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College comes with hefty price tag

Mecham is a first-year psychology major and can be reached at zachary.mecham@drake.edu

Do me a favor. Go to your blueView. Take a look at your financial aid account. How much debt are you in? Have you figured out your interest rate? Can you afford to pay it every month?

Confronted with these questions recently gave me an increasing desire to wet myself and come crying home to mommy. These days, though a hard day of manual labor is rewarding in some ways, it’s extremely undervalued as far as pay goes.

Our nation’s youth has been forced to resort to molding the mind into an analytical and thoughtful machine. This of course comes at its own price, but what options do we have when even jobs in the most remedial industries require a high school education and at least basic knowledge of how to operate computers?

In a capitalist society some people have more of an advantage than others. Every one of us has a distinct advantage over some other people in our society just for the simple fact that we’re here. Even those of us who are putting ourselves in a substantial amount of debt are here because we can afford it. Or maybe I’m speaking for myself but I at least have a plan to pay my debt off. Sure it may involve joining the Village People and showing off my rockin’ bod to afford my education but at least it’s something.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m getting a world class education here at Drake University and it’s worth every penny. I worked hard to get here, and while my other friends initially feel they’re smarter than me for taking the community college route, I think I made the right decision.

Drake has welcomed me with open arms and done a great job to accommodate me. I feel like I can thrive here. I’ve already made so many friends. So many in fact, I can’t remember half of their names.

I guess if I have any words of wisdom to pass on, it’s pay your interest as soon as you can, don’t waste your opportunity at Drake and donate to my tuition.

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