n As a Boston University School of Education 2004 graduate I’d like to enlighten those, like Megan Steffen, who still have the luxury of living in student housing, that life after graduation isn’t as simple as peanut butter and pre-packaged soups (“Boomerang Kids should swing out of their parents’ basements,” Oct. 12, p. 11).

Most of my friends graduated from college with some sort of wonderful degree and a heap of debt; be it student loans or credit card debt. When faced with the decision of whether to accrue more debt by trying to take on utility bills, rent, etc. or live at home with their parents while saving their paychecks to pay off what they already owed, many chose the latter.

Why you ask?

Not because they wanted their mommies and daddies to do their laundry and pack their lunches, but because anyone trying to rent an apartment will tell you that your credit score is more important than your SAT score.

It is far more responsible to pay off debt and save money so one day you can afford to pay your bills on time, than ruin your credit score. No self-respecting individual would elect to destroy their credit rating; something which will follow you for many years to come. As I am sure many people will tell you, Steffen, life is full of many hardships, some of which you will experience even before you get to toss your cap in the air at graduation.

If living with your parents for sometime means saving money so that one day you are debt-free and can plan for your future, then do it, because no self-respecting adult will tell you that life, whether in debt or not, is easy.

Shelby Ebert

SED ’04