By Genaro C. Armas

Associated Press

PHILIPSBURG — Katelynn Simcox thinks her parents have enough bills to pay off, what with an older brother in college and a younger sister just starting high school.

So the 18-year-old who is headed to Wilkes University this fall works about 13 hours a week at a drugstore to pay her own expenses as well as build her resume as an aspiring pharmacist.

The troubled economy has made many families of college-bound teens worry more about rising costs. And with the pool of financial aid tightening, some students like Simcox are getting an early lesson in saving money and thinking ahead.

“Any kind of clothes and stuff, I pay for, and (my parents) try to take care of my little sister,” Simcox said during a break from study hall in the otherwise quiet cafeteria at Philipsburgh-Osceola High School. “They don’t really give me a whole lot of money, so they’ll pay for more of college.”

Terry Feathers, a financial aid counselor at Penn State-DuBois, can sense the apprehension in the voices of parents when he does presentations at area high schools. Most are concerned about taking out more loans atop their mounting debt.

“There’s no tricks. I tell you what, I wish I knew,” Feathers said when asked what advice he would offer families looking for financial aid. “Apply early, get maximum consideration.”

Students like Simcox are bucking a trend that has emerged over the last 10 years.

According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of youth aged 16-19 in the workforce during school months had declined from 31 percent in 1998 to 24 percent in 2007 — or the year before the economy went fully into a recession.

Among school-related reasons for the decline cited in the February 2008 report were the increased frequency of advanced placement exams; an increase in higher-level courses; and community service requirements.

Other potential reasons cited were decreases in wages, and a declining share of teens holding jobs in retail trade and restaurant businesses.

Think the after-school job at the shopping mall.

How the recession might have changed patterns in youth employment during the school year remains uncertain.

For Simcox, the choice was easy. Her parents “gave me a nudge, but only because they knew I wanted to get into pharmacy,” she said.