Financial Aid
Feb 10 2014
Intro
With the astronomical cost of going to a college or university, more and more people ask for financial aid. Although having debt is no fun, many families choose to acceptloans so their children can have a good education. Many adults who go back to school are also taking loans so that they can get degrees that will get them better jobs.
A big student loan can be daunting, but it’s not much different from a loan for a house or a car. It’s a lot of money, but banks give you a long time to pay it back. If you’re lucky, interest rates will be low when you need to apply for financial aid. The rates can go up and down from year to year.
Do Jeff and Marni have loans to repay? Find out in this English lesson about the cost of education.
A big student loan can be daunting, but it’s not much different from a loan for a house or a car. It’s a lot of money, but banks give you a long time to pay it back. If you’re lucky, interest rates will be low when you need to apply for financial aid. The rates can go up and down from year to year.
Do Jeff and Marni have loans to repay? Find out in this English lesson about the cost of education.
Dialogue
Marni: I just opened my mail, and I have my financial aid bill due again. Ugh! Every month. It’s such a burden.
Jeff: I’ve been trying to go back to school, and I can’t really do that without financial aid, so hearing stories like yours makes me a bit timid. All that debt...loans... it’s daunting.
Marni: It is. I mean, I’m really glad that I went to school and I have my education behind me. I couldn’t have done it without financial aid. But every month, getting that bill, it’s just… it’s astronomical. And interest rates have gone up. I just feel so bad for kids that are doing it now.
Jeff: So, I’m not hearing so many pros, only cons. Would you agree? Do you have any pros for me to do this?
Marni: The pros are definitely getting an education. I absolutely think it was worth it. But the cons are knowing you have that mounting debt, and that you’ll just be paying for it for ten, possibly fifteen, twenty years, depending on what your payments are.
Jeff: So, what I’m gathering is I should hang onto my job at the glue factory.
Marni: Well, if you can be self-reliant and pay for some of your education yourself, I think it’s really worth it.
Jeff: I’ve been trying to go back to school, and I can’t really do that without financial aid, so hearing stories like yours makes me a bit timid. All that debt...loans... it’s daunting.
Marni: It is. I mean, I’m really glad that I went to school and I have my education behind me. I couldn’t have done it without financial aid. But every month, getting that bill, it’s just… it’s astronomical. And interest rates have gone up. I just feel so bad for kids that are doing it now.
Jeff: So, I’m not hearing so many pros, only cons. Would you agree? Do you have any pros for me to do this?
Marni: The pros are definitely getting an education. I absolutely think it was worth it. But the cons are knowing you have that mounting debt, and that you’ll just be paying for it for ten, possibly fifteen, twenty years, depending on what your payments are.
Jeff: So, what I’m gathering is I should hang onto my job at the glue factory.
Marni: Well, if you can be self-reliant and pay for some of your education yourself, I think it’s really worth it.
Discussion
Marni has just opened her mail and found a bill for her financial aid. It’s very stressful to Marni because she knows that her debt is mounting, but she can’t pay it all right now. She also knows that school costs much more now than it did when she was a student. She feels badly for people in school today!
This isn’t good news for Jeff, who is thinking about returning to school himself. He wants to improve his education, but he doesn’t like thinking about how much money he’ll owe when he’s finished. Talking to Marni isn’t helping, either. She believes in getting a good education, but she’s very stressed about her loans.
Do you owe money for your education? Should people go back to school even if it costs a lot?
This isn’t good news for Jeff, who is thinking about returning to school himself. He wants to improve his education, but he doesn’t like thinking about how much money he’ll owe when he’s finished. Talking to Marni isn’t helping, either. She believes in getting a good education, but she’s very stressed about her loans.
Do you owe money for your education? Should people go back to school even if it costs a lot?
Grammar Point
Possessive Pronouns
Talking about financial aid, Jeff tells Marni that “hearing stories like yours makes me a bit timid.” He uses a possessive pronoun.
Possessive pronouns are words that replace nouns in a sentence and show ownership. The common possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, theirs, and ours.
Possessive pronouns are different than possessive adjectives, which come before the noun they are modifying. We use possessive pronouns to replace both a noun and its possessive adjective. Possessive pronouns are especially helpful when you want to avoid repeating an object’s name or when it is already clear what you are talking about.
For example, we could say, “That is my book.” This sentence uses a possessive adjective + a noun. Or, if we don’t want to say “book,” we can replace “my book” with a possessive pronoun, as in, “That is mine.”
We also use possessive pronouns to make comparisons. For example, “My car is faster than his.” In this case, we are comparing “my car” to “his car,” but we replace “his car” with the possessive pronoun “his.”
Which is correct, “That new computer is mine,” or, “That new computer is my”?
Talking about financial aid, Jeff tells Marni that “hearing stories like yours makes me a bit timid.” He uses a possessive pronoun.
Possessive pronouns are words that replace nouns in a sentence and show ownership. The common possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, theirs, and ours.
Possessive pronouns are different than possessive adjectives, which come before the noun they are modifying. We use possessive pronouns to replace both a noun and its possessive adjective. Possessive pronouns are especially helpful when you want to avoid repeating an object’s name or when it is already clear what you are talking about.
For example, we could say, “That is my book.” This sentence uses a possessive adjective + a noun. Or, if we don’t want to say “book,” we can replace “my book” with a possessive pronoun, as in, “That is mine.”
We also use possessive pronouns to make comparisons. For example, “My car is faster than his.” In this case, we are comparing “my car” to “his car,” but we replace “his car” with the possessive pronoun “his.”
Which is correct, “That new computer is mine,” or, “That new computer is my”?
Quiz
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