Even Harvard graduates' plans are affected by family money (beyond being able to attend Harvard)

[ucbalumnus]

@marvin100

A former student of mine (brilliant! sensitive! caring! ethical!) just graduated from H and is teaching public high school in the Bronx right now (and he’s from a financially disadvantaged family). I’m proud of him for doing what he feels is right (and I agree he’s doing good in the world), but he’s made the decision to have very tight finances for the foreseeable future.

@JHS

A close friend of my other kid’s, from a family mainly living in poverty, also went into public school teaching after graduating from a prestigious LAC. While she was certainly aware that it was a less lucrative career path than most of her college classmates were choosing, from the perspective of her family it was a solid middle-class, professional occupation that didn’t involve turning your back on your family and your community.

Those who came from financially disadvantaged families may be better able to manage living on a middle income pay like that of a public school teacher compared to those who grew up in $300k income families that spent to provide a luxurious status symbol lifestyle but still complained about not making ends meet because of taxes, high cost of living, financial aid “donut hole”, etc… The latter may feel that they “need” additional parental support in order to be able to take a “low paying” job after college graduation.