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Why low-income families face such financial hardships during and after their college experiences?

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Samira Abdi 

ENG 1102

Professor Weaver

04/26/2022 

 

INTRODUCTION

Low-income families do not only have to worry about learning the material but think about the funds for the material. This research project examines families’ financial insecurities when it comes to paying for school.  Paying for a school shortens the ability for an individual to attend the school that they desire. In the Challenges Low Income Families Face When Paying for College by Ismael Camara, the author states,” It is to show that most low income students in America are not even able to go to the colleges of their dreams due to the lack of financial aid, and the fact that attending these colleges would lead to their families having to take on more stress financially compared to middle and high income families.” (Camara, Sample page 1) Attending college opens up financial struggles that families were not even aware of, but are forced to deal with. The purpose of this research paper is to address and explain why low-income families face such financial hardships during and after their college experiences?

 

DISCUSSION

 

 In The New York Times magazine author Anthony Jack discusses “When I was learning to chart the hungry days on my calendar, I was one of the nearly 40 percent of undergraduates who struggle with food insecurity. Before all else, colleges must meet students’ basic needs — it is hard to focus and function when you’re hungry.”( Jack, Interactive) Financial dilemmas are not the only problems to come up after paying for college. With this it is a cause and effect. Paying or trying to pay for a semester leads to not being able to pay for life necessities. Such as eating, having a place to stay, and etc. 

Attending a normal college semester can cost up to a thousand to two thousand dollars and this is only one semester. For the family and especially the student this becomes the only thing that you need to address. This would oftentimes lead up to racking up debt. The article on the marketplace discusses a family who talks about the debt that piles up. In the article, author Samantha Fields states that” roughly 70% of American students end up taking out loans to go to college. The average graduate leaves school with around $30,000 in debt and all told, some 45 million Americans owe $1.6 trillion in student loans — and counting.” ( Fields) This goes to say that college is not cheap at all.

This is an important topic to discuss because of how normal it is for a family to not have the funds to support the tuition that a school has. Obtaining the funds is not easy and pathways should be paved for families to help pay that money faster. With problems, there needs to be a solution to help eliminate the problem. Low-income families need help overcoming this financial obstacle. Author Anna Helhoski helps gather solutions on what we can do to help with existing and upcoming debt. In the article What Would It Take to Solve the Student Debt Crisis? By Anna Helhoski, Helhoski gives solutions that can help.

“Forgive the Student Debt”- Which would be the government just forgiving current students who have debts.

“Streamline existing forgiveness programs”- This would not be a definite solution or a temporary solution. This would help students who borrow qualify.

“Make college tuition-free”- This would be an efficient way to stop debt because there wouldn’t be anything to pay. It wouldn’t limit debt completely but would immensely change the outcome one has to pay to attend school.

 

 

One can think that a low-income family would just have to worry about the costs of the college and just paying its tuition. When in reality it leads to more problems and restricting certain aspects in your life to fit the lifestyle you need to have so you can pay for the college. It not only takes a toll on a family financially but also emotionally and mentally. Having these dilemmas can cause immense stress and a sense of duty to fulfill your tasks.  Having to pick up two to three jobs just for it not to cover a fraction displays how we as a society don’t do enough to support these families. These individuals have just the same willingness to learn as students who can afford to attend these colleges. The only thing in their way is finding the money to pay for it . In the article, Poverty’s Long-Lasting Effects on Students’ Education and Success by Kelley Taylor, Taylor states,”It does not have to be this way [for low-income students]. Across the country, there are schools that teach us every day that these children absolutely can achieve at the same high levels as anybody else,” she says, adding that to change the status quo, however, everyone involved “has to organize around that mission.”( Taylor)Presented this opportunity our students can prosper and do bigger and better things but we as a society have to help them.

 

The students who can’t afford to pay for schooling are only increasing and school tuition is only increasing. One can conclude that these families do need help. We have to determine what we can do to help these families attend a four year schooling without worrying what their next meal or where they are sleeping tonight will be. Extending our help will not only be better for this generation but the rest to come. Let’s help these students because we can easily be or become them.

