Employment Status

It is quite common today to see young students working while attending college, even if they are receiving financial assistance. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about half of full-time and 85 percent of part-time colleges students ages 16-24 were employed in 2005.* Falling within this norm, 65 percent of Rising Star students (full-time and part-time) work while going to school.

There are many reasons that college students work other than finding the means to pay for their education. Recognizing the complexities of today’s working college student, the American Council on Education Center for Policy Analysis states: “It is difficult to understand the role that work may play in helping dependent students pay for college because income and educational expenses do not appear to significantly influence the likelihood that students will work, the amount they work, or the amount that they earn.”**

*Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics. The Condition of Education 2007 (NCES 2007-064). Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office, 2007. Indicator 45. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2007/pdf/45_2007.pdf

** King, Jacqueline E. “Working their Way Through College: Student Employment and Its Impact on the College Experience.” ACE Issue Brief. American Council on Education, Center for Policy Analysis. May 2006. Pg. 1. http://www.acenet.edu

***The full-time and part-time cohorts include students attending both two- and four-year institutions. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics. The Condition of Education 2007 (NCES 2007-064). Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office, 2007. Indicator 45.
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2007/pdf/45_2007.pdf