Most research shows that college is a worthwhile investment. A college degree, often called a “ticket to the middle class,” is proven to boost incomes and promote financial success. But that’s only if you can get one. For thousands of students, the cost of college poses an immediate burden that outweighs any future fiscal benefits.
People nationwide are focusing on this problem, with everyone from presidential candidates to premier research institutions offering plans to address the student debt crisis and make postsecondary education affordable. But comparatively little attention has been paid to the students themselves — to their successes and shortfalls, ideas and experiences. To that end, we sat down with three students to ask what they thought about college affordability.
Following are the thoughts of one of our interviewees, Don Trowell.
Mainly what I wanted to get out of college was, I wanted to succeed. I wanted to make my family proud. My mom especially, she really pushed me to go toward college, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. So, I think the reason that I wanted to go to college was to figure out what I wanted to do in life. It was the next stepping-stone from high school. I was like, “Okay, so I’ve got this education, what’s next?” I found out that I wanted to become an entertainer in college. Now my goals are to go to class and to push myself and say, “if this is what I want to do, how far do I want to do it?” College is the first step, in my opinion, for a steady background.
My mom really wanted me to trump the situation that I was already surrounded with. It was very unfortunate and we grew up very poor, but she really wanted me to make more of myself and to show that we are more than the situation surrounding us. So I knew that there was no question about me going to college. But once I graduated, I knew that it wasn’t me going for my mom anymore, and it wasn’t me going for our situation anymore. It was me going for myself.
Prior to going to college, I was very nervous about how to afford college. I knew my situation. I knew it was very expensive. During this time, I had been getting with the Prichard Committee Student Voice Team, and I was in a bunch of different organizations like What’s the Story. I was fortunate enough to have gone to a [high] school that was big on college readiness and career readiness. With the work that I do now and that I’ve been doing with student agency and student engagement, I was recommended by different admissions counselors to fill out this grant or look at that scholarship. I was blessed enough to eventually go to [Lindsey Wilson College] primarily on academic scholarships.
I recognize that I was blessed enough to have a team around me that was very, very interested in me and wanted me at their school. But even when I got to college and I knew that school was paid for, classes were paid for, then I was like, “I got to buy books. I got to take care of myself now.” I know there are other people like me with stories that are crazy. I’ve never experienced that. So another hurdle for me is not being too proud to ask for help.
But even when I got to college and I knew that school was paid for, classes were paid for, then I was like, “I got to buy books. I got to take care of myself now.”
The last thing I wanted to think about in terms of college was money. I knew I was going to have a very heavy course load because I planned on going into a double major. I didn’t want any financial stress on my shoulders at all. So, my admissions counselor pretty much handled my entire package for me. I don’t believe [my loan] was over $6,000, but that still worries me. It’s money that I have to pay back eventually. I’m stressed about it.
Before my freshman year in college, I worked at a restaurant for a very long time — from my sophomore year to right before I left for college. I ended up getting a management position there. I did it mostly for money and I did it to prepare for college. I don’t know why I thought I could manage doing it with school an hour and 45 minutes away. But I quickly found out right after my first half semester [of college] that I couldn’t do it, so I ended up leaving that job and finding somewhere else to work. I found different groups and organizations on campus that have led me to other points. Like on our campus, we have this thing called the Blue Crew, which helps incoming freshmen with anything they need. We give tours and sometimes travel and meet up with them and just make them feel really comfortable with Lindsey Wilson and our college. I found that they pay money there, and I don’t have to work a lot of crazy hours. Now, I can come home two times a month and have my own pocket change.
There is no number, there is no statistic that really judges a student’s experience in school.
If I could tell Kentucky policymakers anything, I would say, simply listen to the students. Nobody knows what it feels like to be a student today better than a student today. When I say that, I don’t want to disregard the research that anybody does, but there is no number, there is no statistic that really judges a student’s experience in school. Every person is different. I’m so blessed to be in this field, working with student engagement and agency as a student because I can add my own insight. Just listen to what students have to say. Sometimes it might come out in a bunch of jumbled-up stuff, sometimes it might not make the most sense, but at the end of the day, it should be the main focus. Let’s not focus on everybody as a whole because they represent the same demographic. Let’s focus on how every person is different.
Don Trowell is a sophomore at Lindsey Wilson College and a graduate of Fern Creek High School in Louisville.
This discussion was conducted and transcribed by Rachel Belin and edited by Sadie Bograd, who wrote the introduction. This piece is the first part of an ongoing series about college affordability drawn from a panel discussion conducted in Frankfort, Kentucky on August 21, 2019 by the Prichard Committee College Affordability Working Group.
The opinions expressed on the Forum represent the individual students to whom they are attributed. They do not reflect the official position or opinion of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence or the Student Voice Team. Read about our policies.
