Blog # 7

The assignment was to interview a classmate on the topic of Valentines day. I interviewed Brenda who was very nice and engaging. I wish we had more time to prepare questioning because I only had enough for like a 4 minute interview. I also realized that it was hard not to ask important questions about the holiday, because she seemed a little uncomfortable disclosing personal information about her recently ex-boyfriend. This is a fine line that interviewers have to walk between asking the right questions for their research and asking questions that do not cause any mental stress on their participants.

Incomplete Draft Blog #24

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 money hungry parts 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 hinderances 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.

 

  

Stigmas/Sterotypes

-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. -cultural expectation to go to college and buy a house=American dream

-Because most consumers are able to borrow money to finance housing or education, they are less sensitive to price, and therefore look at education and housing opportunities based on features. The original intention of getting more people in homes and in college quickly becomes overshadowed by getting people in more extravagant homes and schools.

-Loans force us to look too far down the road to care about what we are signing up for….builds off of stigma that students are uneducated on the loan process. We pick flashier options rather than cheaper economical ones.

 

-The buildups in features–bigger houses and amenities for students–occur because the immediate cost to consumers is almost invisible. Over a 20-year student loan repayment term or a 30-year mortgage, borrowing another $10,000 hardly seems bothersome. Because students and homebuyers can spread out the costs over long periods of time (if they even have to consider them immediately) there is a tremendous incentive to choose options that are more luxurious instead of options that are cheaper. Homebuilders and universities have been happy to create more luxurious houses and campuses to better compete for consumers armed to the teeth with borrowed funds.

Me=This is evident in her talks about going into pre med because it would yield larger pay. The inticing nature of how we spread out the costs of education and the future profits these certain degrees could make, blurs our current financial stability.

 

-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 for both American Dream assets.

-Kids have to go to college

 

Deregulation coupled with lending incentives redistributed so much money into housing and higher education systems that those industries have not only responded by creating more homes and schools, but by creating more expensive ones.

 

Home loans without down payments and student loans covering all of tuition are available to people who would have a difficult time getting a credit card with a four digit limit.

-uneducation=higher profits for lenders

 

In some cases, consumers are buying goods and services in which they may not even be interested.

Me=could this relate to gen-eds?

 

In both of these cases, consumers can be given loans larger than their current obligations with little oversight about how they are spent.

Me=this shows blatant irresponsible behavior from lenders and explains why we have excess money rollover from semester to semester

 

The for-profit institutions rely on loan money almost exclusively, and want to recruit as many students as possible and retain them for as long as possible until the students reach maximum student loan amounts.

-Students are treated as a commodity not as people wanting to better themselves.

Methods

The objective of this assignment was to see not what was said, but how it was said. 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 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. 

 Data/Analysis

-This section shows the expectations that parents put on their kids to attend college. The language supports this.

 

Me like any pressures or anything to go to college?

D uh I didn’t feel any pressure per say. It wasn’t likei had to go but I wanted to. I feel if I had ssaid I didn’t want to go that there would have been some push back from myparents.

Me so your parents were very stern about you going to college?

D um welli think it waskinda understood…it just seemednatural to go to college and I wanted to go into higher education and it was support 

 

 

-Location and affordability are important to most students and this may cloud our judgement in finding a school that is a perfect fit for the field we are most interested or strong in.

 

Me  yea I was going to get to a question like that. So what was the priority in choosing a school, was it strictly finiacial, location, or prestige or friends, or the

D it was location and affordability, not to mention Rutgers has a good name associated with it and I wanted to go to a bigger state school no matter what but the driving factor was affordability and location

           -This section is very important it revels the cultural narrative of parents looking after their kids during the college process and setting them up to attend. It also shows how this porcess is steamrolled with kids not getting all the info they need. It also shows how kids feel that the ONLY way they can attend college is by taking out loans.

 

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 takeout a loan…

,e 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

Me ok were there any consequences explaind to you like if you were to default on a loan

D no I mean

Me like did it feel like a big decision at the time orany pressure by it

D no no but it was my only option that if I wanted to go to school unless I wanted to go part time even though we didn’t discuss that, um if I wanted to be a full time student I would have to take out a loan and all I was told was that when you come out of college and you pay it atleast pay the minimum

And that was it

       -Here is an example on how fear of debt drives our decisions of what field we want to go into

 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 Im 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 themost money with that degree and I went into it with my masters.

     
       -This section focuses on how stressful having loand debt burden can be, and how this drives students want to do well not, that they are interested in being good at what they are doing.

