Legend of the Corsair

Staggering amounts of debt and abysmal credit scores are what awaits most upon graduation...

Majoring in Credit-Card Debt
Aggressive on-campus marketing by credit-card companies is coming under fire. What should be done to educate students about the dangers of plastic?
September 4, 2007, 12:01AM EST
by Jessica Silver-Greenberg

Seth Woodworth stood paralyzed by fear in his parents' driveway in Moses Lake, Wash. It was two years ago, during his sophomore year at Central Washington University, and on this visit, he was bringing home far more than laundry. He was carrying more than $3,000 in credit-card debt. "I was pretty terrified of listening to my voice mail because of all the messages about the money I owed," says Woodworth. He did get some help from his parents but still had to drop out of school to pay down his debts.

Over the next month, as 17 million college students flood the nation's campuses, they will be greeted by swarms of credit-card marketers. Frisbees, T-shirts, and even iPods will be used as enticements to sign up, and marketing on the Web will reinforce the message. Many kids will go for it. Some 75% of college students have credit cards now, up from 67% in 1998. Just a generation earlier, a credit card on campus was a great rarity.

For many of the students now, the cards they get will simply be an easier way to pay for groceries or books, with no long-term negative consequences. But for Seth Woodworth and a growing number like him, easy access to credit will lead to spending beyond their means and debts that will compromise their futures. The freshman 15, a fleshy souvenir of beer and late-night pizza, is now taking on a new meaning, with some freshman racking up more than $15,000 in credit-card debt before they can legally drink. "It's astonishing to me to see college students coming out of school with staggering amounts of debt and credit scores so abominable that they couldn't rent a car," says Representative Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.).
Congressional Oversight Weighed
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It would be interesting if credit card companies (on campus or otherwise) had to put each prospective borrower through the same type of introductory class that students have to attend before being allowed to take on federally subsidized student loans.

Yeah. This is how I feel sometimes. The clock is ticking down and I've got to get things finished. It will be done in time though, no doubt of that at all.

Watching a version of Richard III now and after that The House of Usher. Must be a Vincent Price marathon today on Turner Classic Movies. Interesting look he had when he was younger and unwrinkled. Still pretty disturbing in appearance.

Harry Potter non-spoiler thought: (kadath beware!) Vincent Price would have made a fabulous Professor Severus Snape. Makes me think in a way how some people (myself included) will imagine their characters as they read a book.

I did get some stuff done today though. I stripped down my vacuum cleaner and rinsed out all the HEPA filtration system filters and containers. By this time tomorrow I'll know if I cleared that clog out of the lower tubing - the only section I couldn't get to because I was hesitant to expose the motor to try and get to it. I tried running a wire brush through there and it would only go so far, there is a twist or something so that it cannot be easily accessed. It was an expensive investment, getting it in the first place, I can only hope that it does work. *fingers crossed*

Out of the seven I originally applied for, I only got three "you do not fit the bill" emails - those were for the USDA Farm Service Agency Loan Assistant positions. I think they were looking more for people with experience in bank loans as well as finance specific geared majors.

Of the other four, no word yet. This is good, because according to the postings it takes 60-90 days to hear anything back from them if you've made the initial pile to be assessed. Yay. One with NIST, and three with DOC - Bureau of Economic Analysis, although only two (don't know why) show as application completed.

Yesterday I applied for another four jobs listed on USAJOBS, great site. They are all economist positions, so my degrees are perfectly aligned with them. So, those new jobs are listed for th Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Economics and Statistics Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Bureau of the Census. Of course, applying for the BLS is kind of like having thirty applications in one - since they are listing so many different locations at the same time. Signed up as amenable to all of them except Los Angeles county. I don't think I could deal with the Hollywood set nor with their climate/environment.

So, that means I have *counting on my fingers* eight applications out in totol. Yay. Otherwise, I'm not really sure of any good places for an economist to start at entry level in the private sector. Forget about the non-profit, I'm sure they all want people with experience. Anybody want to put in their two cents, feel free.

