Even 25 years ago, most of the women in my chapter worked. My tuition was fully covered by my scholarship. While in the dorms, my parents paid my room & board and when I moved into an apartment, my rent. My mom would take me to Sam's club once a semester to stock up on some staples for food when I was in the apartment. I did work though, to pay for my books, sorority dues, phone bill (and other utilities when in the apartment) and the rest of my food for the apartment. I also paid my car insurance and paid for gas.
Freshman year: Used money from graduation and my high school job.
Summer: Worked at the dry cleaner's where I had worked all through high school
Sophomore year: Started out at the Dining Commons where I worked with a bunch of Lambda Chis (including my first husband). We had great fun there. Then my Sister-Mom got me a job as a campus operator. I worked Sat and Sun from 8 am-4 pm which sounds awful, but it was great. I was the only one on during that shift both days. Nobody would call the campus operator until around 11 am so I could kind of rest my head on the desk and doze. I did homework while waiting for the phone to ring the rest of the day. Not many called on weekends.
Summer: I worked at a cafeteria for GM cuz my dad knew the executive chef.
Junior year: Continued as a campus operator but also got a job as a Rehab Aide in a group home for patients with closed head injuries. Great job to go along with being in the Occupational Therapy program. After a semester of working both, I quit the campus operator job. I stayed in my apartment all summer and worked as the Rehab Aide that year and into my senior.
At the beginning of the last semester of my senior year, my dad said "You have worked very hard to keep your scholarship and pay for all of your extras, here's some money, quit your job and enjoy your last semester"
Great graduation present, really!