fix essay

Mateo Buitrago

Fall 2015 ENG 111 21PR College Composition 1

This I believe

Many high school students are excited to finally finish school and move on to the next challenge of their lives. For most of them, that step is attending college. Like them, after I graduated, I too was ready and exited to finally become independent and be able to attend a school solely focused on what I was interested in learning. Unfortunately I was not prepared or made aware for all the consequences that would come from what at the moment seemed like the most obvious and best decision of my life. Four years later and many mixed emotions and hesitation later, I have finally decided to come back to school, but this time around, I know what I am getting myself into, as a more responsible and focused person. I believe students coming out of high school are not properly prepared for this.

In 2009 I started my senior year of high school; I was living in a small town in south Texas, surrounded by cotton fields, with one movie theater, and a single mall with half the shops closed down. I was desperate to get out.

One thing we always got at my school was military recruiters. They always promised us action and probabilities of exploring the world. We were the perfect bunch of kids for them. Small town kids who wanted out of the small town lifestyle. I was semi-recruited by the U.S.M.C. which after my mom found out; I was practically put in lockdown. She was not having it. She told me “Only way you’re getting out of here is by going to college” which I took as a personal challenge, so the next week I headed over to my college counselor, and that is how I started my road to higher education.

My counselor started inviting me to attend college presentations; I was attending probably like 2 a week, which honestly, I was mostly attending to get out of class. But most of these schools did grab my attentions with the lifestyles they described. They also provided so many interesting majors that I pictured myself being able to succeed in. It was ridiculous. After so many I finally settled in attending The University of Texas in San Antonio. I told this to my college counselor which she practically did the whole enrollment and financial aid process for me. I pretty much only typed in my social security number. She took care of the rest. This was a big mistake on my part.

I started attending UTSA in the fall semester of 2010. I had finally gotten out of my small town, and started my life in a big city. This in all honesty, was great. I was 18, in a dorm, surrounded by pretty girls and folks who wanted to party. This was another mistake on my part which I was not prepared for. I got totally caught up on this lifestyle and ended up skipping more classes than I should have. You are told since orientation to be responsible and show up to class, but when you are responsible for yourself at that age, you don’t necessarily make the responsible choice. Well, getting to the point, I failed some classes, and ended up in academic suspension. At the time, I didn’t find it to be a big deal, I was out of school, but I was working and making a decent living.

Six months after I left school, I was presented with my first bill to pay back the financial aid I was provided. This I was not ready for. And it was an expense that I was not ready for. Now I was aware that I would have to pay my loans back. I was never told it would be so soon after I finished school. Another thing I was not made aware of was how much money I had been provided by financial aid. My college counselor had signed me up for a $12,000 dollar loan. Now this loan was for 1 year. Had I finished the 4 years of my major, I would owe $48,000. I would have never imagined that a major in Fine Arts would cost that much. Had I known all this, I would have not majored in this field. I would most likely not have attended school had I been made aware of all this. This all happened 4 years ago, I am still making payments on my loan.

I have made many friends that are attending or have graduated college; most of them do not work in the major they graduated in, and are making payments towards the school loans they have. They have regular jobs working at coffee shops or retail stores. I believe that it is unfair for young people to be presented with this idea that attending college is the best choice they have available. School counselors and college representatives should make students aware of the financial consequences they are getting themselves into. I have spoken to older people like my grandparents which have brought up a great point. They stated that back when they were growing up; attending college was more for the privileged. There also weren’t as many schools back then. In today’s date, colleges are more accessible thanks to financial aid, and the abundance of schools. This with more students graduating means fewer jobs available for people who are qualified.

I believe high schools and colleges should take responsibility in providing students with proper financial information of what they are getting themselves into. I’ve taken a $12,000 loan for school and a $14,000 loan for my car; the loan for my car provided me with a proper breakdown of how long it would take to pay it off, monthly payments and how much interest it would accumulate. I was never provided with this detail of information when I first took out my school loan.