College Expenses and Household Classes

Bryana Malloy

ENGL 102-045

Response to Article

21 March 2012

College Expenses and Household Classes

Graduating high school is a big accomplishment, and after graduation, most come to a crossroad where a decision must be made of what road to travel down next. One could work full-time, part-time, go to a four year college, a two year college, or sign up to be in a post-graduate program. Each road a high school graduate could take has many pros and cons, and the decision that is made will have a huge impact on one’s future. But what is the one thing that these options all have in common? Money. After high school, it is clear that parents won’t be there to give their children a “free ride”. You are pretty much considered an adult, so decisions must be made that govern your need to support yourself financially. After reading the article “Paying For College” by Zoe Mendelson, significant information is provided that most can relate to: information about college and money, and how creating a name for yourself after high school can be a lot harder than most think.

In the article, Mendelson uses her friends’ stories as an example as to how injudicious the financial aid system works for those going to college. One of her friends is very smart, scoring a 34 out of 36 on the ACT and competing in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Clearly his work ethic and intelligence is at a high level, but this does him no good when it comes to scholarships and financial aid for college. His family is part of the middle-class, so this means “their household income is too much to qualify for substantial financial aid but not enough to pay that amount” (131). This is an issue that most middle class college students are facing. Their households make enough money to live, but when it comes to paying for one student in college, they begin to struggle.

Another example used in this article is the story of Maggie’s pursue of a college degree. She received a financial aid package from the college she got accepted to, but had to come up with $8,000 per year for what the aid did not cover. She applied for numerous loans and got rejected for all of them. Because of this, her college suggested that she “defer for a year to give her time to come up with the cash” (132). The problem with this is that $8,000 is a lot of money for an incoming college freshman to come up with.

I, along with many other middle-class students, are struggling to make ends meet because of the high expense of going to college. Middle-class families are working hard for the money they earn, and yet it just gets taken away for taxes (which most go to low-income earning families) and in this case, college expenses.

To me, there is no easy way around it. The middle-class gets slammed with a large amount of expenses, and then they are expected to pay for most things, like college, with little help from government financial aid. Sometimes, I think it would just be easier to fall into the lower-class group. Then, financial aid would cover most if not all college expenses, in addition to any other assistance that the government would give to help the lower-class live. This and being part of the upper class seems like the only way college expenses would not put a burden on families. The high expense associated with college pushes most to work instead of going to school. It seems more sensible to make money instead of going into debt just for a degree. The way I see it, no degree is worth the financial hassle. One could gain just as much knowledge actually working in the field out of high school rather than spending time and money at an institute of higher learning.

Works Cited

Mendelson, Zoe. “Paying For College.” Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology.

Ed. Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 131-133. Print.