Student debt and the real world.

Ok, this is the story of a young girl named Cortney Munna. The 26-year-old NYU alum currently resides in San Francisco where she works for a photographer, making $22 dollars an hour. Not too bad for a girl from upstate New York with a Bachelor's degree in religious and women's studies.

WRONG!!!

So apparently the New York Times thought this girls story was interesting. Interesting in the fact that Munna now owes back almost $100,000 in student loans ($97,000 to be exact, but what's $3,000 right?). So now this 2005 graduate is freaking out over her tuition bill and on top of that, taking night classes so that she can continue to defer them. IT'S CALLED INTEREST, YOU DUMB ASS! Maybe she should at least bother looking into that since she never bothered looking at prices in the beginning.

Let's start from the beginning as I quote a bit of Ron Lieber's article in the New York Times (June 1, 2010). "Like many middle-class families, Cortney Munna and her mother began the college selection process with a grim determination. They would do whatever they could to get Cortney into the best possible college, and they maintained a blind faith that the investment would be worth it." (The evident word here being "blind." The not so evident, but pretty much commone sense word being "stupid."

How the hell do you do you consider going a school you can't afford on "blind faith." I just wanna rip that degree from her stupid mantle! UGH!!! Lieber continues in his article that "universities like N.Y.U. enrolled students without asking many questions about whether they could afford a $50,000 annual tuition bill."

I'm sorry, this just makes me laugh. (Give me a moment to compose myself) Being a college graduate myself, I've never expected a school to counsel me on how expensive or inexpensive their tuition was going to be. It's all laid out for student prospects in their literature. I'm sorry if I don't feel this least bit sorry for Munna. It's called reading. Anyone with the slightest interest in going to college should at least be able to do that.

Again I have to quote Lieber when he suggests it's the jobs of financial aid departments of colleges and universities. "But perhaps the biggest share lies with colleges and universities because they have the most knowledge of the financial aid process. And I would argue that they had an obligation to counsel students like Ms. Munna, who got in too far over their heads."

I really don't think these colleges and universities give a shit when you're giving them your money. All they see is dollar signs. We have to remember that the business office is exactly that....a business office! They only want your business. And as long as you're willing to spend with them, they're more than happy to have you. The financial aid office is there for you to seek out and inquire all you want. You, Mr. Lieber, should know this, as writing for the New York Times, I can only imagine you are a college graduate.

I was lucky enough to have awesome counselors in high school that warned us as juniors and seniors what to expect in college, and gave us tips on where to find that funding. Mrs. Berry, if you're reading this, BRAVO! I've always admired you as a counselor.

I wasn't very priveleged. In fact, I wasn't priveleged at all. But I had a brain, and I knew how to use it. I did my all the leg work to find a college that was going to suit me. A college that I could afford, and a college that offered the program I was most interested in. Yes, it was a public university. But you know what, I've got that degree, and yes, it's accredited. So 4 years and about $20,000 later, I still hadn't found the job I was quite looking for, so I went to grad school.

Once again, I looked at the cost, weighed the pros and cons, did the leg work I thought was necessary, and enrolled in a local private institution. Another $40, 000 and one M.A. later (now totalling about $60,000), I'm still nowhere near the debt Munna has dug herself in.

So here's my advice to you, Cortney. Next time (if there is one), do the math, use your brain, and use a little common sense! But until then, good luck. I'd be crying right now with that kind of debt.