<p>My son attends a charter school with about 80% minorities and "economically disadvantaged children. He is one of the 20% that is neither. He has a diverse group of friends but they have one thing in common they all value their education and take learning very seriously. He loves the diversity and has excelled there but is ready to move on. Throughout the last 4 yrs their teachers have encouraged them to consider boarding school as an option for high school. One boarding school that is close by takes the top kids from the school to spend a day and tour…they also sent 3 students to summer programs at other private and boarding schools last summer. This past fall they had an elective for those who were interested in applying , they prepped for interviews, went to school fairs, helped those who needed it with applications and even helped fill out FA forms . All of these kids were passionate about attending boarding school including my son, and in my opinion they all are qualified to attend the top tier schools. Out of the group of 7 who went through the process , 4 received full financial aid to top boarding/ private schools, the other 3 got into their top schools as well unfortunately because they have more economical advantaged did not receive enough or any financial aid. Their teachers have been supportive and helped them through this tough lesson in life . They all remain great friends…it has been a tough few weeks but wherever they end up will be successful. I only chose to share this to give those who wondered how kids not involved in formal programs …and without all the resources get in to boarding school. </p>
<p>If there are other programs they’re sure well hidden.</p>
<p>@starzevmom</p>
<p>You have a good point. Many families that I consider middle class (40,000-65,000) would be considered lmc by wealthy boarding schools. </p>
<p>@MIT8989, your son’s charter school sounds as good as any program out there. How many middle schools have boarding schools recruit there, yet alone offer to have the kids spend a day on campus or a summer at a school? If all kids had the opportunities and support you describe there wouldn’t be a need for formal programs! Congrats to your son and his friends–I’m glad their hard work paid off.</p>
<p>I guess it all boils down to this:</p>
<p>What percentage of accepted full FA students at top boarding schools were free lunch? Of this smaller percentage, how many kids were NOT helped by any official or unofficial program?</p>
<p>It would be nice if they kept those statistics. The thing is, only 13% of Andover (for example)'s students received full financial aid. Of those, how many families even had an income below 40,000 (I bet lower than 30,000, or “free lunch” makes up an even smaller portion)? </p>
<p>Of those 13%, 90% could have incomes of $70K. It’s crazy. </p>
<p>@grace567, The statistics wouldn’t be hard to get. The schools don’t want to publish them.</p>
<p>I have to wonder whether the special programs and “feeder” schools take up most of the available spots for students who need significant FA. </p>
<p>I think where the difference lies is not necessarily between 25K and 75K, but between being economically disadvantaged and being SOCIOeconomically disadvantaged, and in my extremely limited experience that is where these schools also try and draw the line. They try to give the full FA package to kids who not only are poor, but are also struggling against other hurdles, like culture or prejudice or just bad family (or no family) circumstances.</p>
<p>I saw two schools basically throw the ‘rules’ out the window (SSAT scores, deadlines, grades, and even essays) for one kid who has lots of potential, and is not only poor, but also has other issues going on. While this kid was able to take advantage of essentially the same programs my kid does through local funding, gifts, scholarships, etc. (while we can afford to pay), it was other factors that were dragging that kid down. I’m pretty sure they saw that this kid is bright but not going to be able to reach potential in their current circumstances, and that is why they emptied the coffers.</p>
<p>Have you seen this article in the Yale Alumni mag?:
<a href=“Wanted: smart students from poor families | Features | Yale Alumni Magazine”>https://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/3801</a></p>
<p>They too talk about the ‘smart but poor’, but really they are also talking about those who are poor but also not likely, for societal reasons, to apply to Yale. Which probably means that if those are the kids they are going after, it’s not enough to just be ‘promising poor’; you have to be a promising poor pig farmer from Oregon (their example, not mine).</p>
<p>removed post as the link had too many dead end web sites in it. sorry!</p>
<p>@notniobe, how do you differentiate between economically disadvantaged and socioeconomically disadvantaged? Is a family living at the poverty level ever not socioeconomically disadvantaged (as well as economically disadvantaged)?</p>
<p>@notniobe, thanks for the link to the Yale article. The farmer referenced did not receive full FA–although he was rural his family income must’ve been at least $60k becasue he was asked to contribute. Once again the “economically disadvanted” subject of the article is middle class and not not living near the poverty level.</p>
<p>Please note that I’m not dismissing the importance of including rural kids like the boy in the article. But I find it funny that the example used to highlight the plight of “poor” students is only “poor” when compared to the wealthy elite. Is a family income of $60k poor at Yale? Are there any free lunch kids (not in programs or from feeder schoos) at Yale?</p>
<p>I’m not sure how to answer the above question, so I’m going to go back to previous topics.</p>
<p>I was not in any program to apply to a boarding school; I did it on my own. I also have gone to public school my whole life, so no schools came and recruited where I live or anything. I kind of got lucky in an online search; before last year, I didn’t even know boarding schools like Exeter actually existed. No one where I live really knows they exist. So without the help of those kinds of programs, students (like me) can still get in. Once I decided to apply though, (I started rather late, at the end of November) I made sure to seek help with my application. </p>
