As midterms pass by in an unreasonable blur of stress, pain and self-hatred, one thought looms over our heads to unite us: Spring tuition is soon due and we, or our benefactors, must collect the adequate funds to secure our spots for the next semester. Oscar Wilde once said, “When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is.” The ramen noodle-eating, textbook torrenting, cheap-liquor pounding 20-year-old who rarely springs for laundry or splurges on silverware can understand this better than almost anybody else.
Following the success of our summer’s first annual “Love in the Sun” essay contest, based on the New York Times’ “Modern Love” college essay contest, we are once again opening our doors (and email accounts) to your thoughts. Whether or not you exemplify the cliched broke college student, we want to hear about your experiences with this “most important thing.” Share your stories — mourn exorbitant textbook prices, deplore the inherent difficulties of finding affordable housing, bemoan the innate complications of financial aid and speak to how these worries have shaped your experiences, your goals and yourself.
- Essays must be no more than 900 words.
- Pieces should be opinion-based and have an argument.
- Do not submit fiction or poetry.
- Attach your essay in a .doc file format and paste a copy in the body text of an email to [email protected]. Use the subject headline “Broke Berkeley Student” with your full name and age. Everyone in the Berkeley community is welcome to apply.
- Include links to sources that support any facts or data you might use.
- The deadline to submit an essay is Nov. 29 at 11:59 p.m.
The top three essays — the best of which will receive a prize — will be printed with illustrations in the Dec. 4 issue of the Daily Cal.
