Australian Uni denounces students financial difficulties

I am a uni student working three six-hour shifts just to stay afloat. I have to miss classes because of my roster and I am stressed about money all the time. I'M sorry to hear about your situation and about the stress you are experiencing in relation to money. This is the last thing you need on top of the demands of your classes, study and assignments, as well as managing life as a young adult. Unfortunately, your situation is common. My colleagues and I from the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne recently completed a national survey that asked almost 19,000 university students about their finances. We found that more than 70 per cent of full-time undergraduates worked during semester and that the average number of hours worked by full-time uni students is just under 15 a week - with one in six full-time students working more than 20 hours a week. That's the equivalent of working between two and three days a week, on top of study commitments. Contrary to popular myths that suggest uni students work to fund lifestyles that include MP3 players, mobile phones and designer clothes, many students we surveyed indicated they undertook substantial hours of work simply to afford basic necessities such as transport, textbooks and study materials. One in eight students surveyed reported that they regularly went without food and other necessities because they could not afford them. I imagine that you are stressed because you are struggling to meet your basic needs, rather than funding a glamorous lifestyle. A large proportion of the students we surveyed also reported that their paid work had a significant and detrimental effect on their studies. Nearly a quarter of full-time students who responded to the survey regularly missed classes to work, just as you have described. It's difficult to give you specific advice without detailed knowledge of your circumstances. However, it is worth exploring all the options for income support available to you. My colleagues and I concluded from our study that it is time for Australia to consider income support for university students, particularly since the costs of uni education have increasingly shifted to students during the past few years. Your local Centrelink office can advise on the possibilities as they depend on your individual circumstances. Your university is also likely to have free financial advice for students and may also be able to help financially - ask at student services or the student union.