Literature Review #1

The article I chose to review is called "Who Pays for College?" It was written by Janet Bodnar and discusses who pays for college now a days. She discusses how more and more students are having to help their parents out by paying some, if not all, of their tuition. She suggests that students attend community college so that they won'y be in debt when they graduate. She also talks about how certain majors aren't worth paying so much money to attend college for because those students are't going to make that money back with their majors. For example, "She won't be in the position of another young woman whose mother wrote to me: "My daughter majors in religious studies at a private college where tuition is quite high. I'm concerned about the amount of loans she'll have and her ability to repay them.'" Bodnar talks about here how a mother wrote to her about her concern about her daughter's major in college. Bodnar says that parents need to talk to their kids before they allow them to go to college. "Talk the talk. Before kids apply to college, have a frank discussion with them about how much it will cost, what you're willing to pay and what their obligation will be. Even at the new fixed rate of 6.8% on student loans, it can make sense to borrow judiciously." She gives advice for parents to give their kids. She says that many parents are expecting their parents to pay for college or help them out but some students are not in that mind set. "But in some families, kids say they are shocked when Mom and Dad can't or won't bear full freight for any school they want to attend." Bodnar says that she thinks students should have to help pay for college because it is just too much for many parents to take on completely by themselves.

Bodnar is recgonized as a "nationally recognized guru on personal and family finances." This allows for this source to reliable since Bodnar is knowledgeable about this topic. Bodnar is the editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Two terms i chose to define to get a better understanding of are:
1. merit scholarships- Financial aid awards given to students in recognition of academic, athletic, or artistic achievement
2. debt- An obligation or liability to pay or render something to someone else.

This article is very important to my research question because it gives examples of families who need their kids to help pay for college and also stories of parents who can pay it all by themselves. Bodnar also gives good advice on the topic of paying for college and whether or not it's worth paying so much for certain degrees, especially if a student is paying for college all by themselves. This is a very reliable source for my research on "Who pays for college?"

This is a photo of Janet Bodnar. 


Bodnar, Janet. "Who Pays for COLLEGE?" OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). N.p., Sept. 2006. Web. 25 Feb. 2013. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ofm&AN=504222939&site=ehost-live>.