In other news, my Captain Marvel comics FINALLY made it to me... eBay guy had to (supposedly, becuase he has many many - appx 2% - bad reviews about missing in transit, very long shipping time, offering and selling stuff that he doesn't actually have on hand "yet" and another bunch that are either neutral or leaving masked with positive rating negative comments - in fear of retaliatory bad ratings). This will teach me to read through a person's ratings before buying. OTOH, the comics themselves are mar-vell-ous, heh. It is a three part set about Mar-vell just before he and the other Kree head to Earth - when he encounters the Brood. Now I want to read more about him. *sigh*

In other, other news, I got in touch with the local rep (he is the rep for both of the following organizations) for the Uconn Cooperative Extension System and the Tolland County Cultural Center. He is the person to go to to get help for writing a business plan, especially one with an agricultural focus. Has experience with both the academic side and actual business side of writing business plans. Yay. Oh, and if this plan actually pans out as being feasible and all that, I might actually try and attempt doing it. Hell, this is a plant that goes for about $80 - $100 USD/pound, and there are only three growers in the United States, one in Canada. No, I am not ready to reveal the product yet, tyvm. ;-D

please send me good thoughts, well wishes, and telepathically help me to remember the answers to the questions on the final this morning! yeah, I know none of you will probably see this until after I've taken it but, the thought counts! ;-)

please send me more good thoughts to keep me from throwing up in nervousness. don't know why but with all the friends and family coming to my graduation, I'm nervous about that too. anyone who wants to join the festivities after? head to CT, Willington Pizza on Rt. 32. They have a website for exact location and directions.


and now I go into the still dark morning, with two competing loops in my mind:

Loop 1: Gaaaaaaaah! Gaaaaaaaaaah!
Loop 2: Mahna manha - do-do-duh-do-do - mahna mahna - do-do-do-do

I got all the way through the first out of three problems on my take home final as well as finishing the basic outline (based on class notes & powerpoint presentations) for my other final. Tomorrow I should be able to get the other two questions done, and it isn't due until sometime Thursday afternoon, early evening so I can pick at it and perfect it. My tablet PC is coming in handy for this because I can type up all my written explanation and the meanings of each of the parts of the equations. Then I can use the "pen" to write out the maximization formulas and hamiltonians. Yay. The perfect part is that my sweetie-pie got us a brand new thing-full-of-ink (don't feel like wracking the neurons I have left to remember the name of it) for the printer.

Shazam!

Add to this the fact that I am going to get together on Thursday evening with my (possibly aforementioned in previous posts) homework group to study for the final on Saturday. Yay. I'm hoping that it helps because I'm really nervous (still) about that final. There is no telling what will be on it or how it will be formatted. I only know that it is highly unlikely for there to be multiple-choice questions. My worst fear is that I'll get the test in front of me and choke.

The most exciting thing that happened today is that I dropped some chips on the floor and it attracted a troop of ants. Which I sprayed with Windex multi-surface cleaner (with vinegar) that killed them off pretty quick. There wasn't a line of to and fro ants coming from anywhere - thank goodness - just that small group. I followed up the cleaning by calling the apt complex mgt office and leaving a message about it and asking when they were going to spray outside in the courtyard to head off the yearly invasion.

All in all, I got a lot done today and I'm happy about it.

Hello there strangers!

I've been lurking around a lot lately, occasionally commenting but that's about it. I am now extremely close to graduation. I have already applied for graduation and gotten my regalia and am going to be sending out my invites very very soon. If everyone on the list shows, I'll have 25 guests at my commencement ceremony. Yay.

Of course, I have to finish and present the darned independent study before the end of the semester first.

So, for the next few weeks I'm going to continue putting my nose to the grindstone.

