Some college students in Central Texas that are graduating this weekend already have their first jobs lined up.
However, other college students don’t know what the future holds yet and some of them will be graduating with debt from financial aid they received to complete their education.
At Baylor University, 92 percent of the whole student population receives some type of financial aid. At Baylor, students pay $18,998 in college tuition per semester. More than 860 students will be graduating on Saturday morning.
Kasey Wickens, 21, who studied human resources and marketing, is one of the students finishing her college career this winter.
"It's just probably that surreal feeling of 'I did it' and I graduated college and I'm now a working part of society," Wickens said.
Wickens already has a job lined up as a manager for the Amazon fulfillment center.
"I know Amazon is the right fit for me. You get that same feeling when you choose a college. I got that same feeling when I chose Baylor like you belong here," Wickens said.
Her parents paid for most of her college education but Wickens will have pay a $18,000 loan after college. She has already come up with a payment plan to pay a portion of it every month with her new salary. However, she recognizes not everyone graduates from college with that opportunity.
"I feel very blessed. I know lots of people who are coming out of college without a job and they also have $100,000 to $200,000 to pay off. And if they don't find a good job, they'll have that hanging over their head.," Wickens said.
Texas A&M University students had their winter commencement ceremony on Friday afternoon with nearly 4,400 from College Station graduating. At that university, 72 percent of students receive some type of financial assistance to help pay more than $10,000 in tuition per year.
To learn more about Federal Student Aid, click here.
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