<p>I don’t know much about other colleges. Where my kid goes, there are a lot of rich kids, poor kids and middle class kids. Just like everyplace including in the “real world”, there are jerks who throw their money in your face and others who don’t. Colleges are a microcosm of the outside world just as they should be. We pay full tuition and consequently don’t have much money left over for my kid to take fancy trips on breaks. Nobody has thrown that in her face and if she feels deprived - too bad. She’s not going to have a lot of money probably ever to be able to do what some of her friends can do - thats just the way it is.</p>
<p>so here’s our conundrum:</p>
<p>my daughter is on full financial aid at a UC, she gets about $18,000 in free stuff, and we make up the difference with a parent plus loan for $6000 and she took a stafford for about $4000. soooo,</p>
<p>my husband is in the military and we are just below middle class and just above poverty level based on his base salery. i actually had the financial aid dept. tell me "umm, you might want to NOT get a job this year, and do something else, because if i go back to work, or make even a few grand, it will cut her financial aid tremendously. so it’s like we are penalized for being hard working middle class. if i work, she loses out.</p>
<p>needless to say, i’m going back to school on monday myself to train for a new career i’ve always wanted to do. what a weird path we travel when our kids go to college…</p>
<p>Yeah, I went back to work part-time in 2009, and the kids financial aid is going to take a real hit. I think we’ll lose about what I earned, so working was a wash for me. Still glad I did it, and will continue to, but from a purely financial aid perspective nothing was gained. (But what they lose in aid won’t be more than what I earned at least.)</p>
<p>" No one puts him down, but a person can feel a bit deprived when those around him have money for the off-campus hangouts, entertainment in Nashville, ski trips, etc."</p>
<p>It’s important for people to realize that rich kids don’t just go to private schools. At the second tier public in my town, there are plenty of wealthy kids who have designer accesories, expensive cars, and live in Greek houses that are mansions. I was inside one last year and was shocked to see several Christmas tress that obviously were decorated by designers. I was awed to see how the sorority house was furnished with expensive furniture, etc.</p>
<p>Many wealthy kids go to state schools just like some very poor kids go to state schools. Don’t assume that public schools are just for the middle class and low income people. There are plenty of wealthy kids who choose to go to public universities.</p>
<p>*Many wealthy kids go to state schools just like some very poor kids go to state schools. Don’t assume that public schools are just for the middle class and low income people. There are plenty of wealthy kids who choose to go to public universities. *</p>
<p>Very true! My kids go to school with the children of some very rich business people. So, of course there are rich kids at state publics. Frankly, at virtually any flagship, you’ll find a decent number of reasonably affluent kids since publics are not good at meeting need of lower-income students (to pay for tuition, room, board, books, etc). So, typically those students have to go to regional publics and commute, using Pell for some tuition and Stafford for remaining tuition and books.</p>
<p>In the situation of my nephew’s roomie, he’s at school where there are a larger percentage of affluent kids. Many wealthy people from the NE use Vandy as a match/safety in case they don’t get accepted to their first-choice ivies.</p>
<p>@mysonsdad.</p>
<p>You may want to check out St Andrew’s University in Scotland. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than the uni’s in the states and it has the strongest links in the UK to Yale, Harvard etc, it’s in the top 3. Edinburgh uni is good too and if your son is studying media/journalism/film etc Napier University is the best of the bunch with its screen academy scotland. The screen academy course costs per year is peanuts compared to the states and it has strong links with LA and the BBC etc.</p>
<p>St Andrew’s is the third oldest university in the English speaking world. Andrew’s and Edinburgh is the top for politics/sociology/law and literature (on par with oxford… honest).</p>
<p>Interesting note. St Andrew’s has the oldest debating society in the world and organized one of the first parliaments in Europe as a result of the dominance of Edward Longshanks. You can still see the ancient debating chamber there BEFORE the (ancient) scottish parliament was established before being done away with for hundreds of years.</p>
<p>I also think fees may be on a sliding scale based on your earnings with the Scottish system and international students. Certainly not down England so it’s worth checking out. If you shop around you don’t have to cut back on the quality of the university and still make it affordable.</p>
<p>Glasgow university is fantastic too, one of the elite also (on par with those ones) and home of the media in Scotland (but not a registered screen academy). Royal Glasgow School of Music and Drama is great and so is the Edinburgh School of Art run by Heriot Watt University. All these are quality universities (Adam Smith went to Glasgow university).</p>
<p>Funny you should mention the wealthy @ public school.
My daughter attended an inner city school that has very strong academics & extra curriculars. Some students go on to very competitive schools, while others like herself are at public schools.
It seems to be a blow to her ego to attend a school that admits more than 40%, but the profs are good, 50% of classes have fewer than 20 students who had often been accepted at much more competitive schools that were also much more expensive.
She was a little surprised that so many students that had come from upper income backgrounds/private schools were attending the public university, but then after hearing what high school she had attended, they questioned how she was still alive.
That’s what you call diversity! ;)</p>
<p>Just a note. If you’re studying law in scotland. Make sure you are studying american law. I’m sure it covers everything from the differences in american law to the differences in scots law but ask to make sure.</p>