Solar shares his experience with Lunar, speaking of financial struggles, that is one of common problems faced by students, highly concerned by educators.
Solar: Speaking of financial struggles, we couldn't understand why do students have financial struggles, until we could understand how much does a student spend on his tuition, rent and daily costs for each academic year?
The fir sways his branches slightly, as if he said he couldn't understand either.
Lunar does what the fir did, showing a sign that she couldn't understand either.
Lunar: How weird as it is that we have to understand the specific number of expenses, before we could understand why do students have financial struggles. It's like we have to understand the worth of a house, before we could understand how beautiful it is. Well. How much does a student spend for each academic year?
Solar: It's really expensive.
Lunar: How expensive is really expensive?
Solar: Wow, 30,000 dollars per academic year.
Lunar: 30,000 dollars per academic year?
Solar: Tuition averages 11,370 dollars, room rent averages 15,250 dollars, books and supplies average 1,100 dollars, personal and miscellaneous costs average 2,200 dollars, and transportation averages 1,050 dollars. 11,370 and 15,250 make 26,620. 26,620 and 1,100 make 27,720. 27,720 and 2,200 make 29,920. 29,920 and 1,050 make 30,970. The total expenses average 30,970 dollars per academic year.
Lunar: 30,970 dollars per academic year? It's not just a specific number, but it's also a heavy financial pressure pressing down on each student's family. If a student received little financial support from his family, he would receive greater financial struggles.
Solar: Why do students have financial struggles? After knowing the average expense of 30,970 dollars per year, we could understand the reasons more.
Lunar: Please tell me the reasons.
Solar: The reasons to cause financial struggles are the high cost of education itself, the high cost of living, limited income potential, financial literacy gaps, unexpected emergencies and family situations.
Lunar: The high cost of education itself is non-negotiable, and the high cost of living is understimated. Both average around 30,000 dollars per year, which students couldn't afford on their own without family's financial support. How could they possibly reduce the high cost of living to reduce their family's burden?
Solar: To reduce the high cost of living is required to reduce the expenses on housing, food, transportation, entertainment and buying used.
Lunar: How do they reduce the expense on housing?
Solar: The ways to reduce the expense on housing are living with multiple roommates at an apartment to split costs or living with parents at home to save the rent.
Lunar: How do they reduce the expense on food?
Solar: The ways to reduce the expense on food are cooking at apartment or at home, using food banks on campus canteen, and avoiding restaurants.
Lunar: How do they reduce the expense on transportation?
Solar: The ways to reduce the expense on transportation are walking, biking, or using the public transportation instead of owning a car.
Lunar: How do they reduce the expense on entertainment?
Solar: The ways to reduce the expense on entertainment are taking advantage of free campus events and student discounts.
Lunar: How do they reduce the expense on buying used?
Solar: The ways to reduce the expense on buying used are buying second-hand cloths, textbooks, and equipments from older students or second-hand market.
Lunar: What did you ask them of the question about financial struggles?
Solar: When I stood in front of them at teaching platform, through the windows of eyes, I looked upon them, some on government aid, some on little family's financial support, some on heavy tuition load, and some on their own with multiple part-time jobs, asking of how many of you have ever felt the financial weight pressing down on you?
Lunar: How many of them have ever felt the financial weight pressing down on them?
Solar: Wow, all of them.
Lunar: What kind of essay was assigned to them?
Solar: It's an essay about how did you survive financial struggles. Ask yourself what did you learn under financial pressure? What did you struggle for the high cost of tuition and living? How did you survive financial struggles?
Lunar: May you please tell me some of your students' works?
Solar: Financial pressure is a good teacher that has taught me how to cut expenses on the high cost of living. I cut housing expense by living with multiple roommates at an apartment to split costs instead of living alone to afford the rent on my own. I cut food expense by using food banks on campus canteen instead of going to restaurants. I cut transportation expense by biking instead of owning a car. I cut entertainment expense by taking advantage of student discounts instead of taking original price. I cut buying used expense by buying second-hand textbooks from older students instead of buying new textbooks from school. My survival financial struggles strategy is cutting expenses. I've cut 10,000 dollars out of 30,000 dollars per year. Miss Misfortune.
Lunar: Miss Misfortune?
Solar: Miss Misfortune is good at cutting expenses. Her survival financial struggles strategy is cutting expenses. It saves 10,000 dollars out of 30,000 dollars per year.
Lunar: The next essay, please.
Solar: Financial pressure is a burden, my road is before me, my longing for a fortune is a guide that has guided me through financial struggles. Under financial pressure I was not just stretching a dollar, but I was aslo stretching myself. I was a full-time student at school, but I was also a part-time deliveryman, a poet, a novelist, a short play writer and a short play producer. Doing six jobs in a day was my circumstance, when some jobs couldn't get paid, and some paying jobs were unstable. My survival financial struggles strategy was stretching myself on multiple jobs. It gives me 20,000 dollars to cover all expenses required for each academic year. Mr Pleasure.
Lunar: Mr Pleasure is too stressful about doing six jobs in a day, isn't he?
Solar: Yes. Even though two jobs were done under AI's support.
Lunar: What kind of jobs were done under AI's support?
Solar: China has the greatest novel platform and short play platform in the world. With AI's support, he could be able to write Chinese novel and produce AI manga short play.