College Survivor Tips

How to Survive in College: We Have no Money but I Graduated

Recently, I’ve been hearing a lot about families struggling to support their children studying overseas, mostly due to the drop of Ringgit Malaysia. I heard it on the radio, I heard it from the aunties and uncles in a coffee shop and I even read it in the newspaper. Somehow, this situation reminds me of the days when I was struggling to survive in school, back in 2002.

The poor economy in Malaysia has its advantages to me now, but I cannot help but sympathises with parents stressing out to keep their kids overseas because it reminds me of my parents struggling; being rejected over and over again when they wanted to borrow money, having no or little food to eat and trying to save and scrap every cents so that I can be comfortable and focus on my education which is oh so important. And because I’ve seen this first hand from my parents, I would like to share with you, my fellow juniors; my experience and tips, hopefully, you will take charge of your own life, be motivated, make your parents proud and GRADUATE.

Before I start, I’d like to give you a little bit of my background. My dad, like any other dads in the world, wants the best for me; he is determined to send me to an overseas university even if it’s going to cost him a bomb. It’s a great and loving gesture, but the problem is that he’s broke.

He spent most of his earnings on my 3 other half brothers all from the same university and I, being the youngest, there isn’t much left for me when it’s my time. On top of that, his business wasn’t doing well, thus, he closed it down and declared bankrupt. Yet, he is determined for me to get my overseas degree.

My mom had some savings, but it was not enough for me to graduate, but eventually we managed to borrow money from my cousin, my aunt and uncle. They were willing to loan us the money with the agreement of payment as soon as my dad gets his EPF money. So with bare minimal funds, I’m off to the States!

Accommodation

I’ve never been to the States before so I don’t know what to expect, but most of my advisors told me that the easiest option was to get a room on-campus, but I don’t want the easy option, I want the cheapest option so I did some research, spoke to a few seniors who are already there and I’ve decided to live off-campus. I was lucky to have my seniors helped me to find a place near campus and helped me settle down. So boys and girls, keep your seniors close to you, they will be your family when you’re there. Even if you’re introvert, this is the time you need to learn how to socialize. If your seniors aren’t as helpful as mine, then get on the Internet, it’ 2015, you can get ANY information online. If you’re still unsure about living off-campus, then commit to a semester on-campus so you’ll get yourself familiarize with the place and then look for something elsewhere. I would’ve paid 500-600USD a month if I were to live on campus, but I ended up paying 350-375USD a month + utility bills etc, which is not a lot.

Books

Unless you’re wealthy and you have a lot of money to spend, don’t buy a brand new book, buy a 2nd hand! Get to know your campus as soon as you get there and find out where everyone else is buying his or her books. Chances are, they are getting 2nd hand books as well. As for me, I was told to go to a bookstore near campus, they sell 2nd hand books and the price range varies depending on the condition of the books, as long as no page is missing and the book is readable, get the cheapest you can find.

Another tip: get to know your course mates, make some new friends and find out what their courses are so that you can exchange your books. Sometimes, if you’re really good to your friends, they will just give you their books for free!

If you need to get some sort of tools for your classes like TI-84, you can easily buy them off eBay or amazon or better, check your campus notice board, there will be students who can't wait to get rid of theirs and maybe they can help you with your coursework too!

Work and Food

Again, this will work for you if you expand your network. You’ll know who’s hiring on campus and off-campus (that’s illegal, I know). If you don’t have a wide network, then again… check the notice board, the school’s intranet, walk in or just keep your ears open. You have to take the initiative and do this on your own, the beauty of this is that you get to be independent and you learnt what’s like not to be spoon-fed like you were in Malaysia.

You can work in many areas around campus- IT, policing, the cafeteria, the library, teacher’s assistant… to name a few. I, personally, chose to work in cafeteria because you get free food! So my breakfast, lunch and dinner are pretty much covered! Well, you’re only supposed to eat before or after your shift, but I get to pop in whenever I want because….Yes… I’ve made friends with everyone in the cafeteria, including my manager. So again, network, network, network.

When working on campus, I was making about USD7per hour after tax. The maximum hour I can legally work without getting my F1 visa revoked is 14 hours a week. So that’s USD392 a month, enough to cover my rent and electricity bill. Not to mention, your meals are also covered for the whole semester!

You can also work full time in the summer where you don’t have to take classes, if I’m not mistaken. Anyway, summer is always good to work because a lot of people tend to take time off.

