Introduction
We spend years of our high school career imagining the college life, the dorms, and the college university experience. We spend months of our senior year deciding where it is exactly that we want to spend the next 4 years furthering our education. It is finally time to apply for financial assistance, only to find out that you do not qualify for financial aid. How will your family afford $8,000-$15,000 dollars a semester of college? How will you get the college experience and the hands on training that you have always dreamt of? Being a part of the U.S middle class, as are many other students, we unfortunately fall into the category of being “Too poor for college, and too rich for financial aid”.
Overview of Argument
Forbes Magazine
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contributor, Robert Farrington, brings to light the issue that many college students face today. Robert Farrington argues that millions of families fall into the category of being “too poor for college, too poor for financial aid”. He argues that this gap comes from a combination of college financing issues. Robert Farrington effectively brings this issue to light by using rhetorical devices, such as factual evidence and emotional appeal to draw in his reader’s attention to connect them emotionally through his reading. Analysis In Robert Farrington’s article in the Forbes Magazine, he uses many rhetorical devices to bring his audience to light on the issue many middle class families face today.
One way he does so is by using emotional appeal to connect the audience to the issue. Farrington begins by giving the reader’s a visualization of what it might be like to go through the experience yourself or even experiencing your own child being accepted into a university of their dreams, but not having the money to afford it. Ultimately, diminishing their long term goals.
In addition, Farrington gives us factual evidence to give the reader a better understanding of why it is that families are “too poor for college, too rich for financial aid”. He includes in his article that $48,000 is the median household income in the United States. Farrington tells his readers roughly how much the cost of attendance is for a year at a college university, and also explains how even after being granted the highest form of financial aid the tuition left for the families to pay is just as much as the median household income in the U.S. He also informs the readers that most financial aid is calculated on expected family contribution. This is how much the government thinks the family can afford to pay. This gives the readers the necessary knowledge to have a better understanding for the standing issue
today. Despite the rhetorical devices Farrington uses in the writing, he is mainly speaking to college students and the middle class families who fall into this gap. Farrington should have incorporated information about the upper class families who can afford the cost of attendance for their child or even themselves. He should have incorporated how although the lower class families have a lower household income than both the upper and middle classes they’re given a substantially higher financial aid check than the middle class families. In doing so, he could branch his audience to all three social classes and enhanced the emotion connection from his readers as well. Conclusion Under those circumstances, Robert Farrington does the job of educating his readers on the issue that families have been enduring and still endure to this day. He provides factual evidence and emotional appeal to connect his readers to his article and to the standing issue. Farrington even provides advice on ways students and families can avoid missing financial aid and falling into this gap. Farrington’s argument is valid and his words are knowledgeable through his reading.
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Many are expecting college to be expensive. They worry about how much they can afford and having to make payment arrangements. Some go as far as to think only rich people can afford to go to college. There is a thought that you have to have good credit to get a loan that takes forever to pay back. Many are not aware of the programs that are o...
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Education comes at a high price for this generation and not just financially. Going to college can give students plenty of debt with no promise of a job in return, which can set a student father back on their course of life. Young adults trying to start their lives by going to college encounter many setbacks. Today the average cost for a private university is $25...
Financial Aid was created to increase enrollment rates for higher education. It is expected of young adults to further their education to get a good job, even if they do not have the money to do so. Because of these expectations, the price of college tuition has increased dramatically. Due to the increase in tuition, middle class families can no longer afford to pay for their child’s education, causing students to have to work to pay for college because they do not qualify for financial aid. With the criteria set for Financial Aid, it is becoming more difficult for middle-class students to afford college. College students who work to support themselves and their families should be granted much more financial aid than they currently receive.
