Personal Narrative: Child Life At Towson University

When I was a freshman in high school, my parents sat me down in the living room and told me that if I wanted to go to college, I’d have to pay for it myself. Our financial difficulties were large enough to merit the statement. My step-dad was hardly able to work anymore because of health problems from a career in manufacturing. My mom also suffered in the over-saturated market for dental hygienists in Mesa—she was recently fired from a corporate office for refusing to sell unnecessary treatments to patients, and could only find a job in an office run by an abusive dentist who screamed at his employees and who even threw a computer at an assistant at one point. My mom needed to leave the office, but nobody knew if she would find work anywhere

This is not my first time hearing about student loans and how badly they affect one’s life. Growing up, my mother always preached to me the importance of good grades and how they would benefit me in the long run. She always told me that good grades and a good ACT score would get me Scholarship money; money that I do not have to borrow. I know personally how student loan debt can affect one mentally and physically. My mom went to a private institution and could not get enough scholarships and grants pay, so she had no choice but to rely on student loans. She is a social worker making $30,000 a year, and owes more in student loans than her yearly salary. My mom like many others not only had to struggle paying loans, but also had to maintain a household.

As Young teenagers become adults and start College, one issue that doesn’t seem as a big deal at the moment for many students are student loans. Young college students who don’t have the money, don’t have enough scholarship money, or family who doesn’t have the money to pay, will apply for student loans each year. They amount the student receives can vary depending on the college and what the student has achieved academically. Though interest rates are low with subsidized being 4.29% and unsubsidized being 5.84% ("Federal Student Aid" Interest rates and Fees), student loans still have a huge effect on college students once they graduate. One college graduate’s story helps explain the struggles for most students:

Families are now aiming low when it comes to college- or are simply not going at all. Money could play a huge part in this decision- after all, the cost of college has skyrocketed over the years, and so has the amount of student loan debt. This is something even Leonhardt admits, stating that, because of this, only about 33 percent of young adults get a four-year college degree today, while another 10 percent receive a two-year degree (Leonhardt). And even though many colleges offer financial aid packages, that money may soon be cut and the cost of college will continue to grow. It is true that, in my personal experience, just because a student is awarded financial aid does not mean they have a golden ticket to University. This leaves many desperate students the only option of taking out as many loans as they think they can handle- often more than they should. Debt is not a new issue for America, but it is still a problem. Although David Autor, an M.I.T. economist, laments: “not sending [young adults] to college would be a disaster”, no one can ignore the rising rates of loan defaults, and some think it

As I sat on the couch getting ready for the first day back at school, I heard the phone in the kitchen ring. I stood up to go answer it and I heard loud footsteps coming down the stairs. My mother was running down the stairs to answer it just in case it was one of her work calls. I noticed that her voice started to crack as if she was going to cry and the smile that she once had on her face had disappeared. The person on the other end of the phone was my Uncle Dylan from California calling to let us know that Aunt Liz had died in a car wreck. We were so devastated but little did we know she left me $12k. A couple days later I received a letter in the mail saying that I had to use it to help pay for my tuition. I am looking to attend the nursing program at Lindenwood, Missouri State, or St. Louis University.

HELLO GUYS!!! I have something veryyyyyyyy important to tell you! After all of my stressing about FAFSA ( Free Application Federal Student Aid) , Colleges, and Transportation, I decided to further my education at Rowan University. It took me a long time to make this decision because this wasn’t my first choice! My first choice/ dream school was LIU Brooklyn ( Long Island University) in Brooklyn, New York. I was recently accepted there and planned on attending there, but their out-of-state tuition was extremely high! Their tuition was $33,000 a year and poor black man like myself, cannot afford it. I really loved LIU because it's a great school, beautiful campus, and most of all, it's in New York. I had my whole planned before it even started,

