USCA students work more than they study

USCA students work more than they study, but worry more about grades than money, according to a survey of students from all areas of campus.

The survey, conducted by a class communications students last fall, showed that students at USCA averaged taking about 13 credit hours in the fall semester.

They spent, on average, about 11 hours a week studying.

More than half of the students surveyed worked an average of 22 hours per week, or twice the average of study time.

Yet when asked which worried them most, 57 percent were more worried about grades than money. Six percent worried about them both equally, and 34 percent were more worried about money.

Manuel Millare, a senior communications major, works three jobs to pay living expenses, yet he worries the most about his grades.

“It would be nice if there was more time to work with the deadlines teachers gave us,” Millare said. “Then I wouldn’t worry so much about making ends meet.”

Tony Williams, senior communications major, said he believes he would make better grades if he did not have to work.

“It’s hard to spend a lot of time on school when you have to be at work,” Williams said.

Volunteer work can also interfere with studies, said Neil Bridgers, a graduating senior.

“Sitting on two boards of directors and balancing schoolwork gets difficult,” Bridgers said. “But it’s important to make an impact in the community.”

Brittany Paletar, a junior soccer player, believes that the demands of intercollegiate sports can also interfere with study time.

“We find time on the bus for study hall. It keeps us up with our studies even though we’re traveling all the time and missing classes,” she said.

Stephanie Williams works more than she studies, but is more concerned about money because she doesn’t have to devote as much time to studying.

However, “I will quit my job for nursing,” she said, because she has been accepted into the rigorous demands of that major and plans to study more hours.