Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Alicia James tries to study in the midst of the activity in her Northview Heights apartment. Daughter Devin, 2, runs a toy up her mother's back while Baden, 4, watches television. James is a single mother to three young girls and a student at Carlow College. Click photo for larger image. More pictures Share the expereince of being a full-time single mother while going to college in the gallery Student Mom More stories This story is from a higher education planning guide available today in print editions of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Other topics, available only in print, include: Maintain a healthy relationship with your college student Second thoughts about college are okay Navigating financial aid A parent's right to know

Some days, Alicia James' military training is the only thing holding her family, her work schedule and her college education together.

By 7:15 a.m., the single mother has squeezed toothpaste onto the toothbrushes of her three daughters, ages 2, 4 and 8.

By 9:30 a.m. on a typical Thursday, she has dropped them at school and at day care, gobbled a bagel with cream cheese and butter in the car and arrived for her criminology class at Carlow University.

And by 11 a.m., she's at work at the university's student yearbook, where she usually puts in about 30 hours a week to earn money for groceries and the subsidized rent on her family's apartment in a North Side public housing project.

At first, however, James' juggling act was nearly overwhelming.

"It's almost like second nature because I've been doing this for two years, but it was hard at first," said James, a 29-year-old graduate of Perry Traditional Academy who married in 1997 and then served two years in the U.S. Army.

James left the Army as a private first class and has been separated from her husband since 2002.

"After being married for so many years, I had never taken on the single parent role where there's no relief in sight."

James might have more responsibilities than the average student, but with the ever-increasing cost of a college education, her need to work is not unusual. At Carlow, for example, about half of all students hold jobs on or off campus.

	Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Alicia James listens to adjunct faculty member Barry McCrary during a criminology class at Carlow University. She plans to enter Carlow's master of science program in professional counseling. Click photo for larger image.

With the cost of undergraduate tuition now more than $10,000 a year for in-state students at the University of Pittsburgh and more than $30,000 a year at some private colleges such as Carnegie Mellon University -- not including $5,000 or more a year in room and board -- many university officials agree that the time has ended when full-time students could pay the entire cost of college by working one or more jobs.

While many students have part-time jobs, many still rely on their parents or go into debt to pay the much of their school expenses.

Nancy Cernic, 20, a Pitt junior who works about 12 hours a week entering data and filing papers in the dean's office of the College of Arts and Sciences, said she uses most of her paychecks for food and spending money. The rest is covered by loans.

In determining who qualifies for work-study jobs, financial aid officers look at the available resources of the student and his or her parents, as well as the cost of attending their institution.

	Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Alicia James clowns with yearbook adviser Lisa Bastidas in the publication's office at Carlow University, where she works about 30 hours a week to earn money for groceries and rent. Click photo for larger image.

Work-study is awarded at each school's discretion from the school's allotment from the federal government. Students cannot earn more in one school year than their award amount allows.

The national average for work-study awards is about $1,400 a year for undergraduates, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

At some schools, a separate state work-study program funded by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency also pays students up to $3,600 a school year and $3,600 a summer to work in high-technology and community-service jobs. And students can receive both state and federal work-study awards.

The state program is a draw for many off-campus employers, who receive reimbursement from the state of 40 percent of the wages they pay student workers, according to Laura Moad, assistant director of human resources at Point Park University.

For students, work-study jobs are among the most flexible, allowing students to schedule work in small blocks of time. In some cases, students can even do homework on the job -- with their boss's blessing.

	Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Alicia James hugs daughter Baden, 4, at daycare on Penn Avenue, Downtown. Click photo for larger image.

Students who receive a work-study award as part of their financial aid package can search a list of available jobs through their school's work-study office. And for students who don't qualify for work-study, many schools provide employment through their individual departments.

Some of the hottest jobs at Pitt are those at the Petersen Events Center and Pitt Program Council, where students help organize special events such as concerts, guest speakers, forums and field trips. And jobs such as answering phones or checking IDs in which students can chip away at their homework are also popular.

But even if students are able to get class work done on company time -- well, university time -- many university officials recommend against students working more than 20 hours a week.

"They need, outside the classroom, to commit to academic studies," said Lisa Barnett, assistant director of career services at Chatham College. "We want that to be the focus."

Students who receive work-study also must ration their hours, as Alicia James found out recently. When she arrived at work one Thursday last month, she discovered that her long hours at the yearbook office had depleted her entire work-study award, which was meant to last an entire school year, in one semester.

	Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Alicia James files bills and receipts that she keeps in a hall closet in her apartment at Northview Heights. Click photo for larger image.

Now, James is hoping to land a job working weekends with disabled patients of Pittsburgh Mercy Health System and plans to enter Carlow's master of science program in professional counseling this fall. Classes meet in the evening, potentially making James' juggling act slightly less stressful, but also cutting into the time with her daughters that James is already sacrificing.

But the master's degree, now within reach, seems too valuable to let slip away, she said.

"My kids are still small and my goal is to get this over and done with so we can get to good times, hopefully sooner rather than later," James said.