The State of Higher Education in Montana

As the economy continues to dip, more people of all ages
are making the decision to invest in higher education.

When Kendra Cousineau, nineteen, entered her first semester of the prejournalism
program at the University of Montana http://www.umt.edu/future.aspx last fall, the U.S. economy was headed for its
most dramatic downturn since the Great Depression.
As the economy continues to dip, more people of all ages
are making the decision to invest in higher education.

To cover the costs of life and a college education, Cousineau works two jobs at seven dollars an hour—she’s now looking for
a third—and lives between Florence and Lolo where rents are
cheaper. The half-hour commute to campus in Missoula isn’t as bad
now that the price of gas is down. On a good day, ten
dollars will get her half a tank.

Until classes began in August, Cousineau was
debating if it was a smart time to leave the work force as
a waitress and become a student. In the end, the choice
to go to college won out.

“I was worried about how I was going to pay rent,”
she says. “But I knew if I didn’t go now I probably never
would have.”

It hasn’t been easy. Cousineau works thirty-five hours
a week while holding down a twelve-credit course load.
Spring semester she’ll have sixteen credits.
“I’ve pretty much become an insomniac,” she says.
“I think that there should be other means out there
for me to pay for school, but since there isn’t, I guess
I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.”

For now, that means juggling jobs, lectures, and
studies. It also will mean graduating with at least
$14,000 in loans. “It’s definitely scary,” she says.
“But in the long run, I think it’s worth it. You just
hope you get a good job.”

By Jacob Baynham

Full Story: http://www.matr.net/files/HigherEdfinal.pdf