As we come to campus this fall — some of us for the first time, some of us for the last time, and a variety of in-betweens — we should appreciate how lucky we are to be here. From an economic standpoint, college is a huge burden, and keeping up with the rising costs of housing, classes and tuition can be likened to balancing on a tight-rope over broken glass. One step away from financial stability and your rock-solid foundation reveals itself to be a precarious, and often painful, grasp at survival.

Those of you who think perhaps that analogy is too harsh haven’t yet experienced the shock of unemployment. Admittedly, most of us had a solid financial plan on the way to college. I can secure this amount of federal aid, or this number of scholarships. I can keep my grades up. This job works around my classes, etc. If you’re lucky, your parents are your fallback — many of us are jealous of you. If you’re not so fortunate, you pray this delicate plan you’ve worked out won’t be dashed by forces beyond your control.

Being fired or let go from a job can be the turning point in your college experience. If you don’t have a backup plan, you could be in for months of agonizing wait and worry. In fact, Economic Policy Institute records show that the number of unemployed workers with a college degree has actually surpassed that of high-school dropouts.

The story may change depending on your situation. Maybe you have two or three jobs, maybe you don’t work and you rely on loans, or maybe your parents can foot the bill. Either way, when the end result comes — when life starts happening — the conclusion is the same. Your employer can’t give you enough hours anymore. Your department is being cut back. You don’t qualify for loans this year due to money you made last year. Your scholarship lasts only until you hit Junior status. Or, heaven forbid, one or both of your parents get laid off.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with saying, “This is an unfortunate situation, I’ll have to stop worrying about school for a while and get my life back on track.” But sadly, statistics show that once you leave college you’re likely not going to come back. Truthfully, you don’t want to leave, as you think about two wasted years and all that tuition.

So, you search for a new job. After a few weeks of filling out applications and sending resumes, you’re no better off now than when you started. Curious, eh? Not really. If you’ve been inundated with news like the typical American, then you know that people all over have been losing jobs for a while. In fact, even natural disasters are lowering your chance at getting a new job in the Midwest.

Soon, bills are due. The only logical thing to do at this point, while classes are still in session and you don’t want to screw up your finals, is to file for unemployment. On its own, it is an incredibly easy thing to do. File a claim online every weekend and keep those resumes flying out of your in-box. It doesn’t pay as much as your old job, but it’ll do for now, until you figure things out.

The problem with unemployment is that it runs out. One of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced was finding a job to coincide with my college schedule. You need a certain number of hours, at certain times, and they have to pay at a certain rate to keep up with your expenses. You might find a job that fits your schedule but doesn’t pay enough, or vice versa.

You’ve shopped around, you’ve responded to the lowest offers, and still you come back with nothing. Time flies by, and after a few months of waiting for the phone to ring, your unemployment runs out. You can’t apply for another year. You’ve gone to interviews, you’ve made an effort, so where is the profit? Is the only answer dropping out of school to find more opportunities in the full-time sector?

When considering these situations, it’s not surprising that the size of the labor force is shrinking. People have just given up finding jobs, choosing instead to retire or do whatever people do when they can’t support themselves. This is not reflected in our unemployment rates, mind you. A very sizable chunk of the population is just too discouraged to keep going, to keep filing, to keep trying.

But life demands that you keep it up. So you do what you have to. What, in fact, is the answer to this conundrum? That’s a very good question. Please fill out all the required forms and we’ll get back to you.

— Luci Van Scoy is a junior in anthropology from Newton.