Athina Nystazopoulos 11/14/14
ENC1101 Professor Stratus

Attitudes Compare and Contrast essay After high school you basically enter the real world. No more getting stuff to you handed easy, you got to earn things and do everything on your own. Unlike high school college isn't free. You have to pay for you tuition and on top of it your books. There’s this thing the government provides which is called financial aid. You apply for it and if you get accepted they give you a certain amount of money to go towards school and your books. And if you don’t get accepted, you can either pull out a loan and pay the school back, or pay it yourself. The differences between having to pay and not having to pay is, when you have to pay usually you can’t be a full time student because you can’t afford all the classes. And not having to pay means being a full time student, and graduating on time. Unfortunately, today's young adults often begin their life in college with limited capabilities of handling their own personal finances. This must be a societal concern because insufficient financial knowledge and skills can create inequality in the distribution of income and wealth, inadequate savings for retirement, and, low savings rates and capital formation. Whether male or female, financial illiterate young adults who have developed 'buy now (with credit card), think later (not necessarily pay later)' consumption behaviors for immediate satisfaction or fulfillment, are easy target and potentially good customers for the credit card industry. Warren Buffett, arguably the most successful investor, shares his thoughts on overspending habits "if you develop a good financial habit, it will last a life time and it will make life easier in all kinds of ways. I would like to note that some people whose parents pay for education ARE as committed as the others. I believe it is foolish to accept sweeping generalizations about any issue. We are all individuals. I agree that people who finance their own education are probably highly motivated to get the job done. This speaks to me of accepting RESPONSIBILITY for one’s own future. Some parents value education so they plan for their children. Others do not value a higher education, so they put their resources elsewhere. Some families have the means ($) to pay for college and some don’t. Those families who do value education tend to pass this message along to their kids, not only through financial commitment but in their everyday attitudes and behaviors. (Not all kids "buy into" these values. Hence you see the struggles when kids goof off in college while Mom and Dad pay the bills. Kids "get with the program" if and when they are ready and not a moment sooner). Talking to other students who are financing their education I've noticed that everyone seems to value their education more in general. It is almost like how some parents buy their kids a car, and someone buying their own car. The kids who have had to buy their own car take better care of it then someone who was just given one. Some say paying for their own education puts an unfair burden on college students, many of whom graduate with huge debt. But it doesn't have to be that way. If students are responsible for paying the bill, they will become smarter consumers. They will choose less extravagant programs, perhaps opting for community college first instead of a four-year university, or combining work with study. They will be likely to choose more-practical majors, perhaps forgoing that art history degree. Whatever they choose to study, those who pay for their own educations will take that education more seriously.