As summer arrives, bringing sunny days, warm nights, and a marked lack of schoolwork, many graduating high school seniors are already looking toward the start of their college career. For most, it is a time of excitement, but their feelings are often hampered by the realization that they must find a way to pay for their education. The prospect of borrowing $25,000 a year for at least 4 years is rather daunting, considering the fact that if the student has a job at all, he or she is probably making close to minimum wage. In reality, for many college graduates, student loans are the thing that most hampers them from having early success in their chosen profession. To cut down on the costs, students have several avenues from which to obtain money. The first and most obvious one is financial aid. 　

　　 The best kind of financial aid available from the government is in the form of grants, which do not need to be repaid. This is typically offered to those students who are largely unable to finance their college education. More common is the student loan, which is tailored to the needs of the student. The student loan, like any other loan, must be paid back with interest sometime in the future. 　

　　 The third financial aid option, and the one that provides the least amount of money, is the work-study program. The Federal government established the work-study program to allow students to feel a part of paying their way through college. At many schools, students obtain campus jobs, and the income they make from those jobs is channeled directly toward their college costs. Campus jobs pay fairly well, because the campus minimum wage is several dollars per hour above the state minimum wage. 　

　　 Around most college campuses, there is also a large variety of businesses that look to hire college students. This is logical, as the businesses often locate near the available workers. A recent study indicates that eight out of ten students work while pursuing an undergraduate degree in college, and students are more likely to use funds earned during the academic year to finance their education than they are any other sources, like financial aid or parental support, although the others may be higher in dollar amount. Students who hold jobs while attending school on average work about 25 hours per week, which is quite a long time when classes and extracurricular activities are considered. 　

　　 While academic, athletic, and other scholarships are perhaps the most satisfying ways of financing a college education, the reality is that most students must look to other sources of revenue. Grants, loans, and even work-study are usually reserved for those who most desperately need them, so for many students whose parents' income is too high to qualify for aid based on need, but too low to pay for all of the students' costs, employment is the best choice. Certainly, if financial aid is available to you, and you feel it's in your best interest to accept it, do so, but if for some reason the financial aid you receive is not sufficient to pay the tuition bill, remember that you won't be alone if you get a job. 　

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