Laura Newland Chasing Zeroes Analysis

(Attention-grabber) Many people are worried about college and the many challenges one may go through. Chasing Zeroes: The Rise of Student Debt, the Fall of the College Ideal, and One Overachiever’s Pursuit of Success by Laura Newland is an aid for those people wanting an insight on just one way college can turn out for a person. Newland helps both parents and students see the reality of college through her relatable experiences yet cautionary narrative.

Coming from Auburn, Alabama to Duke University, Laura Newland quickly learns it is not easy to be considered successful when being compared with her peers. After being pushed towards finance, Newland makes the impulsive decision to pursue the career though she is not interested in finance. She

is able to go to New York City for a Wall Street experience program. While in New York, Newland is fighting for interview spots, continuing on with school, and meeting many new people. She has many downfalls throughout her time in New York because she is turned down from many interviews. This scares her into believing she is not good enough for the world of finance. By the end of her New York experience, Newland is offered a sought after internship at a private equity firm. She does not accept this offer in order to accept a less popular (inferior) internship at an insurance company. By the end of her college experience, Newland finds she has “no idea why [she] is doing this” (188), which ends her fiance experience.
(you have to know/have an idea of what type of career you are going into) Topic Sentence. Though many people are told that you do not need to know exactly what career they want to go into at the beginning of college, Laura Newland is told that she is far behind her classmates because of the fact that she did not know what to go into. Since Newland is confused about her career choice she seeks advice from Duke’s career adviser, Trevor. After asking about career choices related to business, Newland sums up Trevor’s response by saying: “…to Trevor and to Duke and many of its peer institutions, “business” has morphed into a synonym for the two narrow fields of finance and consulting” (39). Though it is a good idea to ask for advice on deciding on a career, sometimes it does not work out for the best. Laura is pushed into finance because of other peoples’ ideas. Newland goes through all of what she did in finance in order to see that it was not right for her, which proves a good lesson. One must not just shut something down if unsure about a certain career, it is a good idea to test things out while you can in order to be sure. Although she claims that she “look[s] back fondly on [her] college experience, …[she] wish[es] that [she] had been better prepared” (202).
(Internships are a big mess) Topic Sentence.

Throughout Newland's time at college, getting a good internship is shown to be an important aspect. She shows that there are many things needed to become successful according to the world of internships. What Newland explains during her narrative is that getting a good internship is more than just going to a career fair or having a few interviews. Looks, personality, and other desperate acts can get a person a spot for an interview just as much as intelligence or previous jobs and internships can. A prime example of this is Newland’s New York roommate, Paris. Paris seems to have it all together and get everything she wanted to get from the first time Newland meets her. From the outside it looks like Paris has the full package finance looks for -- the looks, the personality, and the brains -- she hides many secrets. Although she gives the impression of knowing everything about finance, it is just one of the many actions she takes to ensure she gets the job. Newland finds out that Paris “taught herself just enough [about finance] to get by…” (119), among Paris’s other secrets to getting

internships.
The first incident of letting her secret out happened when Quinn, another New York experience program student, brought up Hank Paulson, who Paris let out that she did not know him. Another time her secret was let out was Harrison, not reading The Journal, etc.
“Recruiting had begun to feel like dating gone wrong.” (163)
Do not join a certain company,firm, etc. simply because they want you to, make sure that the place is a right fit for you. (change)
Newland’s reality of college is not what she expects as the portrayal of college is different from what is shown on tours, pictures, or even in conversations.

Although Newland assumes her first day of college is not going to be different from how she sees or hears how her college looks and the way the classes are run, she is mistaken. Instead of going “to the grassy quad lines with Gothic-style buildings” (10), Newland finds her way to “a poorly lit corner of [a] building where the student union’s cheerful sounds were muffled and its lively atmosphere was replaced by drab walls and tattered chairs” (10). It is known that college is not the same as high school, but Newland seems to not know. Within the first semester, Newland’s economics teacher's sends out an email to the class saying that "...while [they] were special in [their] previous life, the fact that all of [them] are special means that none of [them] are..." (24). It is not just Newland’s teacher’s email that shows Newland college is not all fun and games. Her father calling about her failing math grades also proved to Newland even more that college is not high school and it will not be an easy ride. The New York experience program Newland attends seems to be almost the opposite from what she expects it to be. During her elevator ride up to her room, Newland sees a couple who “[steps into a scene that was slightly old-fashioned but elegant” (82), but as soon as she comes to her floor she “[is not] staring at a

painting or an armoire but at a large red vending machine…” (82).
(CONCLUSION) Laura Newland gives parents and students a fair warning of what to expect, or what not to expect, throughout college.