<p>But universities take that into account. If they see that you work 20 hours a week and your family income is $18,000 a year, I think they can put 2+2 together...</p>
<p>students who work most of the week and still manage to pull fabulous grades get priority...</p>
<p>they don't put the "have you ever been employed during the schoolyear" slot for nothin :p....Colleges have been trying to make admissions as fair as possible..</p>
<p>Which is why I don't understand what everyone's *****ing about. A brilliant poor student has just as good of a chance as anyone else.</p>
<p>to get in...but not to pay</p>
<p>need based aid</p>
<p>We are too young to remember this...</p>
<p>but colleges used to give a lot of need-based scholarships. But because college admissions has become so commercialized, especially with US News rankings, all the top colleges want to make sure they're up high in the rankings. Colleges take these rankings seriously because</p>
<p>1) you dont want your school to look bad; many schools are prestige driven
2) if you're not top, you're not gonna get research funding
3) if you're not top, less private corporations are gonna donate to you
4) if you drop in the rankings, then you're (the dean) is fired</p>
<p>thus, colleges have turned a lot of that money into MERIT BASED scholarships in order to attract the top students. </p>
<p>that is one of MANY reasons why low-income students are not highly represented at elite schools... that is, if they even had the courage to apply in the first place because they had knowledge of financial aid. many low-income students won't even apply because they think they can't afford it.</p>
<p>I think people are taking the beginning of the article too seriously. All that about not being able to afford to go to restaurants and brand name bags was emphasized by the writer, not necessarily by the girl from Ewing. People are using these little specific bits from the article as evidence that this girl is clearly stupid or clearly right, but I personally wouldn't do that. The writer of this article was just trying to make the story personal. He might have picked the whole "feeling socially isolated" angle just because he thought it was the most interesting. I've done this a lot myself when creating news features for my school. You're not twisting your subjects' words, but you are emphasizing what you as the journalist want to emphasize, not always what is important to the subject. Just a friendly reminder to those who use the beginning of that article as solid proof that poor people or rich people or whoever are the enemy.</p>
<p>the most important thing in choosing a school, is fit.</p>
<p>If you don't feel like you fit in at the school, in which case you won't enjoy yourself, you should go somewhere else.</p>
<p>Fascinating.</p>
<p>As a low-income student attending Swarthmore College next year, I think I kinda qualify as the type of kid this lil' article is about. I can't remember my parents ever making more than 60k a year, and we're a family of six. Now, I'm the second kid to head to college, and we're definitely making under 20k a year.</p>
<p>The girl in the article isn't complaining. Notice how she's really only quoted two or three times throughout the article. The writer is simply emphasizing a certain p.o.v. with a certain spin - which some of you interestingly see as whining; it's kinda social darwinism at its worst. She's poor, and shouldn't expect to be welcomed by rich kids, or have the same things or opportunities as rich kids. Trust me, she didn't expect those things; she just wants to be on the same level as her peers. There's a differene between wanting something you can't have and wanting to fit in. This is a question of fit. As an institution, I believe colleges should be aware of admitting students who don't fit. And then they should try to help their students transition in, adapt, fit, etc. This idea of helping students fit is part of a college's goal to the best quality education for its students - not just academically, but socially, with racial and class interaction.</p>
<p>income definitely hurts.</p>
<p>summer programs, music, or basically any program that costs money is out of my reach. the only thing that I can join is an employer or a publicly held program which, believe me, are really few or are extremely competitive. Stanford's QUEST program... oh yeah its possible to get in, but the chances will blow you away. School programs... well seeing that school only lets you take so many classes, clubs are really weakly organized. But, you know, its possible. I got in to UC Berkeley with a 4/5 ride because I pulled off a high GPA and standardized test scores. 8 APs and 2 CC classes this year to just give you an idea... But counter that with very little ECs. Sports, clubs, and jobs. Nothing fancy with leadership, science, etc. And guess what, I barely made it into Berkeley. In fact, I had to fill out a separate application. I have so much respect for those students who make under 45 K that make it into Harvard. Saints I tell you... My parent made 45 K at her peak. Average salary is 25K. When I applied, she was only making only 13K. Oh, and on a final note, that diversity thing. They include that but its only a plus or minus 3 percent. Competing with students that have more oppurtunities is honestly extremely hard.</p>
<p>But hey, if your low income like me just think of it this way. When your old and make it big, you'll look back at your life and know that you started low but ended up big. It was you, not your parents money, but solely your parents motivation that made you big.</p>
<p>Did this girl never spend time on campus or read anything about Princeton before she decided to go there? Why would it come as a surprise that there were wealthy students?</p>
