Student life is often remembered as a thrifty phase synonymous with Kraft dinner meals, basement suites and “Craigslisting” all belongings.

Most students rely on part-time jobs to cover their frugal expenses but for those enrolled in intensive study programs, where part-time work is discouraged, financing an education can be increasingly difficult.

At BCIT’s Broadcast Journalism program, students spend the first year taking nine classes, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. followed by four or five hours of homework.

“Working part-time on top of that would have been insane,” said Valerie Malla, 34, a second-year broadcast student.

She relied on BCIT bursaries and said most students take out student loans, save money in advance or rely on their parents to cover expenses.

But Valerie could barely eat with her tight budget, cooking the same type of cheap food everyday. She stopped going out to social activities with friends. With the pressure of school and the financial burden, she had to give up every other aspect of her life.

Simon Fraser University student, Miranda Williams, 27, is in her last year of the teacher’s education intensive program. She looks back at the last year as challenging but rewarding.

Working as a server part-time for the first half of the program, Miranda had to leave her job because of the immense workload.

“It’s like a full-time job and then some because you take work home. To work on top of that is ridiculous.”

Miranda relies on student loans and bursaries to finance her education. “I’m doing something that I love and so take it very seriously.”

Don't be greedy, share this article:

Man appears in court on two Ontario killings

BELLEVILLE, Ont. - An 18-year-old suspect is due to appear in an eastern Ontario court today in connection with the slayings of a mother and her daughter.

Police confirm two dead, one injured in Edmonton car dealership shooting

EDMONTON - Employees and customers of an Edmonton car dealership were struggling to deal with a Friday morning shooting in which two men were killed and a third man was sent to hospital.

Massive display of support at OPP funeral contrasted with officer's quiet life

WINGHAM, Ont. - Thousands of police officers filled a hockey arena and marched in unison down this small community's main street Friday in a massive tribute to a slain officer, remembered as a dedicated father and a "modern-day hero."

N.L. premier calls offshore chopper crash sad day in province's history

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Premier Danny Williams said Friday was a sad day in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador as people mark the first anniversary of a fatal helicopter crash.

No sympathy for Guergis 'hissy fits': Tory matriarch Deborah Grey

OTTAWA - If beleaguered Conservative minister Helena Guergis was hoping for sympathy from her political sisters, former party matriarch Deborah Grey was fresh out.

Mississippi school sued after it calls off senior prom rather than let lesbian couple attend

JACKSON, Miss. - An 18-year-old lesbian student who wanted to take her girlfriend to her senior prom is asking a federal judge to force her Mississippi school district reinstate the dance it cancelled rather than let the couple attend.

11 rare Siberian tigers die at cash-strapped Chinese zoo, raising questions of overbreeding

BEIJING - Eleven rare Siberian tigers have died at a wildlife park in a startling case that activists say hints at unsavoury practices among some zoos and animal farms in China: They are overbreeding endangered animals in the hopes of making illicit profit on their carcasses.