Confessions: “How I Paid for College”

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Do you give a damn about the future of this country?

The guardrails protecting democracy may have buckled, but they are not broken. Autocratic forces are ascendant in America—yes, it can happen here, and did—but the story isn’t fully written. Truth-telling independent media is one remaining bulwark against Trump’s unrestrained exercise of power. He rails against the press as the “enemy of the people,” because like all liars and extremists, he hates the scrutiny that comes from fearless investigative reporting. Our nonprofit newsroom is built for the chaos and uncertainty ahead. Depend on it, and please stand with us.

The guardrails protecting democracy may have buckled, but they are not broken. Autocratic forces are ascendant in America, but the story isn’t fully written. Truth-telling independent media is one remaining bulwark against Trump’s unrestrained exercise of power. He rails against the press as the “enemy of the people,” because he hates the scrutiny that comes from fearless investigative reporting. Our nonprofit newsroom is built for the chaos ahead. Please stand with us.

Our readers share some of the offbeat ways they made ends meet as students. How did you pay the bills in college? Leave your story in the comments section. Also see our list of nine cool yet practical degree programs, charts of the sad stats on college costs, and a roundup of the gutsiest campus newspapers of 2011.

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