Me ok so moving on um Rutgers um sorry, where there any pressures of your loan burdenthat wereaffecting your school work while attending Rutgers wasthat fear ever driving any of your school work?

D uhhhmm mmm uhmmm yea

Me was it affecting if you

D not exactly but there I wanna say my first year a year and a half there was a class or two I wouldn’t do   so well in and it would affect me like alomstas a personal failure more than anything but then I started to realize that I am paying for this myself and im taking out loans to fail is not a good feeling it seems like wastes of thousands of dollars. So I decided to take on more responsibility and accountability and it was almost like a kick in the butt and I um hey I gotta perform not only because I wantto do better but because its going to cost me money and its just gonnacost me more if I have to takethe class over

 

 

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. When asked about this time she said,

“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.”

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 was 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 collegues applying to way more many schools than her may lend the notion that her collegues 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.

                Another example of how loan debt affected her choices was when I asked her, “did that fear of loan debt affect your choice of major or what field you went into?” 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.

“uh um I a little bit, yes come to think of it. It didn’t affect me going to school but my parents weren’t going to pay for it and they made that pretty clear. I also didn’t get a job to save up, for like at least books or something, but to answer your question,  I always liked 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.”

This passage reveals that at D’s core she was very concerned with financial security, her financial

future, and her ability to successfully pay back her loans after college. The fact that she brings up that her parents weren’t going to pay for school and that they made that clear, showed ome bitterness to the lack of help or support in attending college. This is an issue that many kids face in wanting to attend college. Earlier in the transcript she even shows this hopelessness when she says, “it was my only option that if I wanted to go to school.” Many kids feel taking out loans are their only options to attend college and sadly, it is the truth.  

                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 cause 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.

From a small dissection of the language D uses shows her fears, pressures, and stress 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.

 

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.

Blog 23

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.

What makes a good conclusion?

Relate back to focus

Re-identify your niche

Restate findings, conflicting or supporting your focus

Future outlook on where you focus could lead if done on a bigger scale

Limitations/shortcomings in your study or data gathering

Eliminate the use of the word “I” in your conclusion

Hit same points as your intro but with more knowledge on top

Intro and conclusion should be in conversation with one another

Blog 20

Focus and Some Data

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 money hungry parts 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.

-This section shows the expectations that parents put on their kids to attend college. The language supports this.

Me like any pressures or anything to go to college?

D uh I didn’t feel any pressure per say. It wasn’t likei had to go but I wanted to. I feel if I had ssaid I didn’t want to go that there would have been some push back from myparents.

Me so your parents were very stern about you going to college?

D um welli think it waskinda understood…it just seemednatural to go to college and I wanted to go into higher education and it was support 

-Location and affordability are important to most students and this may cloud our judgement in finding a school that is a perfect fit for the field we are most interested or strong in.

Me  yea I was going to get to a question like that. So what was the priority in choosing a school, was it strictly finiacial, location, or prestige or friends, or the

D it was location and affordability, not to mention Rutgers has a good name associated with it and I wanted to go to a bigger state school no matter what but the driving factor was affordability and location

           -This section is very important it revels the cultural narrative of parents looking after their kids during the college process and setting them up to attend. It also shows how this porcess is steamrolled with kids not getting all the info they need. It also shows how kids feel that the ONLY way they can attend college is by taking out loans.

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 takeout a loan…

,e 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

Me ok were there any consequences explaind to you like if you were to default on a loan

D no I mean

Me like did it feel like a big decision at the time orany pressure by it

D no no but it was my only option that if I wanted to go to school unless I wanted to go part time even though we didn’t discuss that, um if I wanted to be a full time student I would have to take out a loan and all I was told was that when you come out of college and you pay it atleast pay the minimum

And that was it

       -Here is an example on how fear of debt drives our decisions of what field we want to go into

 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 Im 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 themost money with that degree and I went into it with my masters.

       
       -This section focuses on how stressful having loand debt burden can be, and how this drives students want to do well not, that they are interested in being good at what they are doing.

Me ok so moving on um Rutgers um sorry, where there any pressures of your loan burdenthat wereaffecting your school work while attending Rutgers wasthat fear ever driving any of your school work?

