Nick Hughes
Opinion Editor

The part time student is one that goes to school, as the name suggests, part time. Students like these are usually part time due to a couple factors. 

One of those factors could be cost. College is expensive and sometimes a student can only afford a couple classes a semester. At Millersville’s current tuition rates, attending a semester at Millersville costs approximately $12,000. This is with a 12-credit schedule as well as being a Pennsylvania resident. Financial aid is also an issue that part time students must face. When going part time, a student receives less financial aid. That might be a burden to a part time student. Paying out of pocket for college can be expensive at times. 

Another one could be commitment to a job. This could be full-time or part time jobs. Part time students might have an easier time if they only go half time instead of full time. It is hard to balance work and school and going full-time while having a full-time or part-time job could be difficult for the student.  Going full-time and having a full time job would run most people ragged. 

There may be other issues that a part time student might face that limits the amount of time they can be on campus. They could be a parent going back to school to get a better education to supply for their families. They may be a non-traditional student or be an older student. 

Juggling around school, home life, and work could be stressful to those who do it. The option to go part time is a good one for them. School is a huge investment for people and to be able to commit to it is admirable. A student could have ten or more issues they have to deal with and having to go to school on top of that states that their character is one of resilience. 

Consider that most part time students might also be commuters. There is the stress of getting to school and finding a parking spot. There are a couple that are lucky and live close enough to walk, but that is not always the case

Colleges seem to have parking issues in general and Millersville is no exception to that standard. It is hard to imagine having to tell a professor you could not come to class because of a lack of parking. This might be a thing that part time students have to deal with if they are commuters.  

It is needless to say that part time students may have a rougher time than full-time students that are only in school and nothing else. Everything that a part time student might be dealing with could be overwhelming at times. Part time students are a part of the University just like full-time students and there are a lot of things that Millersville students can learn from each other.