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Financial Aid
Financial Aid

Learn English with this student loans English lesson

Date: Mar 06 2018

Themes: School

Grammar: Possessive Pronouns

Intro

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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 accept loans 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.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Marni

Jeff

Jeff

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.

 

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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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?

 

Comments

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pogoda2

pogoda2

Russian Federation

Why in the dialogues sometimes talk as if the tip of the tongue cut off. It is unpleasant to listen.

07:24 PM Mar 17 2018 |

kyoyoung

kyoyoungSuper Member!

United States

They so Remiss in doing they job…..

10:44 PM Mar 11 2014 |

bravevivian

Ecuador

wow this is a terrible reality everywhere.  It’s so difficult for many people to study and even more to get a good job.


Like a vicious circle if you don’t study you don’t get a job if you don’t have a job how to pay a loan.  Anyway…


And after you get a job you have to continue studying, because the competency outside is hard.  You have to be the best.  


To me even with all these cons to improve your level is always worth it.  I have a lot of problems to study but finally I can get a better job and I’m self reliant because of that.

05:09 PM Feb 17 2014 |

sireeshasiree77

India

Now a days if we want to take any financial aid from any bank for eductaion we have to pay interest 10 times more than what we have taken. For present situation if u want survive in this competative world u need to invest money on buying education so that u can get gud admissions in reputed colleges. So we should choose the better courses which will have to make us in good position in future thus we can repay the money back. Finally being fast generation guy/gal we shouldnot depend on our parents and we shuldnot letdown our parents.

12:37 PM Feb 12 2014 |

ttsuka

ttsuka

Japan

By the way, today’s dialogue is very natural – its pace and flow (not too refined) are the kinds average English speakers would speak with. It does not sound guys acting. I hope more of this coming. 

11:35 PM Feb 10 2014 |

ahmet55

ahmet55

Germany

An economic motto says that “live now, pay later”. I think taking loans to cover the cost of proficiently education depends on that whether u will make money by your transcript or not. If so, it’s better to take it bcz in my opinion it’s some kind of investment.  


As me, I achieved both common educational schools’ portions hardly which were supplied by government while now for abounding of my country for taking my Ph.D. they ask me to pay lots of money to let my transcripts to be free. That’s disgusting.Now i’ll consider half of my income in this year for this. BTW I’ll do it bcz of my agenda for future and providing high standards of living for myself and my future family.


To be frank with u, I should say that education is only a tiny part of our life. For example lots of my friends have Ph.D degrees or at least are students in this level but they are not happy enough bcz they lose the best time of their lives. Rather than i can see rest of my friends with just a B.Sc. degree have everything which other people dream to have. 


To make a long story short, I think nowadays students have a chance of taking scholarship opportunities for supporting astronomical education costs. It’s sometimes hard to come by whereas it still exists. 

09:53 PM Feb 10 2014 |

mshare

mshare

Saudi Arabia

yeah they should. education is the future. when it comes to me i dont have to pay for my education because the situation here is quite different so the government pay everything… moreover, i get paid  for that if i continue high school.

08:53 PM Feb 10 2014 |

1 person likes this

Besarta

Albania

Fantastic topick wich anyone can express his opinion,bcs it is related with nowadays burden almost for everyone experienced.


Absolutelly it worth to take a financial aid for a University.And we should not be dounting if we take a loan or a debt,Thinking in a positive way and work hard in you studies will help to find better job and replay to a bank money borowed.


And finally as belong to my country it is common to take financial aid parents for children just to give them opportunity to study and have more possibility in near future to self reliant.


Poor reality is that Banks which operates in our country has a high rate costs, and the choises for taking f.a are restricted. it is quiet hard to afford. But Iam prons that never be afraid of nothing but try and make as much effort to learn and be somebady in your life.

06:04 PM Feb 10 2014 |

1 person likes this

ttsuka

ttsuka

Japan

Reading many comments posted, I realize costs of higher education are a common issue in many countries. An idea I have is to eliminate the concept of four-year university degrees.  It seems they have turned to a method of categorizing people so that employers can screen the kind of people they want to hire more easily.  That’s why universities sell brand images and raise tuitions to add esteem.  But higher education can be directly related to practical job skills by offering more compact, skill-based certificate programs.  Then, students create their portfolio by collecting certificates to prove their skills in certain fields. Universities should be left for people who want to have generalized overall higher education, which I believe was their original intents. We should create a simpler new system that connects skills and jobs more directly, open job markets for people with skill-proving certificates and redefine universities as venues for academic endeavors for people who want to study for the sake of studying.  