D uhhhmm mmm uhmmm yea

Me was it affecting if you

D not exactly but there I wanna say my first year a year and a half there was a class or two I wouldn’t do   so well in and it would affect me like alomstas a personal failure more than anything but then I started to realize that I am paying for this myself and im taking out loans to fail is not a good feeling it seems like wastes of thousands of dollars. So I decided to take on more responsibility and accountability and it was almost like a kick in the butt and I um hey I gotta perform not only because I wantto do better but because its going to cost me money and its just gonnacost me more if I have to takethe class over

Blog 21

What I worked on in Class Today

Intro=generalizations

Student loan debt hinders the American dream.

Students need to accrue debt to attend college.

Student do not know anything about their loans until they have to start paying them back

The phrase, Loans allow anyone to attend college,” is misleading yes it allows thm opportunities but at what cost?

Intro=defining what it means to be a student

Intro= mention of focus, focus on lit review, mention of methods, mention of niche.

Occupying a niche

In this study I examine an interview on a recent college graduate, and her outlooks and reflections on the system of attending highier education.

Then lit review

Then methods

Intro=1pg

Lit review=using lit rev for comparison and support, defining your area of study and defining key terms, discuss differences or similarities in methods for getting data.

Data/analysis=6-7pgs, dig into the language, participants’ sense of being overwhelming, that feeling that your parents are responsible for important things like this. Its not the parents though it’s the system that is unjust. There is a cultural story of parents looking after us that makes it hard to realize that the real issue is a social/institutional one. It is the systems problem not the parents. The cultural stories perpetuate students to take on huge loans. Main cultural story=The America Dream? You have to go to college to succeed. Parents responsibillity

Look at how my subject was exhibiting weakness or trying to hide weaknesses in her language and look at what she felt strong about talking about or wanted to make sure I got it.

Conclusion=1/2-1pg

Conclusions ideas

Restate the findings, limitations, desire to further research, why its important

Blog 15

John Acito

Dr. Chandler

Eng. 3029

4/3/14

Short Analysis Essay

The objective of this assignment was to see not what was said, but how it was said. 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 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.

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. When asked about this time she said,

“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.”

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 was 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 collegues applying to way more many schools than her may lend the notion that her collegues 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.

                Another example of how loan debt affected her choices was when I asked her, “did that fear of loan debt affect your choice of major or what field you went into?” 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.

“uh um I a little bit, yes come to think of it. It didn’t affect me going to school but my parents weren’t going to pay for it and they made that pretty clear. I also didn’t get a job to save up, for like at least books or something, but to answer your question,  I always liked 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.”

This passage reveals that at D’s core she was very concerned with financial security, her financial

future, and her ability to successfully pay back her loans after college. The fact that she brings up that her parents weren’t going to pay for school and that they made that clear, showed ome bitterness to the lack of help or support in attending college. This is an issue that many kids face in wanting to attend college. Earlier in the transcript she even shows this hopelessness when she says, “it was my only option that if I wanted to go to school.” Many kids feel taking out loans are their only options to attend college and sadly, it is the truth.  

                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 cause 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.

                From a small dissection of the language D uses shows her fears, pressures, and stress 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.

Blog 12

Un-edited Transcript

John Acito

Me for the record could you please state your name,age,and where you went to college.

D my name is d, I am 25, and I went to Rutgers for undergraduate.

Me what did you go for?

D um I went for a bachelors of science in public health

Me that’s very cool..um so tell me uh a little bit about your upbringing, where did you grow up.

D uh um I grew up in scotch plains fanwood.

Me ok did you go to spfhs?

D yes

Me what year did you  graduate

D 2006

Me do you have any siblingsor are you an only child

D no I am one of 4

Me Are you the oldest or youngest?

D I am the second oldest, I have an older sister and two younger brothers

Me um do you recal any feelings associated with extending your educationafter high school?

D uh well

Me like any pressures or anything to go to college?

D uh I didn’t feel any pressure per say. It wasn’t likei had to go but I wanted to. I feel if I had ssaid I didn’t want to go that there would have been some push back from myparents.

Me so your parents were very stern about you going to college?

D um welli think it waskinda understood…it just seemednatural to go to college and I wanted to go into higher education and it was support, I think if I didn’t want to go and I had some sort of reasonable plan, I think they would have supported that as well.

