College Students Trapped by Credit Card Debt
My best friend from my childhood is a marketing agent’s dream. Constantly duped and deceived by flashy ads and predatory marketing, this kid will buy anything - usuall on credit. At last check, my friend had maxed out 4 credit cards to the tune of over $30,000. Very rarely did the money go for something necessary, like accommodation or food, but usually was spent on a multitude of gadgets, toys, and other assorted ‘guy-stuff.’ CDs, a subwoofer, X-boxes and PlayStations, new rims and tires…he even whipped out the plastic to cover the $5,000 for his girlfriend’s new boobs! In my humble opinion, this was probably one of his wiser purchases, but still highlights the fact that my friend has a serious problem managing his finances. Unfortunately, my friend is not alone, but is one of thousands of unassuming college students trapped by credit card debt.
Potential problems caused by lousy credit history can bite hard. They include: dropping out of college, physical and emotional health problems, family conflicts, bankruptcy, job rejections due to bad credit, loan denials, inability to rent apartments, graduate school rejections, and even suicide (Manning, 160). About 3 – 4 percent of college students suffer from serious credit problems (Manning, 160). While this number may seem small, that translates into 304 students just at HSU alone (4% of 7611 total students). College campuses make fertile feeding grounds for predatory marketing strategies. College is a time of self-discovery, when many students are enjoying their first real tastes of independence away from the home. For many, obtaining that first credit card is a natural step in establishing financial sovereignty. The fact of the matter however, is that college kids are also more prone to naivety with credit cards, which often hide the true costs of buying on credit.
According to the Nellie Mae Corporation (a division of the federal Sallie Mae fund), over 95% of graduate students have credit cards, with the average student owing $4,776 in debt. 20% of those graduate students have debt between $6,000 and $15,000, and 6% have debt greater than $15,000.
Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” is the first story in a collection about the Alpha Company, led by First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross during the Vietnam War. The platoon is deployed near Than Khe, an area filled with dense jungle and unrelenting rain where the men must carry or “hump” an unspeakable amount of weight both literal and emotional to survive. The narrator, O’Brien, is one of the soldiers, and he distinguishes one soldier from another with a vivid description of what each one must, and chooses to carry in order to survive war. The seventeen men in this troop are tasked with a search and destroy mission inside tunnel complexes south of Chu Lai. While Lee Strunk is in the tunnels, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is obsessing over Martha, a girl from back home, and Ted Lavender is taking drugs. Just when Lee Strunk emerges from the tunnels unscathed, Ted Lavender is shot in the head----boom-down--killed, and the men begin to vacillate between morbid fascination and guilt.
In the short story, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, each soldier carries many items during times of war and strife, but each necessity differs. This short story depicts what each soldier carries mentally, physically, and emotionally on his shoulders as long, fatiguing weeks wain on during the Vietnam War. The author Tim O’Brien is a Vietnam War veteran, an author, the narrator, and a teacher. The main character, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross is a Vietnam War soldier who is away at war fighting a mind battle about a woman he left behind in New Jersey because he is sick with love while trying to fulfill his duties as a soldier to keep America free. Tim O’Brien depicts in “The Things They Carried” a troubled man who also shoulders the
‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien provides a insider’s view of war and its distractions, both externally in dealing with combat and internally dealing with the reality of war and its effect on each solder. The story, while set in Vietnam, is as relevant today with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as it was in the 1960’s and 1970’s in Southeast Asia. With over one million soldiers having completed anywhere from one to three tours in combat in the last 10 years, the real conflict might just be inside the soldier. O’Brien reflects this in his writing technique, using a blend of fiction and autobiographical facts to present a series of short narratives about a small unit of soldiers. While a war story, it is also an unrequited love story too, opening with Jimmy Cross holding letters from a girl he hoped would fall in love with him. (O’Brien 1990).
“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien is a short story written about the Vietnam War. The title has two meanings. The first is their duties and equipment for the war. The second, the emotional sorrows they were put through while at war. Their wants and needs, the constant worry of death were just a few of the emotional baggage they carried. During the Vietnam War, like all wars, there were hard times. Being a soldier wasn’t easy. Soldiers always see death, whether it be another soldier or an enemy. In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien explores the motivation of solders in the Vietnam War to understand their role in combat, to stay in good health, and accept the death of a fellow soldier.
In “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien portrays a captivating message of responsibility to his readers. Its moral explains how we sometimes let ourselves “out” of our problems, because we would like to be somewhere pleasant. The excerpt retrospect’s the war in Vietnam and illustrates the mentality and life of the foot soldiers that fought and died there. By establishing what each character carried in a literal, spiritual, and mental form, the reader can understand what the men were about. By doing so, O’Brien creates a world where reality and imagination meet and are in competition with each other.
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried storytelling mode allows his lectors to empathize with the characters personalities and emotional burdens during the Vietnam of war through the use of many elements of fiction including characterization, war settings, irony of situation, symbolism, and plot but most notably his technique of correlation between the weight of the stuff each soldier carried on them necessary for their survival in battle and the weight of the stuff they carried internally such as their doubts, fears, love and hopes.
