College Fair Fear?
Fall River Post
A little over a hundred students attended the 2nd annual college fair at Durfee High Tuesday night. Over fifty colleges and Universities were represented, and the U.S military including the Army and the Navy. Students frantically bumped shoudlers, heading from one table to the next. Even with hudnreds of students, many tables were left empty, why?
The main issue seems to be cost, as many students explained that many of the colleges were too expensive. Durfee student Shannon Machado exclaimed that her options were limited, “I don’t have enough money to go to schools like Boston College or even Umass. It’s really hard for me to find a good, cheap school that has what I want. But you just have to work hard and hope for a scholarship. It’s the only way”.
Is the economy effecting how many scholarships and how much financial aid is being distributed? According to Rhode Island Community College, most students in the area are relying on some form of financial aid or scholarship. Distribution of financial aid doesn’t seem to be an issue, but most students agree that what they’re getting as aid still isn’t enough.
Students in Fall River are finding it hard to get the money for college, what are they doing to get their education? Many students are taking semesters off to look for jobs as it’s the only source of money for them. As a result some have completely abandoned school and have joined the work force. But others have found economic comfort in community colleges. These schools are far cheaper, and atleast offer an education. Since 2001, many community colleges have reported an increase in students, two of the most significant being Massasoit Community College, and Rhode Island Community College.
When students were asked about community colleges, most agreed that these schools were on the top of their lists. Dennis Pacheco, student of Durfee said that community colelge is his only option. “I’ve been lookin’ around for a bit, and many of the community colleges here offer the same classes and trades at a more reasonable price. And these colleges are a lot more accessible and convienient”. These students have made it official, Bristol Community College is the new Yale.
According to students, it’s not an issue of career fields or standards being too high. How can students expect to become successful and make money when money is tight? How can they make money if they can’t get the education? These teenagers seem to agree that Community colelge is the best option.
Even so, most students at community colleges have some form of financial aid as well. So are these colleges, community or not, too expensive? And can these smaller schools solve the issue? Either way, we find many students in this area and other areas alike are finding it difficult to pay for college. And many fear they won’t have enough.
Post Write
I think my lead is pretty good, and my angles are good as well. I think they’re very clear. Are colleges too expensive? And can community colleges solve the issue? I think I used quotations well too. A problem I see is too much repetion of the words community college, and it’s local, but it’s also a nation wide problem.
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1)The assignment wanted you to write a news story of local significance For this assignment you had to pick a newsworthy subject and write using the rules for writing a news story. You also had to interview at least one person for your story.
ReplyDelete2)You met the expectations of the assignment fairly well. The subject you chose was newsworthy and local, you interviewed someone and had some nice quotes, and wrote using the inverted pyramid. You let the readers know quickly what your story was about, and wrote about the issues in order of importance. “over fifty schools were represented , and even the U.S. military, including the Army and the Navy. Students frantically bumped shoulders, heading from one table to the next. Many tables though were left empty, why?” This passage paints a picture of the event, and sets up the main subject of the article.
3)You could probably shorten the first paragraph a bit, to get to the point a little sooner. You could mention how many students were at the tables for community colleges at the event. Some sentences could be rephrased, and you might consider moving some paragraphs around. The one that starts with “So is community college the way to go?” could probably be moved further towards the end.