<p>One thing i've noticed while searching for scholarships and looking around the college I want to attend is that they always forget that middle class people need money to go to college as well. Same as schools giving free lunch to the lower class students when in fact most of them lie on their free lunch forms (they actualy laugh about it in my school -__-)
and how the world in general forgets that the middle class needs help in general as well.
With our economy going down and so many middle class people loosing their homes, cars everything wouldn't they begin to realize that everybody needs help?</p>
<p>I'm not saying that the govt should dish out free cash to the middle-class or whatever, but i wish that everything was not so lopsided. The upper-class get's tax-breaks because they do a lot of charity stuff, the lower class get's free everything and the middle class is forgotten in the mix.</p>
<p>How do you guys feel about this? Especialy with college stuff and scholarship chances?</p>
<p>I know that there are merit awards out there, but not all of us have UW 4.0's and perfect SAT scores.</p>
<p>I’ve had that issue too, there really aren’t any for people in the middle class based on income, and many of us don’t get anything from financial aid. </p>
<p>I found a lot of great essay contests, and GPA, or community service related scholarships, etc. they aren’t all based off of your GPA. Some of them are only $500 or so, but it adds up and is totally worth it. Keep in mind that some scholarships are offered while you are in college, or some of the GPA based ones will keep helping you throughout your college career, as long as your grades remain in their required range.</p>
<p>There are other ways you can help too, for example: clean out your room before you leave for college (or whenever it works out for you) and have a yard sale to make a bit of money, and get rid of stuff you no longer need/want.
Save money, avoid waste. You have to be tight with your budget and prioritize - if you need to get dorm furniture, try buying used or bring what you have at home, for clothes check out thrift shops or surplus stores. Just by buying used or clearance you can get a lot of nice things and save a TON of money.</p>
<p>For meal plans, some people have their parent(s)/guardian(s) (if they are helping you pay) buy gift cards instead of a meal plan, if you have a store nearby and a mini kitchen in your dorm, you can save a lot of money and won’t have to worry about getting tired of eating the same types of food. I know at my college it’s like $3.50 for a bowl of soup, you can get like 2 or 3 cans of soup or enough stuff to feed a dozen people for that amount of money, at the store! So yeah, just being tight with your budget you can save enough to equal what you’d win from many scholarships. </p>
<p>I understand exactly how you feel! Everyone in my town is pretty upper middle class - high class, but I’m on the lower end. It annoys me when people in school talk about how they’re so “poor” but they seem to dish out the money constantly. My one friend always talks about how she’s poor but she went to Greece/Italy on this art trip ($2000?), is going to Washington Seminar (~$800), Germany on a German trip…and probably the Senior Disney trip next year. Ugh.</p>
You’re right, the middle class has it so much worse than the poor.</p>
<p>The system is lopsided, but the world is skewed for the rich, against the poor. The middle class is, well, in the middle. But just because the government or some schools want to try to make up for a little of the systematic oppression of the poor doesn’t mean it’s putting down the middle class.</p>
<p>Thanks for ignoring the first part of his quote. Way to twist it, we’re not playing Bop It here.</p>
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<p>He’s not asking for free handouts. He just wants the world to be more fair. And like it or not, but he’s right. All too often, the middle class are left behind. Helping out the poor has that “goodwill” factor, so both the government and the wealthy will do so. There is nothing of the sort when it comes to helping out those who really need it - the middle class - so they get left in the cold.</p>
<p>No, I did hit on the point. You just referred to the middle class as “those who really need it.” I think that a college education should be free, but just because financial aid isn’t as generous to middle class students doesn’t make them worse off than the poor. The poor deal with homelessness, starvation, and other forms of economic oppression. Even for those poor people who are not homeless or starving, the constant threat is there. A lot of middle class people can’t afford the most expensive colleges, but most poor people lack the social and economic placements to even have a decent enough education to stand a chance at such universities anyway. There are things far more important in life than attending the most expensive universities, things the poor do not have.</p>
<p>The economic system is broken, and some middle class individuals are disadvantaged, but the poor lack the basic necessities for survival. If you want a classless society of economic equality, I would suggest Socialism. It would solve these issues quite well.</p>
<p>^ Oh I can understand that type of poor. I agree 100% with the govt helping them, if they deserve it. I’m not one t call out who deserves it or not but in highschool people lie on stuff like that for school stuff, for scholarships etc. Some people milk the system. That’s what bothers me. If a person really needs help then give it to them. </p>
<p>@BigKev Thanks but i’m not a he, i’m a she ^_^</p>
<p>That’s my same problem with welfare as well. There are definitely people in this country who are content to collect welfare and live off of the money paid by us, the taxpayers. If someone is using, say, unemployment to help themselves get back on their feet and get back into the workforce, then I’m all for it. Social services should be rehabilitative, to help people further themselves. They should not be a substitute for hard work.</p>
<p>And sorry BlackRose, it was late, but I should have guessed based on your name ;)</p>
<p>If they exist to support a capitalistic system, social services will continue to be broken. The goal should not be to provide just enough to sustain life in poverty, it should be a radical social and economic change to render impossible involuntary poverty and likewise the great wealth that necessitates poverty. Then, if paying for school is really your primary concern, I can assure you that no school would be able to charge $50k/year in a system where there are no rich and the system of money lacks the power it once had.</p>
<p>lol but i regularly buy oatmeal (the steel cut kind) for 950 calories a dollar, and olive oil for 900 calories a dollar. So it’s not even close to complete to just say the poor by junk food because its cheaper per calorie than other, healthier, options (because clearly there are better alternatives); so they must also prefer to eat it, to some extent, over the many nutritious (and equally cheap) foods that they can afford. </p>