Once my brother graduated high school, my mother moved 500 miles away, to Connecticut. I decided to remain at home in West Virginia with my father. For various reasons, such as drugs and alcohol, living with him was no longer in my best interest. At this time, I was half way through high school. For a few months, I spent time living with friends. Before long, my grandmother, who I'm not particularly close to, graciously allowed me to live with her. She lives below the poverty line. In order to live in her house, I was driven to support myself. I work between 20-30 hours a week, which allows me to pay for bills, my vehicle, food, and etc. As soon as I graduate, I will be living on my own, and paying for my college tuition, by myself. It is difficult now to make ends meet, and in the coming college year the financial difficulty will greatly increase. I am endeavoring through these hard times, and I will only continue to do that by keeping my grades up as well as having the endless

How are you? I hope you are doing well. Sorry I haven’t been keeping in touch with you. I’ve been so busy with college and school activities. Life at Towson University is going great! I am currently taking two education courses and two history courses and have been getting straight A’s on all of my assignments so far. I have one more year of classes and then I will be able to do my teaching internships at a middle school and a high school.

One financial adversity that my family has faced recently is the household income has drastically decreased because my father has left the house. Due to this current situation it has become even more difficult for my family to be able to assist me with paying for college because we only have my mom’s income now.

My father was first laid off in 2008. This period was incredibly difficult for my family. My older sister was in college, and my mother was not working because of her disability. While the world economy was collapsing, my working class family unfortunately became one among a statistic of those affected by the financial crisis. While my father has resumed working, in these uncertain times I have had to make sacrifices. One sacrifice includes attending a more affordable school

The Polk County High School Alumni Scholarship would help me financially by helping me avoid debt. Scholarships will help take the physical pressure off of my family and I to come up with the money for me attend to college. As it is now, not only will I be going to college, but also my sister is enrolling at Cleveland State for the fall semester. It pains me to imagine my sister’s and my own educational pursuit putting a strain on my father. My father has always been there for me, so it is my turn to be there for him by making sure he does not have to worry about me. One thing he deeply cares about is my education, because he knows how much it means to me. Along with the stress of financial strain, there is another issue: student loans. I do

There are some financial challenges that I will face with my new educational opportunities. Since I am about to finish Dual-Graduation, I have already had to pay full college tuition, books, and gas to drive to school. These expenses are worsened because of my high school status; I can’t receive financial aid. With this road-block, I have been working part-time in Branson as a photographer to help pay school expenses. I am extremely thankful that my parents have aided in my tuition. Unfortunately, my father is in school to earn his master’s and my mother is going to beauty school, so I’m not the only person in my household who will have student debt. Normally this wouldn’t have been an issue but my mother lost her job last fall and so my family’s

I just wanted to describe to you the moment that I felt the closest bond to my sisters at DG. At first I was hesitant to get involved. I thought what if the girls already had their friends, how will the older girls think of me? So my first few weeks as a DG I only really went to meals, swaps, and the occasional sisterhood event. Then during chapter one day they announced that they will be putting together intramural soccer and flag football teams. This was my time to actually rep my DG letters and truly bond with my sisters. Joining those teams was the best decision I’ve made this year. Unfortunately, we lost to Pi Phi in the playoffs for soccer, but I have never seen my sisters so dedicated, so focused, and so united. I finally felt like a

From as far as I can remember I kept to myself as a child and most of my interactions with other children my age were negative. Growing up, I had a speech impairment and most of the kids my age didn’t have the patience to attempt to understand me. My family was very supportive of my issues and didn’t seem to mind it, but once in a while advice of words of wisdom from my family weren’t always pleasant. My scale from one to ten on verbal abuse from family members go from one being my grandmother who was kind and accepting to ten being my sister who made me feel horrible.

“Push, push, push! You almost got it.” I could remember like it was yesterday popping out a new born baby and seeing what happens next. My son came into this world with being a crybaby and spoiled as by his grandmother. My son became a big part in my life: Thinking about him before I think about someone else. Becoming a beautiful mother with grey hairs arriving before I met my mid-twenties. Even going to the laundromat because we had so many clothes we had to make two trips. Maybe being a first-time mother it's more to think about and deciding if it's the right thing to do. Becoming a mother wasn't easy, I wanted my son to have the world so, I made my decision of trying to be the best parent every for my son and that's when he became a mommy’s boy.