I honestly don’t know how my friends (and by similarity most of the rest of students in todays universities) went into college with the mindset of getting EVERYTHING in loans. I have two friends that have well over $35,000 now owed in loans. That just seems so INSANE to me. To know that once you graduate you have $35,000 plus interest waiting to be paid off, along with all the other costs such as a new home, new car, living expenses, etc. I worked during my college years until my recent graduation, and at most applied for $4,000 in loans while I paid the rest through my earnings (no grants or scholarships for me) and I got by fine. Hope this helps.

Are there any internships that you can get involved in? Look in your biology department and see what is offered as for as internships, student jobs, or anything that can benefit your degree and allows you to also make money.

workonly 10-15 hours per week in the schoolyear and fulltime only in the summer. Internships are the best because they are flexible with your schedule and allow you to study when work is slow. Just do some research. You will find things if you look hard. And I forgot to mention look for all the scholarships you can! That really helps.

Definitely cut out your work time and take a loan. it will hit you with interest rates later but it will help increse your chances of success.