So far in my collegiate career, I have racked up a tab of more than $12,000 made payable to the Department of Education — a tab that is continuously increasing and will probably be owed for the majority of my life. The current amount of debt I have collected in four years is not as high as most students because I qualify for Pell Grants and supplements from the state. Luckily enough for me, I have poor parents, which qualifies me for federal assistance.

I was not blessed with the virtue of patience, and I have yet to acquire this virtue thus far in life. I am a person who lives to be instantly gratified and have often become frustrated or given up entirely if I am forced to wait. I know impatience is an ugly trait. However, I take comfort in the fact that most of society also seems to lack the virtue that is deemed “morally excellent.” I am not alone. Each day, the news is filled with stories about people who fell for a “get-rich-quick scheme” and are now living in even more debt with bad credit and a stolen identity to boot.

Error: This eGraphic is optimized for a HTML5 compatible browser. Please update your browser. Financial Aid conducted a mini-conference on Oct. 18 in University Center North. The attendees were...