Age: 18 School: Year One medicine student at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Young Post: Being a full-time student can be expensive. How do you manage? Un: Luckily, I got 10 As in the HKCEE last year. My alma mater, La Salle College, awarded me HK$3,000 and I got HK$8,000 from Charles Frankland Moore Award. Besides, I was exempted from paying tuition fees for my Form Six studies by the government, helping me to save more than HK$1,000 per month. HKU also gave me a scholarship to cover the first year's tuition fee [HK$42,100]. These have greatly reduced my financial burden. HKU will assess my performance every year to decide whether I will continue to get an exemption of the annual tuition fee. YP: How did you spend the money you obtained from scholarships? U: I saved all the money for my university studies. YP: Why didn't you think about investing them? U: I knew nothing about the stock market, so I didn't want to take a risk. YP: Do you get pocket money? U: I have been tutoring a Primary Six student since last year. I am paid HK$90 per hour. I give two 90-minute tutorials, earning HK$270 every week. But this is not enough to cover the costs. For example, I spend a lot on transport. I live in Wong Tai Sin and the university is in Pokfulam. It costs about HK$20 for a single trip. I didn't apply for a dormitory because I want to concentrate on my studies to make sure that I win a scholarship to cover my tuition fees in the future. Also, I am planning to have more tutorials, especially for secondary school students, because I can probably earn HK$120 per hour. It will be good if I can recruit three students. YP: Do you save money regularly? U: I try to save about HK$500 every month, but don't always succeed. I don't waste money. I mainly spend on transport and eating out.