<p>Note that by some definitions, my family would be lower middle class with our income (40K-65K), but I also have five younger siblings, so there’s a lot less money to go around.</p>
<p>For next year, I know that all the schools say that no one cares about how much money your family makes, but is that really true? Are students who don’t wear name brand clothes or haven’t taken tennis lessons since childhood ostracized at all? I’m a bit worried…</p>
<p>@omgjusttellme, I question whether poor students–those in families living at about the poverty level–can get accepted. It seems like income disparity is a small issue once you’re accepted, but a huge stumbling block in getting accepted. Again, there is a huge difference between the opportuinties a middle class kid has and a free lunch kid. Where we live, for instance, poor kids wouldn’t even be exposed to tennis, or many other things. Congrats on getting into Exeter, and make the most of it.</p>
<p>@omgjusttellme, You’ll do fine. You’ve proven that by getting this far. You’re not the first person on this path, either. Remember not to judge or stereotype others just because they come from wealthier families. You don’t want them to do that to you. Don’t succumb to material envy. Be open to people and experiences. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>I had a friend tell me at a TSAO school that “it’s interesting going to school with people that have way more money than you.” We’re both middle class-ish except my family has another kid to worry about: private education (with FA of course), sports, medical bills, etc, so therefore we don’t have as much money.</p>
<p>So my question: how does everyone fit in from different economic backgrounds? I don’t have designer clothes, I don’t eat out much (except for fast food), I don’t have top of the line sports gear or top of the line training. The little money that I get for next year I’m going to spend carefully; not that I won’t use it for fun every once in a while, but I’m not going to blow it all at once. I won’t get singled out if I’m lower income, will I? (You’d be able to tell by looking at my non-designer clothes or how careful I can be before I spend money).</p>
<p>@starzevmom, Here’s an example: My husband and I have advanced degrees. We live in a pleasant area with decent schools. We know that prep schools exist, even though we never thought we’d try to send our kids to one, and we were able to handle the application process. So we would never be socioeconomically disadvantaged, even if we were living in our car. However, if we hadn’t gone to college, lived among people whose view of the world and of their children’s futures was very limited, and perhaps couldn’t read well enough to handle the financial aid forms, we would be socioeconomically disadvantaged, and still socially disadvantaged even if we made plenty of money. </p>
<p>This may have worked against us in the application process; schools may have decided that our kids just didn’t need the help as much as some others, and I’m OK with that</p>
<p>starzevMon - First, readin my post from yesterday, I want to clarify that when I use the term socioeconomically disadvantage, (and this is probably why most schools just stick to the term ‘economic disadvantage’), I do not mean to imply that just because one’s culture or society does not appreciate highly competitive academic institutions one is disadvantaged, except perhaps in the narrow facet of life that is application to one of these places for a kid coming from such a situation. </p>
<p>And yes, being poor is 1/2 of that equation. But there are poor kids (under 25K) out there who have parents who appreciate these schools and are, basically, gearing their kids to be qualified applicants. Maybe not explicitly, but it’s part of their culture. I say this because not only is one kid I know who got into Exeter this year definitely in this category, but that was me growing up too–I was in the under 25K (ok, back then it was probably like under 18K, dating myself here) If I wanted art or music lessons, my parents knew lots of artists/musicians. Shakespeare? Keats? It was there in the bookcase. I got moved to a different (public) high school just because they taught Latin. Um, I never wanted tennis lessons, but I suppose had I expressed a strong interest I probably could have taken them in town on scholarship.</p>
<p>This is perilously thin ice, and probably why the whole process is obfuscated…because it can border on discrimination against, say poor, smart, white kids from educated families and over-represented states. </p>
<p>However, to get to what you’re really saying, I think, is that is there a point at which it doesn’t matter what your culture is, being poor is going to affect your ability to get in? Your mom may know 3 languages, including middle English, but if she is single and working two jobs and you’ve got 3 siblings then it doesn’t do you much good, does it? So, yeah, definitely. I’m not sure where that line is though, no doubt different for each situation. And I do think they try to take it into account during the application process.</p>
<p>omgjusttellme - Your question, I think, is a really relevant one. I’ve recently read two articles that address just this, one in the Philippian (Andover) by a kid who talked about how ‘everyone knew who you were because they gave the FA kid a particular kind of laptop’ and how that became a bonding experience for him (sorry, I can’t find the actual link, so maybe I am misremembering a little here). Another article, this time about colleges, where they were grouping kids from ‘socioeconomically disadvantaged’ backgrounds into certain dorms and finding that they were able to adjust to college better because they formed a stronger community with other kids like themselves. Again, sorry, I’m looking for the link, but I am terrible at remembering those things. I know, sort of makes being poor sound like a social experiment. I hope you are able to quickly get beyond it and make amazing friends no matter their status at school.</p>
<p>Oh rats, did not refresh screen until posting: what twinsmama says!</p>