<p>My kids used to have the biggest wardrobe of everyone, and I hardly bought a thing. I have such a big family that many people give me jumbo garbage bags of hand me downs, figuring someone can use them. Especially since all of my younger ones are boys. I just got a bag from a mom whose kids are at college and she is cleaning out closets. My picky senior was thrilled as there were some Armani and other very expensive, designer things in there. The boy had really grown his last year of highschool and freshman year of college so there were some really nice things in there. So you can't really tell how someone got those clothers. </p>
<p>I think we define the most needy students as those who qualify for the Pell grant. When you look at those income levels, there is really no room for even a small discretionary spending allowance from the family. Sometimes the family loses money when such a student goes away to school as he may be helping out at home in services or as an unpaid worker in a small family business.</p>
<p>Personally...I think government should set up a scholarship specifically for those who fall in the lower income ladders, by taking 1% of tax money from every individual, rising yearly with the inflation rate (this would slightly shift the fiscal cycle, but it can easily be reversed with fractional drops in certain expenditures)...if my plan was actually going to be submitted in bill form...it'd include a formal and selective application process with a certain household income threshold (i'd say, around $25,000 a year)..Applicants would be required to graduate in atleast the top 10% of their class, with a challenging courseload, high SAT scores, and outstanding extracurriculars. A committee of professionals would review on the basis of need. Performance and income would be evaluated accordingly. Applicants would be required to write formal essays, and take a one time qualification test that would help filter. The most difficult part is how many applicants would actually recieve the benefits, but with the benefits...successful applicants can recieve full tuition at any public university within their own state. It'd be cost efficient, it'd help a significant number of lower ladder individuals rise to the top, and it'd boost attendence at public universities....as of now, there are national scholarships available, but very few directed towards lower income individuals specifically, and many don't pay full tuition.....the big flaw with this idea is that it doesn't extend to top name private universities, and favors individuals living in states with top named publics like Virginia, North Carolina, and California...in this case....a provision providing a sum not exceeding 45K can be provided to students wishing to attend universities outside their state or towards a private university. If they cannot afford the rest, they will be qualified for a national student loan (which will be provided only after use of the first 40K, which will be reimbursed gradually within 10 years after the student graduates with median interest increasing with inflation)...students will only be eligible for loans if they show distinguished grades within their first year of attending the university of their choice. If the students face disciplinary action at the hands of their university in subsequent years, or if their grades drop below an average of a C+, they will forfeit any further funding, and must repay a sum of atleast $25,000 within 10 years. </p>
<p>So anyone wanna make some positive changes and submit it to Congress for me? :p.....as you can tell i'm a politics geek!</p>
<p>fitting in doesn't matter....how you do in school does.....i don't approve of pretentious little snobs that have everything available to them and then put down those who don't....and this is coming from some1 whose parents are well off and have no money issues....</p>
<p>ok...reading the first page of this thread....some of you ppl are extremely snobby......i take it either you all have been spoiled from the day you were born or you all are new to money and feel like you're alot better than those who don't have it now that you do...one thing i've noticed...ppl that get rich quick are overly pretentious...i mean sheesh...appreciate what you have, and help those who don't (i.e. not those that slack and dont' have money because they're lazy and a disgrace to society...those who are born without the proper financial means)...I was thankfully born to parents who are extremely high on the econimic ladder...and I actually appreciate what I have, instead of feeling "better" because of it....get a life....money doesn't buy happiness</p>
<p>College is expensive. Even the "cheap" public schools are expensive for some people. If you go somewhere that costs, then expect people who can afford it to be there!! I feel bad for her, but have no sympathy. I almost think that families need to consider the "price" of college besides tuition. </p>
<p>If you're not upper class and go to dinner at an upper class restaurant, would you be surprised to see people wearing expensive coat and tie, ordering the expensive at-market lobster or whatever? No! I don't see how this girl's situation is any different!</p>
<p>I don't want to sound mean, but sheesh!!! This thread, and the article, and the girl are ridiculous!</p>
<p>So what, she's not supposed to go to Princeton because her family isn't loaded? So by your logic, only rich people should go to the elite colleges, because poor people obviously aren't entitled to a good education? Get a life. You say the girl is ridiculous for feeling isolated in a rich community...I say it's you who are ridiculous.</p>
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You say the girl is ridiculous for feeling isolated in a rich community...I say it's you who are ridiculous
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<p>That's not what he said at all. You twisted his words. He actually said that it is absurd for her to be surprised at being isolated w/ no money in a rich setting, and I agree with him 100%. It isn't thier fault she doesn't have money. Would you like them to give their things to charity and live way below their means so the poor girl can feel accepted? Get real.</p>
<p>Test the waters. Some creatures that look like sharks actually have a brain--porpoises, for example. When I'm in the ocean I try to stay away from certain fins because I don't like what they stand (swim) for. I do, however, swim with some others, and though in many respects they appear similar, they're really quite different (from the carnivorous sort, that is). I've been in many of the oceans of the world and I must say, I've found fins of all sorts in each of these bodies of water. Some oceans are dominated by great whites and some by mud sharks--few of the great whites wish to be mud sharks, not a few mud sharks would hesitate to trade places with the "greats" if they looked deep down inside themselves; but, then again, there are some dolphins out there that know how to swim and play just fine. They enjoy life, form closeknit communities with other dolphins, and rear their young on mother's milk. They can swim in shark infested waters and are generally left alone; certainly they would never think of joining with sharks in the activities they seem to enjoy. This metaphor begins to decline, but you get the gist. The oceans are what they are and any amount of social engineering will only perpetuate the rift that divides those who know from those who don't--though maybe in the clothes of an entirely different metaphor. For all of Plato's seeming nonsense, political economy begins and ends with the Republic.</p>
<p>She is ridiculous for complaining about money. It's the epitome of hypocrisy for her to say "oh, I don't need money; I don't want to be a rich snob" only to turn around and complain about not being able to go to expensive restaurants! People need to realize that life is not fair and there is never going to be equality. The sooner she realizes this fact the sooner she can move on with her life. Sitting around and complaining about it certainly isn't going to solve anything.</p>
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you have absolutely no idea what the word "poor" or "low-income" means.