 

CITATION

Camara, Ismael. “The Challenges Low Income Families Face When Paying For College” The Global North Carolina Gallery,

https://localculturesglobalforces2018.web.unc.edu/2018/04/the-challenges-low-income-families-face-when-paying-for-college/. Accessed April 23 2022.

 

Jack, Anthony. “I Was a Low-Income College Student. Classes Weren’t the Hard Part” The New York Times,  Magazine.https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/10/magazine/college-inequality.html . Accessed April 23 2022.

 

Fields, Samantha. “70% of college students graduate with debt. How did we get here?” Marketplace,https://www.marketplace.org/2019/09/30/70-of-college-students-graduate-with-debt-how-did-we-get-here/ . Accessed April 25 2022.

 

Helhoski, Anna.” What Would It Take To Solve the Student Debt Crisis” Nerdwallet, https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/what-would-it-take-to-solve-the-student-debt-crisis . Accessed 25 2022.

 

Taylor, Kelley.”Poverty’s Long-Lasting Effects on Students’ Education and Success” Insight Into Diversity, https://www.insightintodiversity.com/povertys-long-lasting-effects-on-students-education-and-success/ . Accessed 26 2022.

Major Project 3: SAR Assignment

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Samira Abdi

 

Professor Weaver

 

English 1102

 

03/10/2022

 

SAR Project Process on Carnegie Mellon University

 

Summary:

Carnegie Mellon University is a private, non-profit university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This institution was founded in the 1900 by Andrew Carnegie. This school creates a learning environment where technology and industrial research are one of the biggest and known pathways. Carnegie Mellon University has a reputation for empowering students to be their best selves and to feel comfortable. The University has extremely high standards and upholds them just as strictly as any Ivy League school. Carnegie Mellon University website uses the structure APATSARC strategy and inhabiting/engaging social roles for their large rhetorical strategy to capture a selective audience.

 

 

Analysis:

Capturing a student’s attention into considering Carnegie Mellon University is the reason why the website is structured in a certain aspect. The APATSARC strategy that Carnegie Mellon University heavily engages in is structure. The structure of this website is what captures a student’s idea of the school. On the landing page is where a student determines whether the school is something they would consider. Specifically this school was very smart in how they structured their website. As soon as you hit the landing page you see various students engaging in different activities. It sets the tone that this institution engages with various activities to keep students entertained and knowledgeable. CMU communicates on their website that they are indeed there for scholars to help reach them to their aspirations. According to Carnegie Mellon University it states,”In the classroom, around the dinner table, on the playing fields or on stage, students pursue their curiosities, passions and aspirations.”(cmu.edu, student-experience)Which is explicitly shown throughout the entire website for CMU.

Being a research university,  representation of the technological/innovative pathways are extremely important. According to the U.S News on the Carnegie Mellon website, Carnegie Mellon University ranks #1 in undergraduate information and technology management also in– undergraduate computer science. By using data and technology Carnegie Mellon University shows us how it can benefit the knowledge of the world we live in. Reaching that point requires shedding light to an organized section on the website for the research aspect of this university. Which there are. There are numerous pictures showing students and faculty engaging in technological equipment to further research. An example of  structure of this research page is how at the bottom of the page it shows multiple news articles successes and informative information regarding faculty and staff. CMU demonstrates that students have the opportunity to expand their research at other locations. In the research aspect of this website it states, “CMU also performs restricted research at our world-renowned National Robotics Engineering Center and classified research at our Software Engineering Institute.”(cmu.edu, research) The presence of these two research centers attracts students who want to expand their research to other high standard communities. Which again is how structure can lure in a specific audience.

Adapting to a new environment as a freshman in college is quite difficult for certain individuals. Which CMU understood and actively did something about. As stated previously the landing page is very important to a student. On the CMU landing page it allows us to see a community that actively gets together for certain events. Different cultures gather around celebrating traditional activities to enlighten others. Not only limiting to the cultural/race tragedies going on in the world we live in today. Carnegie Mellon University acknowledges the racial prospects of our society. Listed on the diversity page of the CMU website it states,”CMU has been examining our role in the fight to confront racism, and promote social justice, inclusion and economic empowerment. Now more than ever, we must work together as a community to bring diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into greater focus across Carnegie Mellon.” (cmu.edu, diversity) By acknowledging the racial roles of our society CMU allows black and POC( people of color) students to freely engage with the community with the support of Carnegie Mellon University support. Being comfortable in your learning environment is an extremely important aspect you need to succeed—which CMU is actively inhabiting for all its students.

