<p>According to US News & World Report, “liberal arts colleges emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts.” They tend to be smaller than research universities, which means closer interaction between students and professors. The education you get at the highest ranked LACs (using US News as a guide) is just as good as the education you’d get at the highest ranked universities – and many would argue the education is better, since the emphasis is on the undergraduate and not graduate students. </p>
<p>When it’s time for your son to visit colleges, tell us the universities you are seeing and we’ll direct you to the excellent LACs you can check out at the same time.</p>
<p>As for the money: Possessions do not define your wealth. Some of the richest people in the world dress like slobs and don’t spend money ostentatiously.</p>
<p>I hate quoting Wikipedia as a source, but I don’t have time to do more research: “In 2006, the median annual household income was $48,201.00 according to the Census Bureau.[3] … In 2006, there were approximately 116,011,000 households in the United States. 19.26% of all households had annual incomes exceeding $100,000.” </p>
<p>Based on what most Americans earn, you would be considered affluent. You can proudly tell your relatives from the old country that your earnings put you in the top 20 percent of all Americans (and I would wager that you are higher, since I think your wife works and your combined income is higher than $100,000). You can do the research to figure out where your income places you on the spectrum.</p>
<p>Based on your lifestyle, I concede that you are not wealthy or rich. But you are solidly upper middle class. The point is, you are not poor. So please please stop calling yourself poor. Be proud of your achievements and of the high salary you earn, one that you can brag about to your relatives. If they want to know why you’re not driving a luxury car, tell them you have better uses for your money and let them wonder what those are.</p>