Out-Of-Class #1: Decent Story, Common Problems

(name redacted)

10/14/14
OOC#1

Michigan State University had approximately 49,300 students in the fall of 2013, according to the university website. WEBSITE IS UPPER CASE, PER AP STYLE All of those students had one thing in common – a tuition bill that needed to be paid. 

There are many ways for students to pay for school. Loans, scholarships, financial aid, and support from family members remain among the most popular. However, even with so many options, many students still face the struggle of figuring out how they are going to pay.

MSU financial aid counselor Tyler Arens compared paying for college to buying a new car every year for four years. START NEW GRAF HERE; ONLY ONE MAIN POINT OR ONE SUPPORTING POINT OR ONE QUOTE PER GRAF “While there are a lot of resources that these students qualify for or have from family to help off-set these costs, it’s a significant investment, so it still presents a lot of long-term planning. Especially if you’re taking out loans to cover those expenses,” said Arens.

HERE, WE CAN USE SOME DATA TO SUPPORT THE MAIN POINT OF THE ARTICLE, LIKE, HOW MUCH IS TUITION, ROOM AND BOARD PER YEAR? WHAT IS THE AVERAGE AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL AID STUDENTS GET? AND WHAT IS THE AVERAGE DOLLAR AMOUNT THEY HAVE TO COME UP WITH BEYOND THAT? LET’S NOT JUST TELL PEOPLE IT’S A PROBLEM; LET’S SHOW IT IN DOLLARS AND CENTS.

MSU student Corey Roberto said that he has found the task of paying for school to be very stressful. Roberto pays for his school mostly on his own, and works to help supplement his payments. 

HOW MUCH DOES HE WORK? DOING WHAT? HOW MUCH DOE SHE MAKE A YEAR? HOW MUCH OF THAT GOES TO PAYING SCHOOL-RELATED COSTS? WHAT IS HIS AVERAGE ROOM AND BOARD COSTS? HOW3 DOES HE MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE? AGAIN, DON’T JUST TELL ME HE HAS TO WORK AND PAY FOR STUFF; SHOW ME HOW MUCH HE WORKS AND HOW MUCH HE HAS TO PAY

PLUS, THIS IS A GOOD PLACE FOR A HUMANIZING QUOTE FROM ROBERTO THAT GOES TO WHAT THE IMPACT IS FOR HAVING THAT RESPONSIBILITY

Like Roberto, many students who pay for some, if not all, of their education on their own have jobs while they are in school to help afford it.

Student Ben Galbraith works on the MSU farms while he is in school and in return gets to live in a house on the farm for free. “It’s nice because I don’t have to worry about paying for housing,” said Galbraith.  Some students may choose options like this to help offset costs. 

HOW MUCH DOES IT SAVE GALBRAITH? HOW MUCH DOES HE STILL HAVE TO PAY? AGAIN, GIVE ME NUMBERS SO I CAN PUT HIS WORDS INTO GREATER CONTEXT

While some students pay for their school out of pocket, OUT-OF-POCKET IS HYPHENATED it is more common to find students who pay for their schooling through loans.

 There are many types of loans available for students. According to the Federal Student Aid Office’s website, WEBSITE IS UPPER CASE, PER AP STYLE the amount of money that students are eligible to borrow depends upon the amount of need that they present. 

Arens said in order to determine how much money a student is eligible for, they must fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). “That’s the first step for all students who are seeking financial aid,” said Arens. 

According to the Federal Student Aid Office website, WEBSITE IS UPPER CASE once you fill out your FAFSA you will receive your Expected Family Contribution. College or career schools use this to figure out how much aid a student will get, and it determines how much money a student can borrow.

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE AWARD? AND WHAT PERCENTAGE OF ROOM AND BOARD DOES THAT COVER?

MSU graduate student Robert Moore said he feels that as an undergraduate, if you don’t fit a certain criteria it is hard to be eligible for a lot of money from loans. START NEW GRAF HERE; ONLY ONE MAIN POINT OR ONE SUPPORTING POINT OR ONE QUOTE PER GRAF  He says SAID, STED SAYS when he was an undergrad he felt he was denied a lot of money because of his race, gender and families FAMILY’S, POSSESSIVE, STED FAMILIES, PLURAL economic status. START NEW GRAF HERE; ONLY ONE MAIN POINT OR ONE SUPPORTING POINT OR ONE QUOTE PER GRAF. PLUS, WHY DOES HE THINK HE WAS DENIED FOR THOSE REASONS? WHAT’S ARENS’S RESPONSE TO THAT?  “As a med school student now, I receive a lot of money from the government that I didn’t get when I was an undergrad,” said Moore. 

