how many years would it take for a minimum wage worker to afford college?(at 7.50 dollars an hour 30 hours a week)?

a) Math is useful after all b) this is what student loans are for and c) it's OK to borrow to invest in a more secure future. People don't save up 100% of a home purchase, either. It's better to get $60K of student loans if it means you'll later make $60K a year vs. less than $15k.

Well, the worker could get almost half that amount as a Pell grant, which wouldn't have to be paid back at all.

And student loans don't have to be paid back until after graduation, and which point the student hopefully would no longer be working for minimum wage.

Personally, I got a scholarship and participated in a work-study program.

That person would make $11,700.00 a year so it would take around 15 months.

get a scholarship. it will make everything better, trust me.

With all the grants available for low income why wait?

you've left out living expenses, books, and various incidentals.

30 hour weeks is 1500 hours a year or gross income of 11250 per year before taxes. if someone managed to save 25% of that per year, they'd probably be doing one H of a job of saving. that's 2800 a year. so, in round numbers, it would take the person five years to save one year's tuition -- excluding that the tuition would be higher than the current figure by then and probably by at least another year's saving [if not more -- tuition is going up FASTER than inflation or wages].

we have, of course, assumed that they never get a better job during the entire period, as well as that other life events never intrude. This is exactly why Sarah Palin required six years to graduate college -- which the leftist media then made fun of her for doing. [idiots in the MSM showed their real understanding of real people, didn't they?]

They don't just throw out scholarships can I get z better answer?

never

At $7.50 / hour, you would take home pre-tax earnings of $11,700. You likely wouldn't pay a federal income tax on that (though you may state and local income tax). So we'll just call it the $11,700.

Assuming you have NO living expenses (lol). It would take ($14,000 * 4) / $11,700 = 4.8 years to save it up. That's if you bank every single penny you make. That is a ridiculous assumption, and realistically you'd probably spend most of that meager wage just surviving.

I would add that you would be eligible for a federal pell grant to help cover the cost. That would offset perhaps $6,000 / year.

Let's make further assumptions, let's say you get the pell grant at $6,000 per year and you bank 25% of your income. The pell grant lowers the cost to $8000 / year ($32,000 for 4 years). Saving 1/4 of your income amounts to $2,925 / year. Let's say you invest that into a bank account that returns 1% / year compounded daily.

Using the financial calculator here
http://www.financeformulas.net/Number-of-Periods-of-Annuity-from-Future-Value.html

It would take you roughly 10 years to save up the money, assuming no tuition increase.

Realistically, at that hourly rate, you'll have to bury yourself in debt to go to school.