Re-evaluation and relationship management may become most important when dealing with family.

If your family understands and supports your studies then this may not be an issue. However, if they do not you may want to have a conversation with them about it. This may help to inform them of what you are doing and why you are doing it. Sometimes certain family situations are unavoidable, such as the need to get a part-time job to help the family out with household bills, the need to commute to and from school to help family, etc.

Unfortunately, these obligations may detract from time spent on your studies. This just means that you have to work that much harder and be that much more deliberate in your efforts to gain entry to graduate school.

You may also need a part-time job to pay for your own expenses because family is unable to help. However, before getting a job you should exhaust all other options. Hopefully, the scholarships and other funding opportunities that you applied for during your freshman year bore fruit. If not, or the award amounts were insufficient, try to find alternative funding sources that you may qualify for at your school. Your advisor, financial aid personnel, deans, department chairs and professors should be able to help you. Also, make use of any administrative contacts you made during freshman year to find out about any funds that may be offered to students in financial need and good academic standing. You should also pursue funding sources outside of the university. Again, contact your financial aid office and the other administrators listed above. You should also do your own searching via the internet. This site provides many useful links for scholarship opportunities.

If all else fails and you must get a job, visit your student employment office to find a job on campus. Jobs on campus are preferable to jobs off camps because: (1) they often accommodate a student’s class schedule, (2) they often allow you to learn valuable skills while earning money and (3) they allow you to interact with various faculty and administration who you may be able to build personal and professional relationships with. Campus employers recognize that your primary obligation is to your coursework and may be able to find an opportunity that fits your particular needs.