I feel damned accomplished. I didn't get into class this past Thursday because of the snowstorm - I wasn't driving in for an 8am class (the only one for the day) before the snow removal between here and there was completed. I woke up today with the intention to go over the Power Point presentations for last week - this I did - and I realized that we must've finished the chapter on Thursday. This means that this Thursday the homework is due to be handed in. I got cracking, opened the book up and started going through the assigned problems. Only one part of one problem gave me any distress, so I put it aside for later. I emailed with my main homework buddy to confirm that yes, the homework is due on Thursday; usually we are chatting through the weekend pinging each other back and forth with what we are doing... So, to sum up, I just figured out that last part that bothered me...

I did the homework ALL by myself!

This from the person who has been dreading econometrics for the last two years. Though I know it will get harder over the course of the semester - probably - I'm feeling pretty good right now. I think I need warnings from all of you not to get too cocky. Wow.

Now, I'm just waiting to hear back from the Cow Pot people so that I can get started on some sort of Independent Study project. This is essential for my graduating this May. That and finally getting my European Economic History paper graded and having that Incomplete changed over to a GRADE which I hope is at least a B.

Damn... Does this mean I have to start looking for a job? Shit.

Aaarrgh!

1. Got hardly any sleep last night, and I tried to sleep too, really.

2. Was awake and out of bed by 6:20 AM. That's just wrong, but it will be a regular occurence until May.

3. It was 20 degrees F with the wind chill factor.

4. I was able to fit the Gargantuan 17" laptop with the bulky extra battery into my favorite backpack!

5. Had a really good first day of classes. My second class especially.

6. Met new to the department students that were actually approachable and not snobby.

7. Have to read two chapters by tomorrow afternoon. Shouldn't be a problem, given the content.

8. Must not forget to complete EEH paper to clear up the Incomplete from last semester. Need those credits.

Have any of you seen this? I feel glad when I say that I can do all of the things mentioned that "most" college students cannot do. However, I learned these things without the help of college. Strange, neh?


Study: College students lack literacy for complex tasks

WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than half of students at four-year colleges -- and at least 75 percent at two-year colleges -- lack the literacy to handle complex, real-life tasks such as understanding credit card offers, a study found.

The literacy study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the first to target the skills of graduating students, finds that students fail to lock in key skills -- no matter their field of study.

The results cut across three types of literacy: analyzing news stories and other prose, understanding documents and having math skills needed for checkbooks or restaurant tips.

Without "proficient" skills, or those needed to perform more complex tasks, students fall behind. They cannot interpret a table about exercise and blood pressure, understand the arguments of newspaper editorials, compare credit card offers with different interest rates and annual fees or summarize results of a survey about parental involvement in school.

"It is kind of disturbing that a lot of folks are graduating with a degree and they're not going to be able to do those things," said Stephane Baldi, the study's director at the American Institutes for Research, a behavioral and social science research organization.

Most students at community colleges and four-year schools showed intermediate skills. That means they can do moderately challenging tasks, such as identifying a location on a map.

There was brighter news.

Overall, the average literacy of college students is significantly higher than that of adults across the nation. Study leaders said that was encouraging but not surprising, given that the spectrum of adults includes those with much less education.

Also, compared with all adults with similar levels of education, college students had superior skills in searching and using information from texts and documents.

"But do they do well enough for a highly educated population? For a knowledge-based economy? The answer is no," said Joni Finney, vice president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, an independent and nonpartisan group.

"This sends a message that we should be monitoring this as a nation, and we don't do it," Finney said. "States have no idea about the knowledge and skills of their college graduates."

The survey examined college students nearing the end of their degree programs.

The students did the worst on matters involving math, according to the study.

Almost 20 percent of students pursuing four-year degrees had only basic quantitative skills. For example, the students could not estimate if their car had enough gas to get to the service station. About 30 percent of two-year students had only basic math skills.

Baldi and Finney said the survey should be used as a tool. They hope state leaders, educators and university trustees will examine the rigor of courses required of all students.

The college survey used the same test as the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, the government's examination of English literacy among adults. The results of that study were released in December, showing about one in 20 adults is not literate in English.

On campus, the tests were given in 2003 to a representative sample of 1,827 students at public and private schools.

It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.