<p>I think that w/ some of the school suggestions, we are talking apples and oranges. Schools like Temple are great for working-class kids, but low-income students, described earlier in the thread as those for whom even State U tuition is a reach, need pretty much grants that come close to covering COA - - as opposed to “doable” aid. Also, NOT having to hold down an outside job (as many low-income students must, in order to pay tuition/fees not covered by finaid) can signif increase a low-income student’s odds of graduating in 4 yrs.</p>
<p>Rice U is a very friendly institution for low-income students. Housing costs are the same for all - even though the quality varies :eek:, and all students are placed randomly in residential colleges to which they belong all 4-years. No chance for richer students to live in luxury housing vs. low-income students in less-comfortable housing on campus! Dining serveries are “all-you-care-to-eat”, so you don’t have students eating fancy fare or trying to save money by eating pasta only. Res life centers around these residential colleges, and their intercollegiate rec sport rivalries and traditions and pranks - very inclusive and a wonderful orientation program to help students find support/friends right from the beginning. Work-study is capped at $1800 a year, so most students with ws only work about 8 hours a week. (Some colleges budget much more for ws, which means students have to work a lot more to earn their money!) Also, there is a noloan policy for families making less than $80,000, and a cap of $10,000 TOTAL (for all 4-years) for student loans of all other students with need. A program provides free light-rail and city public transport passes to all students, there are Rice U shuttles to local stores (and zip-car, if you really want access to a vehicle for a reasonable $8 an hour). Lots of free activities on campus, and great funding for internships, scholarships, and study abroad opportunities, financial aid travels abroad…etc. Down-to-earth students who dress in sandals, t-shirts and shorts all year round. (DD traveled free to several countries with the help of Rice money…) :)</p>
<p>-Offers great FA if your family makes under 100,000 dollars.
-One of the highest percentages of Pell Grant Recipetants of all liberal art colleges
-Merit Scholarships that also offer guarranteed work-study research assistant jobs (looks<br>
good on resume and beats doing dishes)
-Lots of work-study jobs ranging from working in the cafeteria, library, campus elemenatry
school, offices, labs, and even interning within your major, the MAX of w/s hrs is 10 for
freshman and 12hrs for sophomores-seniors (the cap i believe is $2100)
-**GUARRANTEED FUNDING for 1 INTERNSHIP through PRAXIS<a href=“this%20is%20for%20all%20Smithies”>/B</a>
-80% of the student population live in single rooms (and you DO NOT PAY EXTRA for<br>
having a single room)
-Great community that celebrates individuality and diversity
-Many oppurtunities to seek help w/ academics for no extra cost
-“Free transportation” on the PVTA bus system to the 4 other consortium colleges and local
mall (part of tution) also u can rent a “zip-car”
-Overall, Smith is very friendly and welcoming environment with many practiced traditions</p>
<p>@anxiousmom</p>
<p>In addition, at Rice University, if your EFC is zero, there is no student contribution. This means only the work stud contribution is assessed, which is $1800 for a freshman and only about $2500 for upperclassmen. Because the Rice non-billable expenses allowance is closer to $3000, EFC 0 students will actually receive a stipend in addition to the work study allowance.</p>
<p>Cool! Just a note: my DS is a junior, and his work/study amount is still only $1800 (we love Rice financial aid!!!), so I don’t know if they bump it up the last year, but so far, not! 
