美国国家公共电台 NPR In The Weeks Before Freshman Year, Money Worries Aplenty

In The Weeks Before Freshman¹ Year, Money Worries Aplenty

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

As the school year gets underway, about a third of low-income, college-bound students won't actually enroll². These are students who were so close. They've graduated from high school. They've applied³. They've been accepted to college, but then they don't show up. Why? Most of it comes down to the August money shuffle⁴.

Elissa Nadworny of the NPR Ed team introduces us to a woman in a Washington, D.C., high school who is working to make sure her students avoid this trap.

ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE⁵: During the summer months, Torri Hayslett does a lot of math.

TORRI HAYSLETT: That's 31,000, minus 3,500, minus 2,000, minus 4,000...

NADWORNY: Seniors who graduated last spring are here in Miss Hayslett's office at McKinley Technology High School to number crunch⁶. They sit with Hayslett, watching her pour over their finances.

HAYSLETT: So is the $9,000 including this $3,000?

UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: I think that is including. Again, I do not know a lot of logistics right now.

NADWORNY: These students have been celebrated⁷. They're going to college. The schools they've picked are on bulletin boards. Some even made the local news. And then August rolls around with one big question - can I actually afford this?

HAYSLETT: It still doesn't become reality until they see those numbers on a piece of paper, and it doesn't balance out.

NADWORNY: Hayslett works with about 150 seniors at McKinley, where nearly 40 percent of students are low-income.

HAYSLETT: I mean, I get messages all day, night, weekend.

NADWORNY: One of her students is Damoni Tolson. He planned on going to Johnson & Wales, a private school in Florida, but the numbers aren't adding up.

DAMONI TOLSON: I'm coming here to just clear up some college financial things, and she's going to help me with that

NADWORNY: Right now, Damoni is about $12,000 short, and his mom is having trouble getting a loan.

HAYSLETT: Oh, so you did get some money.

TOLSON: They gave me a decent amount. It's just what's left over...

NADWORNY: So here in Hayslett's office with two weeks left before classes start, Damoni faces a tough decision.

HAYSLETT: Do you want to see about going to another school or is your heart set on Johnson & Wales?

NADWORNY: Damoni shrugs⁸ and looks at his feet.

TOLSON: We can see. I mean, I really don't want to switch my decision this late in, but if the loan don't go through, I don't really have any other options.

SHAQUINAH WRIGHT: These are young people who don't really have it all figured out, and they're not supposed to.

NADWORNY: Shaquinah Wright oversees⁹ a program called College Bridge, which mentors¹⁰ New York City high schoolers during the college process.

WRIGHT: The finish line keeps getting further and further away.

NADWORNY: She says there are things that can help - smarter college choices, clearer financial award letters and support over the summer months from counselors¹¹ like Torri Hayslett. At Hayslett's school, McKinley Tech, every member of the senior class was accepted to college, but her work didn't stop there. She tells me only about 75 percent enroll in the fall. So what about Damoni Tolson, who'd been dreaming of moving to Florida?

(SOUNDBITE OF PHONE RINGING)

TOLSON: Hello.

NADWORNY: Hey, Damoni?

TOLSON: Yeah.

NADWORNY: Hey, it's Elissa calling from NPR.

TOLSON: Yeah, how you doing?

NADWORNY: He didn't make it to Johnson & Wales, but he's now on campus at St. Augustine, a historically black college in North Carolina. He got a big, last-minute scholarship to play football.

TOLSON: I think I've settled in pretty good, met some new people. The campus isn't that big, so I pretty much know where everything is.

NADWORNY: And instead of finding $12,000 for the year, he only had to pay $3,000. Now he's just got to make good grades to keep that scholarship money coming. Elissa Nadworny, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF TOBACCO'S "OUT THE DUNES")

1 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

2 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 shuffle   

n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走

参考例句：

• I wish you'd remember to shuffle before you deal.我希望在你发牌前记得洗牌。
• Don't shuffle your feet along.别拖着脚步走。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

7 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

8 shrugs   

n.耸肩（以表示冷淡，怀疑等）( shrug的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany shrugs off this criticism. 匈牙利总理久尔恰尼对这个批评不以为然。 来自互联网
• She shrugs expressively and takes a sip of her latte. 她表达地耸肩而且拿她的拿铁的啜饮。 来自互联网

9 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

10 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

11 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册