Arens said that he recommends using scholarships and personal resources before turning to loans. Scholarships are Arens ARENS’, STED ARENS biggest recommendation for students looking for additional money.

“A lot of people feel like maybe it isn’t as fruitful as they would like, but we actually work with students all the time who are able to identify scholarships from external sources. You know, local organizations, community organizations, parents and employers, churches, some incoming freshman from their high schools and then a lot of national scholarships. There are a lot of good websites WEBSITES IS UPPER CASE, PER AP STYLE you can search nationally as well,” said Arens. THIS IS A HUGE GRAF; BREAK IT UP INTO AT LEAST TWO QUOTE GRAFS 

ALSO, HOW MUCH SCHOLARSHIP MONEY IS AVAILABLE NATIONALLY? AND FROM WITHIN MSU? WHAT IS THE AVERAGE SCHOLARSHIP AWARD AMOUNT FOR THE AVERAGE SCHOLARSHIP WINNER? WE NEED TO SEARCH FOR DATA LIKE THIS, FROM ARENS OR GOOGLE OR  EXTERNAL FCOLLEGE FINANCIAL PLANNING GROUPS.

PLUS, LET’S FIND AN EXAMPLE OF THIS TYPE OF STUDENT TO QUOTE. JUST ASK AROUND; IT’S REALLY THAT BASIC

Students may also be eligible for merit-based aid as well. According to Arens, merit-based aid is determined by individual colleges and departments or by the admissions office at the time of admissions.

According to the MSU Office of Admissions website, WEBSITE IS UPPER CASE, PER AP STYLE merit-based aid is awarded to incoming freshmen based on grade point average, class rank, standardized test scores, or similar criteria.

HOW MANY FRESHMEN GET THE AWARD ANNUALLY? WHAT IS THE AVERAGE CASH AMOUNT OF THE AWARD? SHOW ME; DON’T JUST TELL ME

PLUS, WE NEED AN EXAMPLE OF THIS TYPE OF STUDENT TO QUOTE HERE

There are also students who come from families that can afford to pay for their child’s tuition out of pocket. MSU student Annie McGraw says that she is lucky that her parents could afford to pay for her school themselves. “It was a lot less stressful for me,” says McGraw. 

HOW MUCH DO THEY COVER? WHAT DOES SHE STILL HAVE TO COVER? HOW MUCH DOES THAT END UP BEING PER WEEK? WHAT DOES IT FREE HER UP TO DO THAT OTHERWISE SHE COULDN’T? WHAT WOULD SHE BE DOING IF HER PARENTS DIDN’T PAY? LET’S BE SURE TO ASK FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS 

No matter how students end up paying for their school, Arens recommends talking to an advisor ADVISER, STED ADVISOR or financial planner to help give students an idea of what they are doing. WHICH WOULD ALSO BE GOOD ADDITIONAL NEUTRAL EXPERT SOURCES YOU COULD HAVE HAD IN THE STORY. PLUS, START NEW GRAF HERE; ONLY ONE MAIN POINT OR ONE SUPPORTING POINT OR ONE QUOTE PER GRAF  “A lot of times students want to try and figure it out on their own and that can be very personal, sometimes there’s just a lot pride,” said Arens.

“I think students should recognize that there 50,000 other people on this campus and everyone is, for the most part, going through the same thing. Most students who are here are not from families who can just write out a check,” said Arens. 

WORD COUNT: 798 Sources:
-Ben Galbraith 989-370-3570 galbra41@msu.edu
-Annie McGraw 313-769-5176 mcgrawa1@msu.edu
-Corey Roberto 248-910-7910 robertoc@msu.edu
-Tyler Arens 517-353-5940 arenst@msu.edu
-Robert Moore (declined for phone #) moorer13@msu.edu

ASSIGNMENT GRADE: (REDACTED)

INSTRUCTOR COMMENTS: SOLID FOUNDATION FOR THIS STORY, BUT WHAT WE NEED IS MORE DATA. DON’T JUST TELL ME IT’S A STRUGGLE, SHOW ME THAT STRUGGLE IN DOLLARS AND CENTS. WE SORELY NEED DATA TO SUPPORT WHAT PEOPLE ARE ANECDOTALLY TELLING US, AND THEIR CONCLUSIONS. WE NEED THE PROOF. IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE BUT GET SUFFICENT SUPPORTING DATA, YOUR GRADE SHOULD IMPROVE IN REWRITE. BUT I ALSO THINK WE NEED A FEW MORE SOURCES, BOTH IN TERMS OF STUDENTS DEALING WITH DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES AND ANOTHER NEUTRAL EXPERT OR TWO THAT CAN HEL ANALYZE ISSUES AND OPTIONS FOR STUDENTS.