Students created an affordability guide: Seven years later, we’re still broke

Last spring break, my supervisor asked me why I was on campus when everyone else left for vacation. Our conversation led from one thing to another, and we landed on the topic of college affordability. She asked if the students in my year knew about a crowdsourcing guide, “ Being Not-Rich at UM ,” noting that it may not be as useful now, given how much has changed.

Created in 2018 by two University of Michigan students , Lauren Schandevel and Griffin St. Onge, the crowdsourced Google Doc made national headlines for offering unfiltered and practical student-to-student advice on how to find affordable food, access hidden financial aid resources and survive a campus that is increasingly expensive . This guide was born as a result of backlash from the Central Student Government’s versi