<p>And perhaps did she ever think that by looking down upon them for being wealthy, she was the one setting herself apart from the social scene? I'm not excessively rich by any means, but even if I was, I doubt I'd take someone's social status into account when deciding if I wanted to be friends with them - unless they turned up their nose at being friends with people higher than them on the economic scale. When people judge me as a "snob" because of what I wear and my pastimes (like, goodness, I might want a nice break from college food once in a while at an expensive restaurant), there's no way I'm going to go out of my way to be friendly to them.</p>
<p>(And, yes, it is all relative. $80 would be considered a fairly inexpensive bag at my school.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Did this girl never spend time on campus or read anything about Princeton before she decided to go there? Why would it come as a surprise that there were wealthy students?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Dear god. This girl - or the group of students that the article is about - wasn't royally shocked by the fact that wealthy students exist. It's the cultural differences and the fact that you could be living in the same room, talking to each other, and not hear a thing the other person is saying. She did not come in 100% ignorant of the social scene or unaware of who her peers would be; but the way culture works, you don't understand it until you are immersed in it. She wasn't entirely thinking about those differences - but that doesn't mean it has harmed her greatly. The article never mentions that she fails out or anything.</p>
<p>
[quote]
And perhaps did she ever think that by looking down upon them for being wealthy, she was the one setting herself apart from the social scene?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Dear god again. She's looking down upon them? She's not condemning them - just realizing that there is a difference of perspective here. You don't really choose who you are similar to and who you feel comfortable hanging out with. If you are different from the main crowd - money-wise or interests or tastes - you will be set apart automatically. And it's kinda hard to be part of the same social scene when you don't have the dough to finance it.</p>
<p>Reading through every single post in this thread really amuses and perplex me. Many readers seem to take the article out of context and misinterpret the original meaning. The article simply pointing out the disproportion of students of low income in ivy (or prestigious) universities and college. However, this is not the fault of the institution and many of them offer extremely generous aid to these students. I know this because I am one of them. </p>
<p>The U.S. government (specifically the Department of Health and Human Services with the aid of Department of Agriculture) set the standard income of the poverty level at $19,000 for a family of four. To my family, the poverty level rate is pretty high (yes, we that poor!) thus financing college is through person mean is an impossible task. However, the college I am attending, Boston College and several others that I was admitted to went out of their way to offer generous aids. So to say that these colleges aren't paying attention to the problem of poor students is not true or fair to their efforts. </p>
<p>We must recognize the problem that financial disenfranchise students does not have the resources, even if they have the talents, to compete with their wealthier counterpart. Many of them have to work full time to support their family and then have to do very well in school to even have a shot at these colleges. So yes, a bag of $80 is a very expensive. I'm not saying the universities should admit all poor students, if they score only a 900 on the SAT with a 2.0 GPA. There is a fine line between motivated disenfranchised and lazy poor, but they should pay more attentions to applicants whose family income is well below the nation average. If the students display a love for learning and do moderately well with what they have, then they should be given a chance. Since the famous Brown vs. Board of Education, many universities had open office of minority to help this group. I strongly believe schools should do the same for low-income students and creating tutoring services to aid these students. If they could pay special attentions to their athlete, whose sole purpose is to score more point then the other team, surely they could do the same to poor students. Boston College offer a free six weeks summer course for poor or disenfranchise, but talented students and prep them for the vigor of college. We all know that Harvard, and to some extend Yale, is offering free rides for students whose family income is below $40-45k a year. Clark University is given a free tuition for a fifth year, talented and some what financially challenge students who are pursuing a master degree. These are just some of the steps that both prestigious and semi-elite schools are taking to help poor students. </p>
<p>Low-income students attending elite universities will face their wealthier other half, and their profligate lifestyle, and it will be intimidating. The girl in the article is culture shock, because she enters a world that most of us only see in 90210 (I mean the show). It doesnt mean she resent them, because many of them she claims are her friends. Her friend doesnt necessarily look down on her either, but she represents a sect of society they never see first hand. It not obvious to them that what is normal to them would be shocking to the girl.</p>
<p>This problem of poor students is the same as affirmative action, there are both con and pro to both side of the arguments. I sincerely ask that you guys consider both side of the argument before attacking each other verbally. Thank you</p>
<p>That was a very good post, Reddune. Thanks for posting it.</p>