<p>Um, thank you for being so brash?</p>
<p>I'm in a similar situation IvyLeagueorBust, down to the whole Polish-American thing. But my dad did go to college in Poland... it just didn't do him any good after he moved to America. :/ So I probably don't qualify for first-generation status. It kind of irks me that a rich black kid will get a boost just because of his race, but stuff like this isn't a deciding factor anyway, and at least I'm poor enough that I won't have to worry about paying off college loans. :P</p>
<p>
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and at least I'm poor enough that I won't have to worry about paying off college loans
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</p>
<p>That is not true at all. Just because your parents don't have money, that doesn't mean you won't be expected to take out loans. My EFC is <$2k, but my expected contribution through loans is almost $15k.</p>
<p>^ True. But I probably won't go to any college that can't offer me a free ride anyway.</p>
<p>Have fun finding a college, then. "Free rides" are incredibly rare. You have a better shot of getting into Harvard than you do of getting even the wealthiest of schools to pay your entire way.</p>
<p>Dang. Seeing as I know a few people who got virtual free rides (combined with other scholarships, anyway) I was under the impression that not paying much for college was in the realm of reason for me. Oh well.</p>
<p>Even if you get a "free ride" somewhere, you still have to pay for books, fees, and more often than not, room and board. Outside scholarships are extremely hard to get for most people.</p>
<p>Harvard has been actively trying to recruit low-income students through the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative...check it out: <a href="http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/hfai/%5B/url%5D">http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/hfai/</a></p>
<p>Responding to the OP, it's an advantage to come from a low-income family mainly because for these several reasons...</p>
<ul>
<li><p>For some SAT prep classes, they cost up to a thousand for 10 weeks, that's a burden to low-income families. A thousand dollar is how much my family pays for rent a month.</p></li>
<li><p>Rich kids at my school get access to cars since freshmen year, allowing them easier access to EC activities, but I have no ride anywhere, thus most of my volunteer work is close to home, and it limits my opportunities.</p></li>
<li><p>I had a friend whose parents paid 2000 dollars for him to get a tutor so he can get a 5 on the AP chem exam (ALONE!!!) and that is something that poor kids cannot get</p></li>
</ul>
<p>hmmm...it really doesnt matter....but my dad worked his way through college...at the time theyre was this nyc program if u went to a public college in NY and u lived in ny...and commuted there u can get free tuition...all u had to pay was BOOKS and extras...so he payed for all his books and extras by working jobs and all of this not just for Undergraduate but has a Masters...and now were a wealthy family live in the suburbs in ny on Long Island and he owns a Party Rental Buisness w/ one of his friends from hs and some one else... he still trys for us to pay for college by taking 2 years off b4 college and working during hs...to pay to commute to a college...or get full scholarship..but im not smart enough i am trying to work on it!! but maybe i will b able to get half like my sister</p>
<p>TO the original posters question, there are statistical reviews that show most upper level schools have over half of their students from the upper level economic strata of our country...they also pick quite a few pell grant qualified students to create diversity.. the middle income seems to get squeezed...but you are not a statistic, you are an applicant, what will you bring to the table.</p>