At the community college and the small Christian college just outside town, commuting students are having to work extra hours to cover the cost of gasoline.

The national economic downturn is certainly felt in college towns like this one, home to three very different institutions within a few miles of one another, in a region still smarting from the loss of thousands of textile jobs.

As for job prospects for new graduates, the news is mixed. Last fall, a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers predicted that campus hiring would be up 16 percent for the Class of 2008. An updated survey earlier this month revises that figure downward, but still predicts an increase of about 8 percent over the Class of 2007.

For colleges themselves, an economic slump can be good for business, reminding people of the value of more education and pushing them to get a diploma when other opportunities are scarce.

Colleges plan for the long haul, so many can take advantage of the effects of an economic slump, such as lower construction costs and - if the credit crunch passes - lower costs to borrow money.

In short, the economy on campus is a complicated story, best told from the point of view of some people in the midst of the forces at work:

On a break between classes, Hannah Bolt tries to get some work done in a campus coffee shop at Southern Wesleyan University, a small Christian college in the town of Central, a few minutes from Clemson.

Every minute is precious. She comes to campus four days a week, and often works the other three days at a department store. Her parents - a commercial fisherman and a seamstress - have pushed her to pick a steady career, so she is studying to become a special-education teacher.

There is no such thing as a typical student, here or anywhere else. But Bolt is representative in some respects. Like most students here and about 57 percent nationwide, she has a job. She is also a commuter, as are about 4 in 5 American college students who do not live on campus.

That is why to college students, the price of gasoline is an education issue. It used to cost Bolt $20 to fill up her VW Beetle weekly for the 26-mile trip from her home to campus. Now it is $37 to $40.

Given her family's finances, you might wonder what Bolt is doing at a private college.

But the financial hit is not too bad. Wesleyan tuition and fees run about $17,000 a year, but about 90 percent of students get aid. With a state scholarship and $7,000 from Wesleyan, Bolt has had to borrow only $3,000 - and that should be paid off by a state teacher-training program.