When you visit the website for BlueStone Lofts, details of impressive amenities abound (“HUGE ceilings! FREE internet!”), and the building’s sustainability (“Energy Star Rated appliances”) is heavily emphasized. And, like myself, you may notice that one piece of information is missing: how much does all of this cost? In order to find out, you have to contact Bluestone. I did this over the summer while planning my move from Moorhead to Duluth, knowing that an apartment without rent listed is significantly out of my budget. But being a bit of a masochist-slash-hopeless optimist, I took the risk and sent an email. The response was friendly and detailed, focusing on all of the unbridled joy (a cyber café, yoga studio, AND music room?!) Bluestone has to offer. Hidden within this email was the insignificant note that a two-bedroom unit will cost $1,490.
Now, being financially frugal students, we all know the real value of a dollar. But I am going to play a game where I pretend I am able to afford BlueStone, using the amount I currently earn per hour. Minimum wage in Minnesota is $7.25, which is what my on-campus job pays. My retail job pays $9.00, so I will use a rounded average of $8.00 an hour. For a two-bedroom unit, I will need to pay $745 for rent (assuming I have a new roommate—my boyfriend refuses to play this game because it gives him hives), about $30 for my Comfort System bill, and $18 for above ground parking (underground parking is $95, and I can’t stretch my imagination THAT far). I also have to pay for my own car insurance, which is about $70 a month; groceries average about $150 a month; and I will split $200 between spending money and savings (less than I save now). The grand total comes to a measly $1,213.
However, this is being relatively generous. I did not account for taxes taken out of my paychecks, and there are many jobs that pay significantly less than this. For example, I served full-time with AmeriCorps for the past two years while doing 15 credits of online classes each semester. I averaged about 55 hours a week and received a living stipend of $800 a month.
In fact, working over 35 hours a week is not particularly uncommon for undergraduates. According to U.S. Census data, 71 percent of undergraduates worked in 2011. Out of those, 20 percent worked at least 35 hours a week. That means one out of every five students in your classroom has to work at least five hours everyday. And considering the fact that nearly 33 percent of incoming freshmen are first-generation college students, it would not be a far cry to assume many of them belong in the 20 percent—I certainly do. Because of this hectic schedule (not to mention the pressure of being the first in the family to go to college), more than 25 percent of low-income first-generation students leave after the first year. 89 percent fail to graduate within six years.
So while some people may say, “You get what you want to pay for,” many of us face a starkly different reality. For first-generation college students without moneybags—I mean parents—having to work full-time to pay for everything leaves little time for studying. This nearly impossible work/school balance is what causes many low-income students to drop out of college; being able to afford food and a place to live are more important that getting an A is psych. And the debt accrued from even a year in college can be insurmountable for someone who continues to work the retail job that caused them to “fail” school, because without a degree, it is the only job they’re qualified for. There is no longer the promise of a better future, and no way to save money to send their children to college. Hence the term poverty cycle.
So, are walk-in closets, contemporary cabinets, and granite countertops worth all that? For me, the answer is no.
BY APRILL EMIG emigx005@d.umn.edu
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE FRASER.