Me ok um so what went into your decision in choosing a college and was it an exciting time or

D yea well it was a really high stress time for a lot of peoplein my gradebut my goal was to not be stressed, I kind of, I kind of  wanted to go to a bigger school wereas 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

Me well there is nothing wrong with that

D yea my sister went to Rutgers and she um had me visit her a couple of times and I liked it and it was kind of a big school and I thought I could get in, I don’t it was weird looking back that I didn’t do any extensive research on it honestly it was a gmable when inapplied and I got into both. For financial reasons I went to Rutgers

Me  yea I was going to get to a question like that. So what was the priority in choosing a school, was it strictly finiacial, location, or prestige or friends, or the

D it was location and affordability, not to mention Rutgers has a good name associated with it and I wanted to go to a bigger state school no matter what but the driving factor was affordability and location

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 takeout a loan…

,e 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

Me ok were there any consequences explaind to you like if you were to default on a loan

D no I mean

Me like did it feel like a big decision at the time orany pressure by it

D no no but it was my only option that if I wanted to go to school unless I wanted to go part time even though we didn’t discuss that, um if I wanted to be a full time student I would have to take out a loan and all I was told was that when you come out of college and you pay it atleast pay the minimum

And that was it

Me ok um im just trying to gage how much knowledge you had going into college about your loans and the loan process

D I didn’t know a lot just that I would have to pay it back, I still know nothing about what determinesmy interest rates or who makesthem I had no clue

Me did you see how much it would be

D yes

Me and did that scare you at all?

D uh yea they break it down for you like hey if you take out 5000 at this interest rate you willowe this much when you gradute

Me yea they show you a lower numbers rather than a what a normal 4 year program would be

Medid that fear of loan debt affect your choice of major or what field you went into

D uh um I alittle bit, yes come to think of it.

It didn’t affect me going to school butmy parents weren’t going to pay for it and they made that pretty clear I also didn’t get a job to save up, for like atleast books or something,but to answer your question 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 Im 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 themost money with that degree and I went into it with my masters.

Me ok um do you think it is fair for schools to charge the same amount  price for different  majors, basically im just building off what you were talking about saying if you had a med school degree the job market is good you can make a lot of money very quickly and pay back those loans fast, but just looking  at a bachelors degree in art or drawing should that be the same priceas in engineering or like accounting likedo you think its fair.

D yes I do I mean as long  I mean across different departments you get different qualities of education but it’s the same if you from an accredited schoolall the departments offer a comparable quality of education, I think the job market has nothing to do in that, I think if I had a bachelors in philosophy I don;’t thik that would keep me fromgetting a job so long as its from a creditided school

Me ok well I wanted to talk to you a little bit about gen eds andwhaqt your stance is. Most schools require students to take approximately 2years of gen eds courses and I just wanted to hear what you thought, like do you think this is just a way to get kids to stay in school longer to get more money or do you think its really thereto benefit the education. Sorry let me refrase, is it better to get awell rounded education or or one that really focuses on what you want to do in your life

D so I think um maybe, uh I don’t know but I think they  do that because coming out of high school kids don’t necessarily know what they want to do even if they did, I think there is some statistic that kids change their minds on their majors x amount of times in their college careers. So its um sometimes maybe its toomany options contribute to the confusion of finding amajor and making kids feel lost and not really knowing what to do ,but I don’t think it’s a scam, I think it’s necessary and valuable.

Me ok well I get what your saying, but what about if an adult wants to  school they have to go through the same deal as kids out of high school have to. And still have to take all those gen eds even though they are more mature and for the most part know exactly what they want to do.

D just because your older than me doesn’t give you uh um I don’t know a get out of free jail card

Me haha

D haha yea I don’t think they should discriminate like if my dad had to go back to school and had to pay less cause hes an adult and more established hed be paying less

Mewell it wouldn’t be paying less he would just be at school for less amount of time which yes I guess is less but im getting at

D yea so paying less

Me yea but what if it were just 2 years for a bachelors instead of 4 years

d well that would be great but you would miss out on classes that are fun like philosophy, or creative writing, or art.

Me that’s a good point gotta support the arts

D amen haha

Me haha

Me ok so moving on um Rutgers um sorry, where there any pressures of your loan burdenthat wereaffecting your school work while attending Rutgers wasthat fear ever driving any of your school work?

