For years, television shows, movies, and even commercials have helped create the illusion that every high school graduate has a “college fund” neatly tucked away. However, with more and more students working to help pay for college, the truth is often far from that fantasy.

A new report found that the number of incoming freshmen nationwide who expected to owe at least $3,000 by the end of their first year of school grew from 24 to 30 percent. The report, from the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, also found that almost half of incoming freshmen believed there was “a very good chance” that they would have to work during the academic year.

“Times are changing and people are struggling,” said SF State liberal arts major Robert Jackson.

The 25-year-old senior is no stranger to working and going to school. A year ago, he had two jobs while attending school. Now he works at Trader Joe’s in Alameda 45 hours a week, while going to school roughly 16 hours a week. He said having to work had caused him to take longer to finish his education.

The same UCLA study showed that students who work more than 20 hours a week are more likely to drop out of college.

Jackson’s parents paid for his first year of college while he lived in the dorms. A year later, he moved back in with his parents and began using financial aid.

He admits that the price of tuition weighed heavily on his choice of college. Although Jackson had the grades and SAT scores to attend UC Berkley, he could not afford it, he said.

While he’s grateful for the financial aid he receives, he added that he believes that some of the requirements are unfair and hard to maintain. Students who do not meet minimum requirements are given “deficiencies” on their financial aid record, which influence the amount of aid given.

Currently, Jackson has 10 deficiencies because he was not able to attend school full-time during some semesters due to his work schedule and travel for personal reasons.

Although Jackson expects to have borrowed $30,000 by the time he graduates, he is not worried about paying back his loans. With the subsidized loan he has, he doesn’t have to pay back any money until he leaves school. Students continuously enrolled at the half-time level do not need to make payments until they graduate or leave school for at least six months.

“You can cheat in a way,” said Jackson.

Ricardo Jay Dabatos, a history major, said he believes that more students are working to pay for college because the economy is changing.

The 23-year-old senior lived with his parents during his first year at SF State. Currently, he stays with roommates and pays for all of his expenses himself with the help of grants and loans. So far, he estimates that he has borrowed about $8,000.

This semester he works at a Starbucks 25-30 hours a week and goes to school roughly 20 hours a week.

Financial aid has allowed him to live a convenient life, he said. He’s able to work enough hours to make enough money to pay for his living expenses without affecting his school schedule.

“I’m glad they don’t give me too much money (through student loans), otherwise I’d be spending it on frivolous things,” said Dabatos.

Like Jackson, he is not worried about paying off his loans because he plans to transfer to the Starbucks corporate offices upon graduation.

Dabatos said he is surprised that the government can provide that much money for students. Many of his friends didn’t go to college because they couldn’t afford it and were unaware of programs like financial aid.

Dabatos suggested that students on financial aid, instead of just financial aid counselors, should visit high schools to inform them about the payment options they have.

Unfortunately Pablo Cusi Jr., a 24-year-old civil engineering major, didn’t have as good of an experience with financial aid as Dabatos did.

Cusi was unable to provide 2004 tax records to the financial aid department, so he did not receive aid for the spring semester. Having just moved out from his parent’s house, he knew that he would not be able to afford both rent and school especially with the rising cost of tuition.

“Sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth it,” said Cusi. “Isn’t tuition supposed to go down if they’re cutting classes?”

Although he is still enrolled at SF State, Cusi currently attends City College of San Francisco part-time while working full-time at Cycle Gear.

For more information about financial aid, students can visit the financial aid office, located on the first floor of the Student Services building, or visit their website at www.sfsu.edu/`finaid/.