Anyway, USD392 is still not enough for me to survive so I took a 2nd job. I don’t actually recommend this, but this depends on your personality and your ‘street-smart’. I worked in a Chinese restaurant next to the campus, I realized that the majority of the people working in there is illegal but as long as you don’t draw attention to yourself, you’re fine. If you’re planning to work illegally, make sure you speak to people who are doing the same and get some sort of idea of whom you’re working for and if can you trust them.You don’t want to end up getting deported because they refused to pay you your salary and report you to immigration. The person I was working for is a very trustable person; we all have built a very close rapport, almost like a family. Oh, and I get to eat there for free when I'm working and staff discount when I'm not. So by the end of 2^nd semester, I ended up working a total of more than 48 hours on campus and 2 other Chinese restaurant- that’s more than a full time job! Well, it paid off I suppose, I was earning USD900 a month net and at that time, it’s quite a lot… gas prices were USD1.94 per gallon. Anyway, that’s enough for me to pay for my living expenses and save.

Note: if you’re really smart, you can also tutor for money or find ways to earn money online. J

Tuition fees

This is where you can save the most. Try to do as many credits as you can in a semester because you know that your fees go up every year! Also, find out a community college nearby where your credits are transferable to your Uni. Believe me, community colleges are way much cheaper. I remember paying USD100-150 per credit hour in Kalamazoo Valley Community College than I would be paying USD475 per credit hour in Western Michigan University. See the difference? Just make sure that your credit is transferable, if not, you’ll be wasting your time and money by retaking it again.

I’m not sure if the immigration law is still the same, butduring my time, you’d need to take a minimum of 12 credit hours a semester (Spring and Fall only... you’re not obligated to take up any courses in the Summer) in order for you to be eligible for your F1 visa (student visa). So, what you can do is take 1 or 2 easy classes like P.E, acting/ musical, your pre-requisites in the community college and then your major in your university.

I’ve taken 18 credits in a semester, yes, it sounded a lot but it’s not. If I remember correctly, I took a Health and Wellness class, Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, Interpersonal Communication II, German 101, and Multinational Management in a semester. Health and Wellness is very easy, even your 5-year-old cousin can score with flying colors, but I needed it to satisfy a requirement.

Remember, some requirements only need 3 credit hours and you have a few classes to choose from so be wise about it. Take the minimum, the easiest and is available in the community college so you can take it together with your Uni courses.

Remember, if you’re as busy as I’m, you NEED your friends, your lecturers, your work buddies and your hard work in order for you to get through it. I got my lecturers to give me extra credit assignments, my friends/ seniors to tutor me if I needed it, my work buddies to help me with my work while I complete my assignments ;) and the extra hours you have to put into studying if the restaurant or the cafeteria gets really busy! Oh yes, my GPA for that semester is 3.75… and no, I still find the opportunity to go out and hang out with friends. J

Couponing

Clipping coupons isn’t only for housewives; it’s for college kids too! If you’re a smoker and can't quit, then use coupons to buy you those cigarettes (please just quit… it’s not cool!) You can also find coupons to buy your food, toiletries, make up, clothes… etc… got my drift yet? I remember buying lots of SPAM during my days, just in case I was hungry and can't get to free food fast enough!

Tax Return

Ah… I love tax return… that’s the beauty of working on-campus; you get to do your tax return… you’ll get some money back, sometimes even more than you’ve put in. Just be sure to do it even April using a reputable website like TurboTax.

Savings

Tax return brings me to SAVINGS. Use your money wisely, it may feel like you won a lottery or you’re getting a bonus, but in the end of the day, that’s your hard earn money and you still need to graduate.

Don’t worry about the latest gadget or bags because no one cares! At the end of the day, if you are judged by the material things that you have, then they are not your friends/ girlfriend/ boyfriend. Be honest with yourself and people will respect you for it. There’s nothing wrong when you say that you’re broke. Heck, it’s one of the common phrases for college kids! So if you want to fit in, use this phrase! If you have the extra money, put it in Fixed Deposit in your US bank, generate some interest.

So in conclusion, if you really want it, you WILL find a way to get it. Yes, the economy is bad in Malaysia and your circumstances have changed, but instead of feeling like a victim, takes this opportunity to learn how to survive on your own and make USD instead of Ringgit Malaysia. You live by your means, so if you’re earning USD500 per month, you can still survive and save, it’s no different than if you’re earning USD5000 a month. Trust me on this; I actually saved more money when I was earning RM2000 a month than I did when I was earning RM25000 a month. That’s because your lifestyle changes according to your income and your environment. So take it from me, live within your means and find ways to survive on your own or with the help of your network over there.

You will get through this eventually and when you do, you will feel proud of yourself, a sense of accomplishment, an appreciation of hard work and responsibilities and unforgettable experience which you’ll share with your juniors one day. 

Best of luck and if you have any questions for me, hit me up and I’ll be happy to share more.