D uhhhmm mmm uhmmm yea

Me was it affecting if you

D not exactly but there I wanna say my first year a year and a half there was a class or two I wouldn’t do   so well in and it would affect me like alomstas a personal failure more than anything but then I started to realize that I am paying for this myself and im taking out loans to fail is not a good feeling it seems like wastes of thousands of dollars. So I decided to take on more responsibility and accountability and it was almost like a kick in the butt and I um hey I gotta perform not only because I wantto do better but because its going to cost me money and its just gonnacost me more if I have to takethe class over

Me ok did um are you finished up at school

D yes

Mewhen did you graduate

D just graduated in jan2014

Me wowwell condradulations

D thank you

Me with what degree

D in public health

Me ok what may I ask are your current living situations, if it starts to get to personal just tell me and il ask different questions

D oh no its ok not a problem, uhh I live still live at homewith my folks

Me did you find a job right out of college

D yea I did I just got hired full time with a company and it’s a real job and it’s the start of  my career with benefits anda salary

Me that’s fantastic

D yea  but its scary

Me so how haveyou adjusted to life after school know that you haveto stasrt paying back your loans

D im ok the job I had just prior to this I kind of would have a little to work with.iwas able to pay back my loans at the minimum

Me may I ask how much were you supposed to pay a month for the minimum

D  uhm sooo with my bachelors and my masters degrtee and mind you my parents paid the last semester but I took out more loans for my masters and I did pay some for my masters so combinded my monthly payments are 1100 imk not sure I just started paying them back its just loans with other expenses it gets kind of costly but to answer your question givin now this kind of bump in salary pay

Me makes it more manageable

D yea definitely so I can pay off and even save a little but definitely can’t spend on like anything.

Me your definitely one of the lucky ones cause you know there a lot of kids out there who can’t find a job out of collegeand have to come up with that loan money one way or another but that’s really good

D thank your I know I am very thankful and greatful for how lucky I have been

Me so do you think your loans and paying back your loans have affected your ability to move out of the house?

D yes I think so

Me is it that you can’t do it or your scared that once your out you might struggle with the transition and new expenses.

D uhm yes I don’t wantto struggle, ive gotten into arguments with my sister about this cause shes older and just got married and bout a house and has some debt but just a fraction of what I had. Cause our parents paid for her schooling but she puts a lot of pressur eon me to move out it seems like she kind of judges mehehehaha

Me well do you think that’s a sibling pressure or a societal pressure to uh

D uhm I think it’s a societal thing, but also my sister is just how she is,shes always, she stressfull to talk to. If society, well, I care what my sister says more so than society but a lot of my peers have tried to move out.i personally have a good relationship with my parents and they aren’t kicking me out haha

Me that’s always good

D I would like to just stay at home for a year or 2 and just pay down this debt as much as I can were I can actually manage rent and other expenses

Me so what does it mean to be a student these days. Do you think that’s the social norm right now to take out lots of loans, go to college, graduate,move back home and pay off the loans? Is that the norm?

D I think a lot of people do that and try to struggle getting a job or find one and its short lived and have to move back in but I think a lot of kids today fall into that cycle.

Me do you know a lot of people that have gone or are going through this cycle? Or still living at home after collegeto save money and pay back olaons?

D yes and yes, I know plenty of people

Me ok uhm has loan debt affected your future aspirations of future normal life patterns likegetting married, buying a house, or having kids? I know it’s a rewally big question that thinks really far down the line but…

D yea uhm mmmm

Me like are those things getting pushed back is what I am getting at

D uhmyea but its not soley because of me so my partner, we have to be kind of in the sameboat, caus ei cant have a baby or a house by myselfso it really is dependant on that other person,so yes, I think if we are aligned and willing to moveon and feasibly  attain those things I don’t see thembeing pushed back that much. I mean it very well could happen but im staying positive

Me have loans givin you..uh have you ever had second thoughts about taking out so many loans to pay for your education?

D well

Me like and regrets or things you would have done differently?

D well I commuted my last two years of undergrade I lived on campus my first two and costs were obviously highe, like a lot higher I think it was worthy that I lived on campus

Me like it was a good social experience?

D yea I met a lot of great people uhm and its ironic I kind of don’t keep in touch with them anymore but I think I learn a bit about myself in terms of how I handle living with and dealing with other people uhm, when you livewith them its different than when you just see them at school

Me yea

D so uhm you know at least my first year I think it was worth it, but my second year I lived with some girls not in the dorms and I think that was interesting I mean I think it was a great experience and a great time and I don’t take that back but from a financial perspective if I could have comuted all 4 years I would have cause I think id be, I don’t know its kind of like apples and oranges to me I wouldn’t trade one thing for the other but I probably would have been more finaiacially stable if I haven’t stayed on campus for two years obviously I want to be in a more better finaicial situation but im over it.

Me ok well thank you for your honesty and your participation I think that’s all I have you were a fantastic interview and want to thank you again

D it was fun thank you too