The Financial Burden That is Higher Education: Part One

As early as I can remember I was told: You are going to college. You are getting an education. You must have these things to succeed in life.

And in my parent's defense, that was the world they grew up in. Opportunities they didn't have by not going to a four-year institution, that to get some of those doors to open for her, my mother had to manage to be a wife, mother, and all around bad ass and go to evening school. 

In grade school I did very well. Schooling always came so easy to me that basically I would read the chapter in the book, listen and take notes in class, then reread before an exam and that was it. I stored the information to take the test, passed things with (relatively) flying colors, and didn't need to try much. I also had the stigma of community college. I saw the people I grew up with that went there. There was no shame in them being there, it was a fine place to learn things, but I was DETERMINED to go to a four-year school, live away from my family, and grow up. 

While college has put me in a huge hole financially, it is probably in the top 3 contributors to who I am today. I grew up in college, I found independence, I sprouted wings, I grew a backbone and faith in myself. As angry as it makes me that I have had to live with my family until I was 28 years old, I still don't regret going there. Maybe I could have played things differently, but I was traveling unknown waters and guessing my way through the hoops and ladders of financial aid, loans, and debt. 

I distinctly recall one argument that I had with my mother about where I would attend college. She didn't want me to get all that debt, that she was not going to help me pay for it, and I needed to go to the local community college. I don't know what kind of teenagers you know, but college was like the bad boy who comes rolling in on the motorcycle. The more I was told I couldn't have it, the more that I wanted it. While in comparison the private university I chose was cheaper then the state school I applied to, it was still far more than if I had stayed closer to home. 

By having no guidance, no assistance, and being a silly 18 year old trying to navigate legal jargon I can still barely comprehend, I ended up taking out private loans and not the fullest amount available of federal loans. In my head federal loans were bad - I was going to do this ON MY OWN. I am not a free-loader. I was an I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T woman. 

Also, keep in mind: 2007 was a different time financially. There were websites that you could find loans through regular old wealthy people who would loan you the money. Sound pretty sketchy? It probably was. After the financial collapse, all of those loans went into the big banks. Every summer I would cry out of confusion and desperation, hoping to figure things out so I could return the semester. I switched majors to make more money post-college. I knew I would be broke, but I didn't understand just how broke.