On my way into the office this morning I was flipping through the stations on my dial and happened into an interview already in progress. As best I could tell, the person being interviewed represented a book, and/or website, known as The Cheapskate Next Door.
The interviewer’s next question was simply, “where else do you see people saving money right now?” His answer: college.
He went on to say that many students, in an attempt to save money, are trending towards:
- starting their college degree at a community college,
- living at home for some, or all, of their college career,
- buying used books, instead of new, etc.
His reasoning made good sense,
“Students are taking out lots and lots of money to go live somewhere else during their college years, only to return home after they graduate, because they are too poor (and in debt) to live on their own.”
He may very well have mentioned more ways for students (and parents) to save during the college years, but his remarks about money and housing already had my mind in two different places:
- I was thinking about an article I read a couple of days ago entitled, College Students Hide Hunger, Homelessness — which I posted some initial thoughts on here back on Wednesday.
- What are the implications for our ministry with these students?
Undoubtedly, if we have an increasing number of commuter students, students transferring in to our schools sometime during their sophomore, junior or even senior year, and/or more and more students needing to get jobs in order to afford their education… our ministry and ministry efforts will have to change in order to accommodate such shifts.
The rough economy is impacting our campuses and students in ways we can see… and others we cannot.
LORD, give us eyes to see what you see!
What do you think?
- How are you seeing the downward economy impacting your students, campus culture and ministry?
- While some of the aforementioned trends might have positive financial implications for students, is there a downside? especially to living at home instead of on campus?
- What advice would you give a student who came to you who was struggling to make ends meet, but who was also feeling spiritually and socially disconnected?
Thanks for sharing your wisdom, insights and experiences!
3 thoughts on “Just Stay Home [?]”
I am definitely seeing this trend. I minister @ American University a private school in Washington, DC where the cost of tuition, books, and living on campus is near $50,000 per year. That's out of reach for most people. I have to believe the move toward community college or even online education will only increase.
Hi Mike! I'm curious to hear more… and I'm sure some of this will depend on how long you've been at A.U.
How are your ministry efforts changing? shifting? Is enrollment down there? Are the number of open beds on campus growing? Have you started any “new” ministries for these growing “less traditional” populations?
Thanks for sharing!
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