03:57 PM Feb 10 2014 |

jef_maiko

jef_maiko

Brazil

I have borrowed mony to go back to university. I’m doing my second graduation. I think people should study, but it is necessary take care about the costs. Unfornutally here in Brazil is too much hard to get a degree, the costs are really expensive. But I think all this situation is improving because the governament is investing in education. If necessary people should borrow money to go on studying…....

03:05 PM Feb 10 2014 |

apple150080

China

Education is worth to invest for ever.

02:37 PM Feb 10 2014 |

1 person likes this

mserh

Portugal

Hi everybody. In fact, nowadays, living in Portugal is very hard. Lots of youngers are leaving the college and given up from the University. Their parents have seen strong reductions on their salaries and for this we have to take some options and first you have to ensure money for food, medical assistance, public transports, house’s rent, etc.


 

01:55 PM Feb 10 2014 |

Jobee

Jobee

China

To me,I thank my family to support my education.I don’t see the education as a deal.So I do not ask for a bargain.But I want a real one instead of a fake.I think the worst part of chinese education is the low quality.Is this four-year worthy of that astronumical money?probably not.


anyway,one has to find a way out.My sugestion is that to make you a better man in college,no matter you start on your personality or you work on your study.tyr to learn how to learn and try to be an adult.


Does it help?

12:33 PM Feb 10 2014 |

S&W

S&W

China

There has big difference between the poor and the rich in our country.Although the government try to elimate the gap between them,But it take time.We will see .For the poor to complete high education is too hard .Most of people can’t wait to finish their high shchool study .They perfer to go to the big city and find a job.Under current economic environment,Hard to find a job or get low payment.Taking a loan from university,then for house after that car.Where is the end.No one wanna live a life under heavy burden.

10:30 AM Feb 10 2014 |

AryelLanes

AryelLanes

Brazil

I don’t want to say bad things about my country, but when it comes to public universities, the system is really unfair! For those who don’t know, we have what they literally call the “racial quotas” for black people, indians (not from India – the locals), for those who studied at the public schools (which, by the way, are a piece of garbage), etc, etc etc. What does it mean? You spend your whole life spending money on a good education, study your butt off to succeed in that exam and, at the end, no matter how high your score was – if those who have the benefit of “quotas” are competing with you, they can get the bad grades that they usually do (at least most of) but even so they’ll take your place in there, just because of this stupid system. I’m not being over the top, really! And I’m not saying that you won’t make it. I’m just saying that it’s easier for those who choose (or can’t) not to receive a better education. Does your skin color make you less capable? They’ll usually say: “_Oh, we have to even out the social classes and the education level…” Even out my foot! It’s all about the government. They want those people to make it in an university? They should start by fixing their public schools, and not by depriving those who work hard to afford an alternative from moving on. Quotas? Ok, I’m totally comprehensive if you can’t afford one. That’s fair! Now, because you’re black? Come on! I’m sorry for this, but this subject drives me nuts! P.S.: yeah. I got a better grade and lost my admission at a public university because of somebody’s skin color, and now I’m paying an arm and an leg for a private one, or else I’ll end up working like a slave and receiving the Brazilian minimum wage (+\- $360 USD/month)... I’m not that stupid! .

03:08 AM Feb 10 2014 |

Juneshang

Juneshang

China

    I think in china the cost of education is much more expensive. Many poor family just support their kid to get the college education have a big debt. And many poor students just because their family have no money to support their education they have to give up their education and began to work in big city. Some even have got famous university’s letters of admission.


   Althought they have finished their education due to financial aid. It is hard to find a good job,even a job to return the money.Because a bid imbalance  between supply and demand in work is always existing. A big population in china is always a big issue.

02:45 AM Feb 10 2014 |

Nairon

Nairon

Brazil

I’ve just read my country fellow comment down here. In Brazil we have lots of public universities, good ones. So all we have to do is to study hard and dedicate a lot of time preparing ourselves to take the entrance exam and pass it. I myself study in a public university, the second best in the state. 

01:59 AM Feb 10 2014 |

AryelLanes

AryelLanes

Brazil

The fees and costs of university are indeed astronomical. I guess it’s the same everywhere! If our goverments really want us to have access to the higher education, why do they allow it to be so expensive? And what’s worse: if you don’t abide by these rules, you’ll probably end up in a dead-end job… Sad reality!


Thank goodness I still have my mom! LMFAO If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t even think about going to an university… I’m not that brave to apply for a financial aid. What if something happens and I can’t pay it back? =S

12:45 PM Feb 07 2014 |

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