John Acito
Dr. Chandler
Eng. 3029
5/8/14
Final Draft
How
Student Loan Debt Drives Cultural Narratives
Introduction
In
today’s society you have to attend college to be successful, and it is your
parent’s responsibility to pay for it. These two cultural stories drive the
student loan debt narrative that affects many aspects of a student’s life. The
education system is built in a way that diverts blame from their unfair
practices and lenders towards parents and students. This study will shed light
on; students preparation in attending college, their interactions with the loan
process, the fear of loan debt and how it affects the American Dream and other
decisions associated with school, stress between family members relating to
affording school, and how the phrase, “Loans allow the opportunity for everyone
to get a college degree” is both misleading and hindering the current societal
mindset on higher education.
Literature Review
Eric
Best published “Debt and the American Dream” in July of 2012. His article
focuses on the hindrances that the housing and education markets put on the
attaining of the American Dream. His aim is to poke holes in the cultural
narratives that we have created. His first section is titled “Not All Bubbles
are Created Equal”, and deals with how the housing and education markets become
inflated with little oversight in prevention.
He states, “Home ownership and college education have been identified as
signals of middle class living in America, and there is broad support for
making them widely available.” This shows how expectations of what it means to live
out the American Dream drives the market for these industries.
Best then dives into his next
heading “Deregulation and Subsidization” which looks at how strong Americans
value education and home ownership. “Home ownership
and education are considered sacred ideals, and support for them is almost
universal.” The fact that Best says they are universal shows the stigma these
two industries have over proposing better judgments to reform the markets. He
then goes on to say, “In addition to future benefits (home values and increased
income from education), there is a positive social signal sent by home
ownership or college education that lasts over time. The benefits of home
ownership and college education are deeply engrained in American culture.” This
stigma exemplifies what it means to live out the American Dream. It also shows
how current students lack the foresight to really know what their loans will
mean when they graduate. Students treat their loans as future investments that
will pay themselves off rather than devise a plan for paying back the debt. Loans
force us to look too far down the road to care about what we are signing up for
which builds off of the stigma that students are uneducated on the loan
process.
Throughout
the rest of Best’s article he discusses, “the enticing nature of how we spread
out the costs of education and the future profits these certain degrees could
make, and how that blurs our current financial stability.” He also poses a very
frightening observation that not only does the government want to build a
smarter youth, but they also want to profit off of them. He claims,
“Laws for student loans such as the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) and the Federal Direct Student Loan Program
of 1993 (FDSLP) fundamentally changed access to college. Amazingly, the Higher
Education Opportunity Act of 2008 even tied the number of low interest college
loans made to low income students into the standards for CRA compliance,
practically forcing banks to participate in subsidized lending.”
This
shows how it is a cultural expectation for kids to go to college and that the
banks have been forced to lend money to students to pay for their education.
Overall, Best’s findings shed light on a lot of stereotypes and stigmas
associated with student loans and the educational system. However, he groups
both the education and housing markets together in discussing these narratives,
and studies have yet to be done on specifically student loan debts and their
social effects on students and their families. There is plenty of statistical
data out there related to student loans but none fully address and focus on the
narratives and pressures that apply to this field.
Methods
This
study examines the current role of student loan debt and the cultural and
societal aspects that affect student decisions. The purpose of this study is to
see why it is accepted and socially normal to accrue debt to attain a college
degree. This study also addresses pressures and fears of debt in life’s daily
decisions. My participant is referred to as D.
My
participant was a great person to interview for a bunch of different reasons; D
is 1 of 4 kids to attend college in her family, she has a reference of an older
sister who has gone through the college system, she recently graduated, she
recently had to start paying back her loans, still lives at home and is on the
cusp of trying to move out into the world on her own. These are all themes that
I addressed in the interview and she more than met the needs for the research.
The
interview was done in her house at the kitchen table a setting that made her
feel very comfortable. A cell phone, a notebook, and a pen were used in
recording the interview. The aim was to show how a student, who has recently
graduated, is coping with her new identity as a graduate, and how the loan
process is currently affecting her decisions. A copy of the questions is in the
appendix, and the interview ran about 17 minutes.
Data/Analysis
From
a dissection of the language D uses, it shows her fears, pressures, and
stresses associated with the college process. These are feelings that most
students have to go through and deal with, and unfortunately, her language
implies that attending college is a struggle and a battle. For something that
is supposed to be helping making kids better off later in life, the pressures
are affecting their decision making process and could possibly make them go
into fields that make them unhappy in their adult lives.
Excerpt # 1: Why we need to go to
college.
D:
yea well it was a really high stress time for a lot of people in my grade but
my goal was to not be stressed, I kind of, I kind of wanted to go to a
bigger school were as some of my colleagues applied to 4 plus schools or even 8
different schools, um, I decided to apply to just Rutgers and Temple, I didn’t
do any extensive research really, I didn’t visit any of the schools.”
When
looking strictly at the language and how things were said, it seems like D
didn’t want to admit to being stressed out in High School during college
application time. In this section her hesitation and lack of conviction didn’t
make me believe she was stress free during this big change in her life. She
claims she tried to stay stress free but as soon as she states this she
stuttered with “I kind of, I kind of”. This may be her gathering her thoughts
for the next statement but there is more evidence that she was indeed stressed
out during this time in her life. The main thing that adds to stress and
anxiety is being unprepared on a subject.