 

Carnegie Mellon University wants to attract very diverse, outgoing people. People who are innovative and typically want to expand their technology aspects even farther. Students that participate in their classes but also participate and engage in afterschool on campus activities. These things are the very things that make a student stand out to the CMU faculty and community.

Response:

After reading and taking in the concepts of this college, I personally would not attend this college.  Even if money or location did not play a factor in my life, CMU still wouldn’t be a choice that I would consider. Not because of anything with the community of the school but merely the main pathways. Carnegie Mellon University is known for its research and technological aspects. Which clashes with the pathway I want to take to advance my future. I plan on obtaining my doctorate in physical therapy and I would prefer to go to a college where the major I am going into is the main pathway of the school. A good and effectable education is one of my values. Being able to grow my desired dream into a successful career, holds high value to me. Since I am interested in attending a school with a strong medical program, that is where I should attend. If I had a future in computer science or engineering I highly believe then I would want to attend Carnegie Mellon University. This university is excellent for computer science/ technological majors. Although I admire the community and the environment that CMU creates I do not believe it is the best place for me to grow educationally.

 

Works cited

 

“Homepage – CMU – Carnegie Mellon University.” CMU, Accessed March 2022, https://www.cmu.edu/

“About – CMU – Carnegie Mellon University.” CMU, Accessed March 2022, https://www.cmu.edu/

“Diversity – CMU – Carnegie Mellon University.” CMU, Accessed March 2022, https://www.cmu.edu/

“Research- CMU – Carnegie Mellon University.” CMU, Accessed March 2022, https://www.cmu.edu/

“Student- experience – CMU – Carnegie Mellon University.” CMU, Accessed March 2022, https://www.cmu.edu/

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Academic Profile: Louis Tran

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This is an academic profile on Louis Tran, an individual who is maintaining college life step by step. Louis is a classmate of mine who I had the pleasure of getting to know academically and personally. Nineteen-year-old Louis is a part of the graduating class of 2021. He is in his third year of college. Which was achieved by joining the dual enrollment program.
Which Is an early college program you can enter when in high school to fast-track your undergraduate years. Louis’s dream profession is to become a divorce/family attorney or social worker. He loves working with the mind and communicating with others. He thinks this profession is best and hits two birds with one stone.

Louis went through Georgia public schooling along with going to a private Christian charter school throughout his high school years. Louis already was a part of GSU throughout his high school years. Which made the transition to a GSU campus all that much easier. He completed his college courses online and graduated high school with college credits. His academic life has been an accomplishment for him. Which was a result of him striving to pass each assignment. Despite Louis’s supportive parents, he still faces pressure from them like any student. Although they want the best for him, the pressure can be overwhelming. With that, the class Louis often struggles with is math. Math is a subject Louis could do better in and hopes to do better in. The classes that he feels are the easiest are history, literature, and critical thinking. Louis’s favorite class currently is drug & behavior. He loves to see how drugs can impact the mind and the behavior of the human body. He does hands-on tasks in that class which makes him enjoy it even more and positively impacts his academic stance.

Louis views his academic self as “moderately okay”. Three words that Louis describes his academic self as-is: determined, not afraid to ask questions, and slow to get started. Louis views himself this way because he makes A’s and B’s and to him, that’s just okay. Although he knows he can always do better he is proud of where he is. Louis’ expectations for this class are to do his utmost best and pass this class with a B minimum but he hopes to finish the class with an A. Louis comes to school to go to class and only to class. He does not participate in any on-campus activities. This correlates with the reading we did call “ COVID-Era College: Are Students Satisfied?” Where it discusses how college life and social life have changed. The normality now is to go to class and straight home. For Louis, this is the usual routine.

Overall Louis is a hard-working student who continues to do his best to achieve his dreams and goals. He has high hopes for this class and looks forward to passing with an outstanding grade. To also better himself in the subject of math. Lastly, Louis wants to better his social life by going to the library more and exploring other buildings. College life is hard but maintaining a life out of school is important. Ask yourself if your school-to-life balance works and how you can improve it.