Chapter 31 of Adams caught my attention of the student debt problem and taught me some things I didn’t really know about, and some things that I can personally vouch for.
The GI Bill is something I have heard of but didn’t really know what it was, so let me make this short. This bill was created to help returning veterans ‘readjust’ to the civilian lifestyle by providing money for education. In 1948 veterans received an annual amount of $500. You’re probably thinking, “So what, that’s enough money for rent.” I thought the same thing until I read that back then that was enough money to cover almost a full year’s tuition at Harvard! Another step forward for students was the Higher Education Act which extended benefits to those who are not veterans. LBJ’s plan in this was to allow every high school student to go to college, no matter what their background by providing funding such as Pell Grants.
One section in this chapter gave some ‘cost-reduction strategies;’ one of them being community colleges. For two and a half years I attended a community college and MADE money going to school. Tuition was very low, about $40 a credit. So if you are a full time student taking 4 or more courses a semester, you’re looking at spending about $500 a semester on tuition. Add in about $150-$200 for books and your still under $1,000 a semester!
Luckily I was eligible to receive financial aid through FASFA, so I received the Pell Grant every year. If I remember right it was around $3,000 to $4,000. Every semester I banked almost $1,000, just by going to school! Include a part time job on campus and after a while I had a nice cushion of a savings account. I decided to get my associates just in case I needed something to fall back on if I didn’t finish school, but in the end found myself looking at universities. Once I transferred here to UT, I found out that grants were nowhere near enough to cover tuition, and let’s not forget books. So like many of the other students here, student loans are a must to cover costs. Just like the stories told in the chapter, I too, and most of you will have similar stories to tell of how long it takes to pay off the loans.
I completely agree with you on loans being a viable option for most of us. There is no way that I could attend this university without the help of scholarships and some loans. But by no means am ready to start paying off loans. By the way, I had no clue that community college was so cheap, maybe I should have opted to do that, I probably wouldn't be in so much debt now!!
ReplyDeleteI found this article in the Adams text to be enlightening as well. I love that you were able to make money while going to school- I don't hear many stories about that. I am thankful that there are options such as community colleges that provide a less expensive option for college students but as the article stated many do not end up successfully transferring for a four year university such as you have. It is sad to think that individuals can have such a great start yet are fully able(financially)to follow through with getting an undergraduate degree.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post!