Wake up. Go to class. Then go to work. After work, go back for another class. Then go home and study. Go to sleep, only to wake up and do it all over again.

Shaquita Booker’s everyday routine sounds all too familiar for many working students at NIU.

Booker, 19, works on campus while attending school full-time.

She is a financial aid recipient, but the assistance is not enough to fully fund college expenses.

With the recent changes to financial aid distribution, Booker said a cut to her financial aid “would be a strain on my family and I’d have to work another job.”

Last month, the Bush administration announced a law that will update the tax tables used to determine eligibility and the amount of Pell grants.

Although the new system can increase the amount of money for those who apply for the maximum amount of aid, 89,000 students who already receive the minimum amount of aid will lose their eligibility.

A Northern Star poll showed a split of students who work and those who do not.

Among those who do not work, many said they have to take out student loans to pay for school, and with the help of some financial aid and parent contribution, they are able to get by.

But for those who balance school and a job, most working between 15 and 20 hours a week, more than half admit that without the extra income working brings, they would not be able to afford college, according to the poll.

This is the case with Shenita Lytes, a student-at-large. She goes to school full-time, while working two jobs on campus and one off.

Lytes has to work in order to pay for college expenses. She does not receive financial aid, so she is on her own.

“I am just working to pay the bills,” Lytes said, “to pay for food, rent and gas.”

She has been through many different living situations trying to find one that is financially feasible. She is living with a roommate to try and ease the cost of rent, she said.

The difficulty in trying to deal with financial stress can be overwhelming. Last semester, Lytes said, her grades dropped, and she was placed on academic probation. As a result, she was required to lower the number of hours she worked on campus, which only caused further problems.

“I don’t make enough to pay for school and bills, and I think NIU should not limit the amount of hours worked by students on academic probation,” Lytes said.

For many students, it is just a matter of making ends meet. Of the students who work, 92 percent agreed what they get paid in wages is not enough to cover the expenses of college.

One student, who wished to remain anonymous, works 30 to 35 hours a week and said if he lost his financial aid, he might have to drop out of school.

“If I didn’t get that little bit of help from financial aid, I would just have to work another job.” As he yawned, he added, “And I’m tired.”