Listening M: Hey Janet. You look a little worried; is anything wrong? W: Well, kind of. I just got a letter telling me I was accepted to my top-choice grad school. M: Uh. . . what’s wrong with that? W: Nothing. It’s really great. Don’t get me wrong. I’m i

Listening

M: Hey Janet. You look a little worried; is anything wrong?

W: Well, kind of. I just got a letter telling me I was accepted to my top-choice grad school.

M: Uh. . . what’s wrong with that?

W: Nothing. It’s really great. Don’t get me wrong. I’m incredibly happy I got accepted, but the problem is the school didn’t offer me enough financial aid. There’s no way I’m going to be able to afford tuition. I don’t know how I’ll be able to come up with the money. (1st: the problem)

M: Oh. Don’t worry; that’s not such a big deal. I mean; it’s tough, but you have options. Have you thought about applying for scholarships? With your grades and experience I’m positive you’ll be able to get enough money to pay for tuition (2nd: the first solution to the problem).

W: Really?

M: Yeah. Plus, most of the institutions that offer scholarships allow you to use the money for both tuition and general expenses, so you could actually get money for things such as food, rent, and books. (3rd: a positive for the first solution)

W: Wow. That sounds great. The only thing is that I have some really important finals coming up and I don’t know if I’ll have the time to apply. (3rd: a negative for the first solution)

M: If you really think you can’t make time to apply for the scholarships, then maybe you should consider attending a different school that can offer you more financial aid (4th: the second solution to the problem).

W: I’ve been thinking about that. I’ve been lucky enough to get accepted to some other good schools (5th: a positive for the second solution), but, of course, none of them is my top choice and the best professors in my field teach there (5th: a negative for the second solution).

M: Sounds like you have a tough choice to make.

W: I know.