For One Student, the Cost of College Forces a Painful Decision

Amanda Ly is an 18-year-old who graduated from high school in Alhambra, Calif., this year with dreams of leaving home and enjoying the whole college experience at the University of New Haven on the East Coast.

But in an essay on the Web site L.A. Youth, Ms. Ly described her disappointment over having to withdraw from the University of New Haven because of the cost:

The first time I visited U.N.H. was for freshman orientation, the week after high school let out in June. The school was just as it looked in the pictures. It had a mix of new and old buildings. The older buildings were brick as most of the school was, and the newer buildings were more modern. I liked the small class sizes and academic opportunities like internships and study abroad. Although I was not used to the cold, gloomy, wet weather in June, I liked the small-town atmosphere (population 124,000) and the people. I met people from all over the East Coast and made new friends. After orientation, I felt that it was the school for me. I thought, “I can make this work.”

When I came back from orientation, I started thinking about paying for college. Neither of my parents went to college and they don’t speak English so they don’t understand how things work.

During the first week of July, I went to Wells Fargo with my dad to apply for a private student loan. The loan officer asked my dad and I questions regarding my parents’ and my credit history, employment info and debts. She came back 10 minutes later and told us our request for a collegiate loan was denied because our household income was too low.
As Ms. Ly explains it, the grants and loans offered in her financial aid package only covered 70 percent of the $42,000-a-year cost of attending the university. “Each semester, I was expected to pay about $6,000,” she wrote.

She goes on to describe her efforts to find scholarships and loans and ultimately, her phone call telling the university she could not afford to attend.

After I told them of my decision, I felt sad and empty, like my life had just been paused. My college dreams were put on hold.

Now I live at home and attend East Los Angeles College. I’m tired because I work during the day and my classes are at night. After community college, I plan on transferring to Humboldt State or another four-year school to get my bachelor’s degree in psychology or administration of justice.

I’m disappointed I’m not at U.N.H. this fall. I was really looking forward to moving out and living the college life. Yet at the same time I understand that the economy makes it harder for people to get loans because banks are not willing to take risks giving them out right now.


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