When the pandemic shook the country last year, college students everywhere were effected. Campuses shut down, forced people to move home and switched to all online learning.
My lease was about to be up, I lost my jobs and I panicked, eventually looking into unemployment. Being a full-time student meant I didn’t have a ton of options.
On paper, I’m technically a dependent, since I am still on my parents’ insurance. In my day to day life, I don’t consider myself one.
I work three jobs to make ends meet, on top of being a full time senior. But over the summer, I wasn’t taking classes and I wasn’t working. The job I had lined up fell through because of the program going virtual. For a few weeks, I job hunted.
It was the first time I’d been without a job since I was 15. Much like other people, I had to resort to whatever I could get my hands on, which ended up being a serving job.
While I realize that worrying about money is something a lot of people have been dealing with this past year, being in college has made it a lot more stressful for me. The stimulus check would have helped me with a lot of things, and there were a lot of times that I felt hopeless without it.
When talk of stimulus checks was brought up, I was extremely bitter. Honestly, I still am.
I saw all my graduated friends get the money and use it for a multitude of things and a huge part of me was jealous. They were buying cool things while I was working a ton and trying not to panic about my looming loans.
My dad and I did as much research as we could, trying to find out why I couldn’t get the financial help and why my parents couldn’t get more than the $1200. Even though I was listed as a dependent, it didn’t count for more aid for them.
Other than the explanation of extra money only being available for those with dependents under 18, the answer is still a bit unclear. This time around, the stimulus checks are no different.
The only saving grace through the panic of not receiving government help was the CARES money that UW allotted to the students. For me, that money mostly went into my savings.
In four months, it will go towards my loan repayments after I graduate.
This semester, students will not be receiving anymore CARES money through UW.