<p>And there is no reason to buy soda. Ever. Just drink tap water. I mean, that example is so inane - even the poor know that it’ll put them at a higher risk for dental problems, which i’m sure they would be keen on avoiding. </p>
<p>My theory to help explain the high incidence of obesity among the poor (and how it decreases with increasing income) is to claim that food, being probably the cheapest purchasable source of comfort, is used in higher proportions by those with less money to meet their daily doses of comfort. And the reason why this explanation works so well, is it provides a reason for not just why the poor eat unhealthy foods (because their cheaper) but for why they overeat. Because to achieve comfort from food one has to satiate himself with it. It is not enough just to eat enough to stave off hunger. To get the kind of dulling, placating, sort of comfort and peace from food - the kind that temporarily alleviates worries and struggles (which, of course, the poor probably know very well) - one has to overindulge. </p>
<p>So what i am saying is that food is probably a coping mechanism for the poor, probably. Specifically a coping mechanism for dealing with their poverty and the associated problems. Of course, food can be used as a coping mechanism by those who are not impoverished, but not only do these populations have less problems than the poor, but they have more options available (for example, personal therapy) to address the problems they do have. So it’s clear to see why they would turn to food less often than the poor.</p>
<p>BillyMC, your first post. I don’t think he is talking about school’s scholarships. I think he is referring to the ones for any school, corporate scholarships and the ones on fastweb. A lot of them consider “financial need.” So anyone whose parents contribute to society is immediately ineligible.</p>
<p>My consensus on this is that hell, we should help the poor but, we shouldn’t sustain or let them leach off society. For example, I believe welfare should only be given to those who promise to find a job within the next 8 months. Hell, that’s not bad and that should be enough time. I don’t want to pay rent/pay for food for a stupid poor obese girl with 2 illegitimate sons. I don’t mind helping the guys like will smith in “The pursuit of Happiness” who are hardworking and actively looking for jobs but, hells to the no, i’m not paying for some lazy Bob Ewel impersonator. </p>
<p>Damn, We need to help the hard workers, the middle class, who pretty much pay for the bulk of government programs through taxes anyway. </p>
<p>F*** that **** about the poor eating unhealthy. My friend, Doug, immigrated here two years ago from brazil and his mom and dad are day laborers but, they don’t eat diner at McDonald’s every night. They put money towards fresh produce and fairly healthy food. No matter how poor you are, you can still eat healthy. It’s just that it’s harder for the poor to do this.</p>
<p>Damn, we need to get back too old times. The poor were fit and active while only the truly rich could afford the food and time to get so fat.</p>
This society is built on the backs of the poor. You think poor people don’t work hard? Try getting some of that healthy produce without the work of poor people; it would either be quadruple the price or not there at all. Furthermore, do you really think that hard labor jobs that keep up buildings and infrastructure are mostly occupied by the middle class?</p>
<p>And you know, not all poor people are fat. Not even most poor people are fat.</p>
<p>
What makes here ineligible for welfare? That you deem her unintelligent? That she’s poor? That she’s overweight because of a lack of education, opportunities for exercise, or healthy food? That she has children? Do you propose that the government discriminate against “illegitimate” children? Even that terminology sounds offensive.</p>
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I’m glad that they eat healthy, but not everyone can or has the knowledge/money/ability. If they’re both working, then I can see how they can pay for fairly healthy food. But many poor people can’t get jobs, and environment is a big factor of that. If you live in an inner city, you can’t get an agricultural job, nor do you have the money to move to such an area.</p>
<p>That some people are poor is a necessary derivation from one fact: that some people are rich. The system necessitates poverty, so, regardless of who falls into it, some people have to fall into it. When one person gains wealth, another person or persons lose wealth. We have an economic oligarchy of the rich that keeps the poor down and mindless propaganda that the poor “just don’t work hard enough” or “are lazy,” when that crap is ridiculous. Let all the poor disappear for a week, then we’ll see if society is so much better off, or if it collapses. Any basic unbiased analysis will show that the latter would happen.</p>
<p>I feel your pain. My dad makes too much money to be considered for much financial aid, but just because he makes +$200,000 a year doesn’t mean he can dump a third of his income every year (after taxes) to pay for my college education.</p>
<p>I can agree that some parts of our society are built on the backs of the poor. Some do work hard, I know that for a fact. But others are lazy. Those types are what bother me.</p>
<p>And not all poor people eat bad food. Yes, it is cheaper but some poor people eat cheap vege’s and fruits. It’s possible. Some try hard to keep their families healthy and well. But other could care less. I would rather that the govt stop helping those who sit at home, yes their welfare money on drugs and that type of stuff. As I said before many people do not do this. But those who do are what bother me.</p>
<p>@Pioneer Jones, just like you, my parents can’t split their income in half just to send me to school. What my parents make can barely pay for two years of college, plus I have siblings and they need to pay for everything else, food, clothes, house.</p>
<p>BillyMC, It was a crude and extreme example. Surely you no that, no need to pull the “THAT’S OFFENSIVE” card.</p>
<p>As for your comment about the world being built on the poor, let’s reverse that. What is all the rich suddenly vanished? Society would collapse. </p>
<p>No Jobs, No Business, No higher level education… but, yea i guess that poor meat packer in the rust belt is more important, right?</p>
<p>I hope i’m not sounding elitist because, i’m not but, i’m trying to say that the poor shouldn’t sympathized or given too much money from the middle class to sustain them for the rest of their lives.</p>
<p>@Black rose, i’m in that boat as well. Make too much for a significant amount of aid but too little to pay out of pocket.</p>
So yeah, just being tight with your budget you can save enough to equal what you’d win from many scholarships. </p>