 "Photo: Photo Illustration by Emily Marcom")
With tuition costs on the rise, UT students resort to old and new methods of finding fast cash when money is tight.
Pawn for profit
One method for making extra money, used by journalism freshman Foram Meta, is selling items to pawn shops.
Mehta sold her family's campcorder over Thanksigiving break after the family decided to buy a new one. She pawned it to "get rid of something and get as much as we could out of it," Mehta said.
Though Mehta has money saved up from a former job to spend on luxury items and receives an allowance from her parents to spend on necessities like groceries, she said that she is likely to return to the pawn shop in the future if she is ever running low on cash.
Surveys and studies
Participating in surveys and studies for money is a technique popular among UT students and is one utilized by psychology sophomore Sara Nienkerk.
After Nienkerk saw flyers about paid surveys conducted by the psychology department, she signed up to take electronic tests for about $8 an hour.
Nienkerk participated in the studies during her first semester of her freshman year when her fiancé, Chris, was in basic training for the Army and was only allowed to communicate through mail.
"At the time, stamps were 39 cents, and I would use about $8 worth of stamps each week, so I used the survey money to buy stamps," Nienkerk said.
Donating plasma
Four weeks ago, business freshman Gabby Barrera began making trips to the BCI Biological Center to receive money for donating plasma.
Barrera became interested in donating blood plasma in an unlikely way. In her hometown of El Paso, her boyfriend's brother had sickle cell anemia and was in the hospital frequently receiving blood transfusions.
"He happened to be O-negative, like me," Barrera said. "O-negative is a universal donor, but they can only receive O-negative. When I'm back home, I donate specifically to him."
Barrera learned about the opportunity to be paid for plasma donation in Austin through a text messaging service that notifies UT students of deals around campus.
"[Plasma donation] is an easy way to make cash, and I'm helping people in the process," Barrera said.
On average, donors receive about $45 per session, which typically lasts between 45 and 90 minutes.
Other specimens
Engineering freshman Drew Munson turned to sperm donation in his quest for extra money.
"I was determined to make some extra money because I knew that it would be pretty easy," Munson said.
In the end, what Munson thought would be "easy" proved to be more difficult than expected.
After going to www.123donate.com and filling out a lengthy questionnaire, he was sent a rejection notice. In the email, he was told that there were too many people like him trying to donate at the same time.
Though Munson "felt dejected," donation denial is typical. U.S. sperm banks reject more than 90 percent of sperm donor applicants, according to the findings of sociologist Rene Almeling.
Metals and mouths
Since childhood, Freshman Jonathan Hill, along with his dad and brother, would collect aluminum cans to be recycled and turned in for cash. The cans would be measured in weight and the three would split the $20 to $30 they received.
Hill has yet to turn in cans while in college. However, he plans to follow in his brother's footsteps for money.
Hill's older brother had his wisdom teeth removed in a science experiment. In the experiment, subjects are paid to have their teeth removed, but they are not guaranteed to receive pain medicine.
Though Hill does have some qualms about receiving a sugar pill, he is attracted to the idea because "it's the fastest way to make $400."
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