In
D’s case they only thing she was certain of, that she wanted to go to a big
school. She made the claim, “I didn’t do any extensive research really, I
didn’t visit any of the schools” which shows that she may have been stressed
out. The fact that she mentions her colleagues applying to many more many
schools than her may lend the notion that her colleagues actions could be
making her feel like an outsider for not applying to so many schools. In High School,
imitation of your friends and peers is a big social pressure and although D
does not come out and say it, the language and tone suggests these societal
pressures may have weighed on her. Fitting in and being part of the “in” crowd
is very important in high school. This is a very childish and immature way of
thinking but as we grow up does this thinking change? After high school the
only way to fit in is to attend college. This societal norm looms over the
heads of children across America to go to college. Continuing this thinking, we
are not only going to college because it is good for us, but because it is what
everyone else does immediately after high school.
Excerpt # 2: Parents Helping in the
College Process.
Me:
like any pressures or anything to go to college?
D
uh I didn’t feel any pressure per say. It wasn’t like I had to go but I wanted
to. I feel if I had said I didn’t want to go that there would have been some
push back from my parents.
Me
so your parents were very stern about you going to college?
D
um well I think it was kind of understood…it just seemed natural to go to
college and I wanted to go into higher education and it was supported
Me
was the loan process ever explained to you like going into college or even in
high school prepping for college?
D um
no um when it came down to me getting accepted It was understood that I would
take out a loan…
Me
who told you about … that you had to take out a loan
D my
parents…um I remember my mom was at the computer with me and said hey check
these forms out and we applied and I got approved like instantly and I kind of
took it from there
Excerpt
#1 is a great example of the pressures parents put on kids to go to college. The
language clearly supports this. D claims it wasn’t like she had to go, but then
later states it was just something that seemed natural and understood as if D
was supposed to go. This makes certain questions arise that drive cultural
narratives. Is it that parents put pressure on their kids to go to college so
society deems them “good parents”? Or does society put pressure on kids to go
to college which in turn puts stress on the family to make this narrative come
to truth?
This
excerpt according sheds light on how the loan process is steamrolled and too
easily accessible. Again D uses the words that “it was understood” she would
have to take out a loan if she wanted to attend college. Like stated earlier, “loans
allow the opportunity for everyone to get a college degree,” however, the fact
that no other options are presented, and that taking out loans to pay for
college is now a natural and socially accepted stigma begs the question of are
loans truly the best options for our kids. We currently live in a world were of
immediacy and instant gratification. Everything is a click away, even our
approval for our student loans. This is dangerous and irresponsible but for
who? Is it the parents and students faults for not reading the fine print? Or
is the system set up in a way where the blame is forced on children and parents?
Excerpt
# 3: Debt Drives Our Decisions and Puts Financial Pressure on Us
Me:
did that fear of loan debt affect your choice of major or what field you went
into?
D:
I always like the sciences I was originally a bio major and I was
pre med cause I wanted to be a physician so I was like uhh it doesn’t matter
how many loans I’m going to take out I will make it back after med school but
that was never realized but as time went on and I found a field I most liked I
looked into what was going to make the most money with that degree and I went into
it with my masters.
She
stutters a tiny bit in the beginning of her response but I think it was her
wanting to answer truthfully. You could really tell she was carefully thinking when
she gave her answer. It is also important to note how fear of debt is driving
her will to be successful. What should be driving our student’s minds is their
love or interest in their field or discipline. Is fear of loan debt driving D’s
personal perspective or is it part of a bigger collective mindset? Financial security is very important to
everyone. Being able to comfortably support yourself or a family is deeply part
of an American identity. There is no question that going into a field that pays
well is a smart decision for the future. However, shouldn’t strengths and true
interests in a subject draw us to pursue that certain field?
This
excerpt also reveals the looming pressures of paying back student loans. She
went into a pre-med program for two reasons, because she liked the sciences,
and because it would make enough money to pay back her loans. Accordingly, when
she realized she wasn’t going to continue with her pursue of med school, her
decision to change was also rooted in making sure she was financially stable
enough after college to pay back her loans. She states,” I found a field I most
liked, I looked into what was going to make the most money with that degree and
I went into it.” This shows her trying to balance her interests with having
enough future stability, a balance that many students struggle to achieve in
today’s educational system.
Conclusion
Although
the goal of this research wasn’t to solve the student loan debt crisis, it does
shed light on the societal and cultural narratives that surround how and why
students attend college. This study has shown that the system of higher
education is set up in a way where blame of failure is shifted from the
institutions, to the parents and kids. These pressures and cultural
expectations perpetuate the debt bubble and leave students at a disadvantage.
For a system that claims that loans provide opportunities to all kids around
the country to better themselves, they fail to engage in a much needed dialogue
of how the current economic landscapes has changed, and therefore, the model of
attending college must change with it. Further research must be done in order
to shift the mindset of young Americans and their want to attend college. Just
like loans supposedly provide positive opportunities to all students, students
should also be provided with all the information and tools necessary to shape
their decisions to give them a better quality of opportunities later in life.
Limitations
Only
one interview was done to open the door into the views and issues on student
loan debt. This study reveals the cultural narratives surrounding college and
if more students were interviewed, broader generalizations could have been
drawn from the data. Sadly without an overhaul and reform of the education
system in the U.S., students will continue to blindly adhere to a flawed and
virtually broken system. Responsibility unfortunately falls on parents and
students to fix a problem that the higher-ups have created. This issue is
extremely important and without further development, students may soon find
that it is not in their best interest to attend college. Education is crucial
to advancing a culture, and further studies into these issues will help aid in
avoiding this tipping point.
Bibliography
Best, E. (2012, July). Debt and the American Dream. Society. pp. 349-352. doi:10.1007/s12115-012-9559-3.
