderful start to June, and as always, we are here for you if you have questions or concerns.
Your UTA Parent & Family Team
Note: If you’d like to be featured in our blog, please send an email to parents@uta.edu. We love to hear stories directly from our students, parents, and their families! (Topics may vary by month)