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As the fall semester hits the calendar, the next freshman crop is feeling the financial strain of living in one of the country’s most expensive cities. For many, juggling course loads, GPAs, internships and alcohol-related college pursuits means that paying jobs from employers looking for any kind of commitment are mostly out of the question.
“Even when I’m making money steadily, I always seem to be running out of money,” says Matt McDonough, a senior at Fordham University. He doesn’t qualify for financial aid, couldn’t get a work-study job and, like many other college kids, has vast expenses that his parents can’t necessarily help him out with. “It’s expensive for any college student, but we’re in New York City so it’s much more expensive. Even with school stuff; I still spend about $500 on books every semester.”
Broke and without any job prospects early in his college career, McDonough decided to sell some belongings. “I didn’t really collect coins, but a friend of my grandmother’s decided that I liked coins when I was nine. I tried selling those and made about $50 off of one, but that was about the most I could take it to.”
Though it didn’t exactly work the way McDonough had hoped, the time-honored tradition of selling worldly possessions is always an option for students. For New York college kids, who might be more sensitive to the ebb and flow of trends than elsewhere in the country, the closet can begin to look like a bankroll.