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<p>Get off your moral high horse. YOU have no idea what "poor" means. </p>
<p>3/4 of the people in Chad do not have clean drinking water. Half of the world lives on less than $2 a day. The average Vietnemese factory worker makes $600 a year. That is 4% of the cutoff for poverty in the United States.</p>
<p>So before you start criticizing us take a good look in the mirror because the people over in Africa and Asia are saying the SAME thing that you are saying. Only they have credibility.</p>
<p>I am not sure why there is such a tone of nastiness in these posts. The article is simply pointing out some of the cultural issues, namely money or the lack thereof, that low income kids often have to face very directly when they go off to college where they are a small minority. </p>
<p>There have been so many posts that have stated that low income kids should get affirmative action, and that people would not mind this. Well, I have been against this move for a number of reasons, and am willing to bet that we will get even more vitriolic posts about any advantage a highly selective school should give low income kids. What it comes down to, is that no one wants anyone to have an advantage to a scarce, highly desired resource.</p>
<p>As to those kids who come from environments that are so different from the HPY scene and are truly low income, it is really a bit more than not being able to afford the meals out or the other discretionary income issues, though these issues are right there. In order for many of them to succeed, some extra help is often needed from the colleges or somewhere. I don't know what the stats are for the kids who withdraw from college, income wise, but I would bet that many low income kids, disproportionate to their numbers are in there simply because they have more hurdles to overcome. And feeling uncomfortable is a big deal. Some of these kids did not feel so poor in their homes, but coming to a school like Princeton is a tough transition. I am not proposing any big deal thing for these kids, but I think the article does bring up this issue and it is something for the reader to acknowledge as a fact. And there are many other kids who don't fit in so well for other reasons as well, geographic, first time away from familiar area, internationals, you name it.</p>
<p>I just thought of something. The girl in the article is a racist, a filthy, filthy racist.</p>
<p>Everytime we debate AA on this board I'm assured up and down that AA is mostly helping poor, urban kids who would have never otherwise had a chance. Under their new admissions dean, Princeton has been practicing a ton of AA. It follows that there are hundreds of low-income people at Princeton for her to hang out with, but doesn't want to because of their skin color.</p>
<p>That or maybe, just maybe, I was lied to by everyone here, and affirmative action <em>gasp</em> really isn't getting all that many poor urbanites into top schools.</p>
<p>Well now that I look...even some of the non-snobs in the U.S. aren't being grateful for waht they have...be grateful for where you were born and for who you were born to...you could have easily been one of those famished children in chad, nigeria, sudan, india, bosnia, etc.</p>
<p>And affirmative action, per se, for low income students is not a good idea...nor do I think it is reasonable for minorities...on the other hand...extensive amounts of financial aid for those who cannot afford to attend good universities, but have earned the credentials to gain admittance, should be permissible, if not fought for.</p>
<p>And the girl is being very irreasonable in her pleas....she shouldn't care about wanting to be something she isn't...rather...she should work hard, do well, and make it so her children can enjoy those amenities that she was never able to have...school is about learning and making a good name for youself to breed success in your future...not whining about what you don't have....be grateful you're able to attend a good university then try and get some publicity...ahh human nature...we get something we long for and then we ask for more</p>
<p>Hm, last time I looked most of us weren't living under the government-mandated poverty line. Almost 90% of America is not living in poverty. So what's your point?</p>
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You say the girl is ridiculous for feeling isolated in a rich community...I say it's you who are ridiculous</p>
<p>That's not what he said at all. You twisted his words. He actually said that it is absurd for her to be surprised at being isolated w/ no money in a rich setting, and I agree with him 100%. It isn't thier fault she doesn't have money. Would you like them to give their things to charity and live way below their means so the poor girl can feel accepted? Get real.
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<p>That's exactly what I meant. I'm not saying she shouldn't attend princeton, just that this should have been no suprise and that she really has no room to complain (c'mon, a newspaper article. sounds a little whiney to me).</p>
<p>nahrafsfa- your idea is good but the problem is that some qualified students live in areas where there are no AP classes and not very many ECs. Many extreme low income kids work to help pay for family expenses so that they can eat. That doesn't leave much time to be French Club President, VP of this, head of that.</p>