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Not to speak on behalf of all broke college students, but I’d pretty much do anything for an extra penny or two. Especially during the school semester, when money seems to practically evaporate out of my wallet — when, realistically, it’s my fault for ordering Uber Eats three out of seven days of the week.

It’s hard, though. When I lived in a dorm, I didn’t have a car, and I was entirely new to Fort Collins. Because of this, the city felt daunting. Despite seemingly endless restaurants and independent companies around the area, I didn’t have the physical means to commute for work, let alone the means to apply.

At this point, one would expect the assumed savior to swoop in and resolve this issue — that savior being a campus job. Campus jobs are a convenient fix when scrambling for cash. Not only are they flexible and accommodating to Colorado State University student schedules, but they also involve students or faculty as both employees and employers. And the location could not be any more opportune; one can apply, interview and work in the same space where most of his or her time is already spent.

The convenience carries over into a predominantly online application process called Handshake. The preferred job application platform at CSU, Handshake allows different departments and buildings to post job openings or recruit certain students deemed fit for the job. Although similar in structure to Indeed or even LinkedIn, Handshake is tailored specifically for colleges rather than companies.

This likely sounds enticing — it sounded enticing to me and to many of my friends upon arriving at CSU, too. But the appeal of campus jobs only exists at face value. Because while many can recognize the benefits of the job, one of the hardest — and earliest — hurdles becomes overlooked: getting the job.

At the beginning of this past spring semester, I had several friends apply for various CSU desk jobs through Handshake. A certain friend applied to 10, one of which required her to submit a recommendation along with the application. She never got a response from that position or eight others. Out of 10 jobs, she only received one email back. As I’m writing this six months later, the other applications are still marked on Handshake as submitted or reviewed.

Not only is this unprofessional, but it’s disrespectful. Rather than a silent rejection, an email should be the bare minimum, no matter if the application is for a desk or corporate job.

While I could never know who is in charge of monitoring Handshake for each individual job posting, I can speculate on why so many applications are ignored.

There is a blatant lack of communication between CSU employment and its students on the attainability and availability of these jobs. Work study is consistently portrayed as a feasible opportunity for all, yet there is no communication on how competitive the process might be. For this reason, students are under the impression that these jobs are more attainable, so many apply. The supply, however, will never match the demand, so the cycle of endless applications and neglected responses continues. After all, Handshake can only keep up with so much.

I don’t know if this is the exact reason for ghosted job applications, but I’d like to think it’s not out of laziness or a lack of trying. No matter where the blame lies, however, students deserve a better chain of communication and a more realistic portrayal of campus jobs. At the end of the day, when spending thousands of dollars to obtain an education, the education should spend a couple of hours on us.

Reach Emma Souza at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @_emmasouza.