And DD’s financial package didn’t even include w/s due to her getting merit aid. Did I mention that we love Rice U?</p>
<p>More on Smith:
- usually at the tops PR’s “dorms like palaces” list and
- has “all you can eat” meals.</p>
<p>Some mag voted Northampton “best college town.” Lot’s to do (great restaurants), but a lot of it pricey.</p>
<p>Just to give the thread some perspective, we’re talking about a very small percentage of low income kids - perhaps only 1 or 2% of low income graduating seniors.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is very true, but also keep in mind that a significant portion of low-income students will never attend a college or university. Those in between are severely limited in their options and are generally considering cost over atmosphere. For those students sometimes even community college is out of reach. In that sense, this thread is for the CC low-income community: the rare, high-achieving low-income students who have “choices” in the sense that if they are spectacular enough, they can choose between elite institutions.</p>
<h1>88</h1>
<p>thanks for your comment</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In my state, the Greek housing is much, much cheaper than the public (dorm) housing…</p>
<p>Even if the national average is 1-2%, the percentage of low-income students at a number of colleges/unis is considerably greater, as evinced by the Pell numbers listed in earlier posts. And yes, for those students affordability is the most important concern, but ancillary issues, some, like atmoshpere can signif impact any students ability to ability to complete the academic program in 4 years.</p>
<p>I’d guess that college “atmosphere” impacts the decision of very few low income apps and even fewer succumb to that particular disease after admission. I bet most low income apps leave school because of personal issues, family problems and perhaps even trouble in the neighborhood when they return home at the holidays. The disconnect between college and home becomes difficult on the return home - very different worlds and often different values. Sadly, once you make that move to the elite college, it’s best to venture back as little as possible. Students will often take advantage of vacation service opportunities, college sponsored trips and often try to stay on campus over vacations. Our eldest daughter, who didn’t go to an elite LAC, rarely came home and our D who is now in college, understands that it is best to find other opps during the summer. We can’t provide the lifestyle they get used to and things, sometimes bad things, tend to happen if you hang around here too long. It’s not really a good idea.</p>
<p>Agreed, may aspects of campus culture and atmosphere may amount to no more than the straw that breaks the camel’s back. But, to the extent that atmosphere included $ policies beyond the actual finaid award (meal plan policy, w/s policy, funding for vacation service opportunities, funding for study abroad, free and professionally staffed academic support as opposed to peer tutoring) it becomes more of a substantive factor.</p>
<p>I consider Scripps to be an incredibly friendly place for Low-income students. High and low income students manage to blend fairly well here (except for the select few who happen to flaunt private jets). All of the things to do on campus are generally free, so having a social life isn’t hard on the budget. Scripps financial aid is incredibly generous, especially if you apply for and receive a merit scholarship (which means an earlier application deadline). Merit scholars receive a certain amount of aid (half or full tuition) and any need-based aid granted on top of that is guaranteed to be in the form of grant or work study- NOT in student loans. Even with transportation costs (flying home from Cali to Oregon), I’m paying less to attend Scripps than I would have at U of O.</p>
<p>Something about the current college admissions or recruiting process does screen out a lot of low-income students who have the ability to attend college and graduate. One figure I have seen is a statement to the effect that high-income students in the bottom quartile of ability attend college and graduate from college at higher rates than low-income students from the top quartile of ability. I think that is in my list of references about college and income issues. </p>
<p>[BW</a> Online | July 7, 2003 | Needed: Affirmative Action for the Poor](<a href=“Businessweek - Bloomberg”>Businessweek - Bloomberg) </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ffp0621.pdf[/url]”>Error; </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ff0615S.pdf[/url]”>Error; </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.tcf.org/Publications/Education/carnrose.pdf[/url]”>http://www.tcf.org/Publications/Education/carnrose.pdf</a> </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.tcf.org/Publications/Education/kahlenberg-affaction.pdf[/url]”>http://www.tcf.org/Publications/Education/kahlenberg-affaction.pdf</a> </p>
<p>[A</a> Thumb on the Scale | Harvard Magazine May-Jun 2005](<a href=“http://harvardmagazine.com/2005/05/a-thumb-on-the-scale.html]A”>http://harvardmagazine.com/2005/05/a-thumb-on-the-scale.html) </p>
<p>[The</a> Best Class Money Can Buy - The Atlantic (November 2005)](<a href=“http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/financial-aid-leveraging/4]The”>http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511/financial-aid-leveraging/4) </p>
<p>[Recruiting</a> a New Elite | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=510012]Recruiting”>http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=510012) </p>
<p>[Cost</a> Remains a Key Obstacle to College Access](<a href=“http://www.equaleducation.org/commentary.asp?opedid=1240]Cost”>http://www.equaleducation.org/commentary.asp?opedid=1240) </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.jkcf.org/assets/files/0000/0084/Achievement_Trap.pdf[/url]”>http://www.jkcf.org/assets/files/0000/0084/Achievement_Trap.pdf</a> </p>
<p>[Legacies</a> of Injustice - Reason Magazine](<a href=“http://www.reason.com/news/show/123910.html]Legacies”>Legacies of Injustice) </p>
<p>[Promise</a> Lost: College-Qualified Students Who Don?t Enroll in College (IHEP)](<a href=“http://www.ihep.org/publications/publications-detail.cfm?id=117]Promise”>http://www.ihep.org/publications/publications-detail.cfm?id=117) </p>
<p>[Colleges</a> reach out to poorer students - The Boston Globe](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/11/10/colleges_reach_out_to_poorer_students?mode=PF]Colleges”>http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/11/10/colleges_reach_out_to_poorer_students?mode=PF) </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkBGMsvJKRKaL67qxkOCaDByDJFAD94R70G02[/url]”>http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hkBGMsvJKRKaL67qxkOCaDByDJFAD94R70G02</a></p>
<p>^^ Wow.</p>
<hr>
<p>Isn’t using merit aid to replace the loan portion of a need-based award pretty much standard procedure?</p>