There are so many students who would extremely grateful to attend any four year institution but can’t because of the lack of funds. College life can be very stressful, and the process can is very frustrating to most students the first two years. When the cost of college tuition is compared to the 21 century financial economy the cost does not make sense, because for a middle-class family it is impossible to afford sending their child to any four-year institution. It hard for students to graduate with the stress to pay-off hundreds and thousands of dollars in loans. Going to college is stressful enough without the need to worry about how we’re going to pay for it and what other costs will continue to rise with getting a degree afterwards. With the current increase of unemployment rate and the thought of going to college seems like a farfetched goal. Many people choice not to attend a four year institution, because they did receive a scholarship or enough government funding. Having a college background is very important for professional growth, it will eventually limit career opportunities. My stand point is, you may not leave college doing the same thing you began with but the life experience is endless. College experience not only gives knowledge that builds you into a better person by giving a broader erosion. With the cost of tuition increasing will hurt our generation, by causing physical and mental stress but in the end it will all pay off. Not all colleges are for the blame; some of the blame is our economy and other factors play a big roll. As students we need to be aware of all our resources offered, such as Pell Grants, and government scholarships. For example, the some states will pay for a student’s college if they graduate high school with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. There are many states that are willing to pay for all or some of college tuition only if students are willing to use
A college education has become the expectation for most youth in the United States. Children need a college education to succeed in the global economy. Unfortunately for the majority of Americans the price of an education has become the equivalent to a small house. The steep tuition of a college education has made it an intimidating financial hurdle for middle class families. In 1986-1987 school year the average tuition at a private university was $20,566 (adjusted to 2011 dollars) while in 2011 the average cost was $28,500 for an increase of 38.6%. Similarly in public universities there has been an increase in tuition: in the 1986-1987 school year the average tuition at a public university was $8,454 (adjusted to 2011 dollars) while in 2011 the average cost was actually $20,770 for an increase of 145.7%. Most families who are able to save for college try to do so, therefore their children are not left with large amounts of debt due to loans. Nevertheless, families are only able to save on average around $10,000, which is not enough to pay for a full educ...
The biggest decision students are facing nationwide is making the decision to go to college. Tamara Draut mentions how, depressing, the cost of tuition expand each year, making enrolling in a four-year institution practically exclusive to only the affluent. Draut does cover the topic of financial aid and how it aid the less fortunate but it doesn’t make higher edification any more affordable to the masses. Therefore, since the socioeconomic gap continuously grows, security for a middle-class student, which is earning a four-year degree, is now diminishing because of the expense to actually achieve the degree.
Increasing college costs has proven to be a major issue for those who pursue higher learning. With institutions raising tuition and fees, students are forced to make life-altering sacrifices to repay soaring student loans. We have come to a pivotal place in history, where individuals have no choice but to minimize or delay important life decision’s such as moving home with their parents to save money, becoming home owners, retirement saving and forfeiting higher education. The impact of increasing college costs has become so severe that it is at the forefront of politicians, political agenda, inducing conversation and policies like the revised income-driven repayment program. The program proposed to help combat the effects of massive student loans.
Fees and loans are too big of a load for young people to carry. A lot of students drop out do to the pressure of having to worry about all the loans they have to pay back after they are done with college. This should not be an issue to the student. According Iatham Emmmons, “Even worse, a large portion of students never receive funding at all due to the multitude of stipulations that must be adhered to in order to qualify for assistance. A major flaw in the current federal educational assistance programs is that the students’ parents’ income is used to calculate financial need” (Emmons 3). Even citizens who try to get help by applying for funding never end up getting it because they do not meet the needs required for the funding. Education should be p...
Many significant questions regarding higher education are in relation to its cost, raising fears that higher education has become unaffordable. Education fee for universities and colleges has continuously grown to become one of the largest expense for most students and parents over the years, especially with the never-ending dramatic tuition fee increases resulting from public funding cuts for education by the federal and state governments. Selingo (para 3) reported that higher education cost definitely has a direct impact on access, thus, the frequent increases in cost are logically of great concern to many, including parents, students, and education policymakers. In other words, this has disadvantaged the poor families, resulting in unequal education opportunities for Americans and putting attainment of higher education in danger of becoming a hereditary privilege rather than a right for all people (Selingo para 6).
Firstly, not every scholarship holder actually needs the scholarship as compared to those who actually cannot obtain for scholarships. Carey (2009) states that it is sad to see the United States of America wastes a huge amount of money providing college financial aid to students from high-income family. This shows that most financial aid is given to the wealthy students instead of the needy students and it is such a waste of fund and re...
As applying to college creeps upon me, my eyes have opened to the reality of college costs. I am very blessed and fortunately to have a family who can support the price of college, for whatever school I wish to attend, but I also realize I am in the minority. In the United States everyone should have the opportunity to improve their quality of life, given this gift I realize how grateful I am to cultivate my opportunities to the