“The Things They Carried” is a story about the Vietnam war, in the simplest of terms. It focuses on one particular team of soldiers and their experiences during the war. O’Brien’s writing is complex and has many layers. In the story, O’Brien lists the items the soldiers physically carry in a stark comparison to the things they carry mentally throughout the war. The author uses symbolism, metaphors, and imagery to show the soldiers loss of innocence and the effects of war on an individual.
Forensic science positions require a bachelor’s degree to work in the field. Understanding of legal procedures and knowledge can be helpful. Job candidates that have extensive hands-on experience with a variety of laboratory equipment, that includes computers and related equipment, don’t require a long period of on-the-job training. People that are interested in a career as a forensic science technician should take as many high school science and math courses as possible. Science courses taken beyond high school, in a bachelor or an associate’s degree program, should be laboratory oriented, with an emphasis on bench skills. A solid background in physics, math, and applied chemistry is vital. Approximately 30 colleges and universities offer a bachelor’s degree program in forensic science, and about a...
The Vietnam War was a challenging time for soldiers both physically and mentally. They often didn’t have a choice on whether they were going to war due to the drafting system that had been in place. Many had tangible and intangible things that they carried with them for the sake of their sanity or their job in the unit. The chapter, “The Things They Carried”, in the novel The Things They Carried, captures this immaculately. The author, Tim O’Brien, speaks of the things each man within his unit carried with him. Each man did not just carry tangible objects with him, but also intangible objects as well .
When you graduate from college that is the time you start your life but many are not able to. Some people want to get married or start a family but cannot afford it at the time. By the time they receive their first check they instantly have to start paying their loans back. They are not able to afford rent/mortgage, utilities, or transportation because of it. Mishory O’Sullivan and Invincible (2012), “Found the average single student debtor would have to pay close to half of his or her monthly income toward student loans and mortgage payments. As a result, he or she would not qualify for an FHA loan or many private loans” (Elliott). A Survey ASA did on college students stated, “Student Loans were created to be an engine for social mobility, but they are, in fact, limiting young people’s ability to achieve financial success” (The Impact of Student). A student graduate mentioned, “Student debt weighs on every decision I make from
In “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien brings to light the effects of war on soldiers, both physically and psychologically. The title of the story would lead the reader to believe the story is only about the provisions and apparatus a soldier would physically carry into war. After reading the entire story, it becomes evident that there are many burdens seen and unseen that soldiers face during times of war.
Instant gratification or easy access to almost everything is necessary, to have the right clothes and the right shoes, but usually they have no money to buy it with. This is where credit cards come into play, and where many individuals see credit cards as free money. They assume that they can buy it now, and of course, pay it later assuring themselves and their family that they will have the money. This comes down to responsibility; can college students handle budgeting their money? According to a study conducted by a Midwestern University shows approximately 66% of college students did in fact own at least one credit card. Some students can handle it and some can’t, it all depends on what priorities that person has. If buying a hamburger or new video game and not thinking about it is more important than paying that purchase off and establishing credit than those priorities are not good. Credit cards are just another factor in growing up. It 's learning what boundaries you have and what responsibilities are
Modern day American capitalism is founded on the concept of credit. Credit, as defined by Dictionary.com, is “ Confidence in a purchaser’s ability and intention to pay,displayed by entrusting the buyer with goods or services without immediate payment,” (Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved April 23, 2014, from Dictionary.com website). This pent up credit is what causes consumer debt to swallow individuals whole, robbing them of their financial security. This consumer debt, defined as “ Money owed by individuals, generally for goods or services that they have purchased,” has become a norm among our society (Consumer Debt. (2010). The reason as to why consumer debt is becoming a prime concern for Americans is the inability to make payments, predation of citizens by credit card companies, and how immediate relief leads to disastrous long term results.
Although adults with a college degree have a higher salary than those who do not, student debt is hurting college graduates. ProCon says, "between 2003 and 2012 the number of 25-year-olds with student debt increased from 25% to 43%, and their average loan balance was $20,326 in 2012-a 91% increase since 2003" ("Is a College. . ." 2). Ten percent of graduate students have over $40,000 in debt and roughly 1% have over $100,000 in debt ("Is a College. . ." 2). With student debt on the rise, it will be a strong defense on whether college is worth it or
In high school, counselors push students to attend college first, and think about their loans later, without actually explaining how difficult it might be for some. It may be especially difficult for those students that are the first in the family, because they do not know what will happen, and how it will happen. Many are left to figure that out by themselves, learning as they continue their postsecondary education. While these students are left fending for themselves, it is clear to see how unethical some colleges act in providing an education. From 2008-2014, graduation rates remained below 70%, dropping to as low as 60% in some private for profit schools (DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CITATION). Some schools are even infamous for how low their graduate rate is. One example is New York’s Long Island University at 21.7% at one of their campuses, and 8% in their Brooklyn campus (Graduating from College). When a student decides to drop out because they cannot afford to go their anymore, or because they simply do not like the college, that still leaves them to pay back the amount of tuition calculated for the length of education they received. When schools have such a low graduation rate, it points to a problem. These schools are running a business, and only doing what favors them, instead of attempting to fix the problem, and keep students interested and to continue