An example of missed opportunities due to lack of knowledge that sometimes pops up on these forums is that high performing high school juniors sometimes do not take the PSAT (a potential gateway to big National Merit scholarships), and sometimes do not take SAT subject tests despite being interested in colleges that want them, because no one in their social circles (parents, teachers, counselor, other students) mentioned them.
Perhaps a more common example comes from the parent side, where many parents (who are not wealthy enough to pay list price at any college) are not aware of the need to do financial planning and check net price calculators early enough to avoid their kids applying to a list of too-expensive colleges that leads to a big let-down in April of senior year.
@OHMomof2 you’ve taken that point out of context. I was speaking to those that have access and choose not to attend. I would also wager that even in rural areas there is help available. A public library with internet access can provide a wealth of information but you have to want to look for it.
I think the internet is a huge equalizer for parents and students alike. As an undergraduate, I recall not even being aware certain campus opportunities existed until I learned a friend was doing it, and by then it was too late to join or apply. Less advantaged students may still not always know what questions to ask or what possibilities to look for at college, but now at least they might get a newsletter or email notice, or see a social media post about an event or EC. My youngest daughter’s college, unlike her siblings’ colleges, sends out a campus e-newsletter to parents. This has been extremely helpful, since it enables me to say, “Did you notice they’re having an information session on studying abroad / finding a campus job / writing a resume or whatever? I think you should consider going to it because…” The student might have seen the notice, but was too busy to investigate what it was all about, or may have assumed for some reason it didn’t pertain to them. Armed with information, a parent can help their student see potential advantages in participation. I wish my other children’s colleges had had better communication with parents. Back when my son attended, there was a brand new campus email blitz thing for students only, but I think old school posters and word of mouth may have still been the most common way to announce something. So clearly if you didn’t walk by that certain bulletin board or kiosk or know the president of X club, you were plain out of luck. Things aren’t perfect, but I think they’re improving for the parent with motivation.
In theory, but broadband internet may not be as universally accessible as upper middle class people may assume. Even in a high income area, the public library offers internet access computers, presumably for people who may not have such access at home.
Also, if one does not know what to ask, the resources findable on the internet may as well not exist. How many students and parents have never heard of college net price calculators before someone on this forum told them to use the college’s net price calculator to get a financial aid estimate?
Oh I agree, but I also find that the people who don’t know what’s up are the ones who don’t show up for the free financial aid night at the high school at which they’d be told about this tool. I know many parents are tired and busy, but the attendance is very poor at these kind of events. In the end, parents do need to be somewhat motivated to inform themselves.
Also, is it me, or are kids these days really much less able to do basic research compared to before?
I often see kids on here, often with high stats and a ton of ECs, asking basic questions (that would be answered on a uni’s website and which could be found with Google).
It’s like they are completely helpless if they aren’t spoon-fed everything.
^ Well, that is more forgivable. They would be asking about something for which info isn’t easily found (and may not know who would know). But asking about something that Google would turn up easily just shows an amazing lack of initiative.
"Pell grant students make up 17% of IU students, versus 16% at Michigan and 12% at Chicago "
True, but those are the stats for enrolled students vs. for graduating seniors. The 6-year graduation rate at IU is 73% vs. 90% at Michigan and 93% at Chicago. At every school, the Pell graduation rate is almost certainly lower than the overall rate. So what might be behind those numbers is quite a few Pell recipients in the freshman and sophomore classes at IU, but the persistence may not be that good.
@Hanna Students get Pell Grants for 150% of the degree time, i.e. six years for bachelors. Big Ten financial aid packages don’t end after year four, these colleges are very accommodating. And if a low-income and/or minority student is successfully pursuing a STEM degree, more scholarships kick in after freshman year.
I’ve seen low-income students attending great Big Ten universities for nearly free and they can’t muster the motivation to attend class, study, ask for help. Everyone thinks they’ve earned a right to party and goof off with their new independence, even if the university did them a favor by admitting them with bottom decile stats and showered them with grants and scholarships. A low-income student with so-so stats isn’t the same as a rich out of state student who got into Indiana’s business school. Almost always the rich out of state student is more prepared, has clearer goals, better time management, social savvy, more sophisticated.
Someone on page 1 said services they offer low-income students are underfunded?! Gotta be kidding me! You’ll find article after article on low-income kids refusing to seek out and use help. They think they’re too cool for school, harbor all these misconceptions, suffer from immaturity. The rich business school kids will pay $100 an hour for private tutoring to progress through stats or calc or econ. Low-income kids get FREE private tutoring from their university and refuse to use it!
If someone from age 19-22 confuses a nursing program for pre-medical school track they weren’t ever US medical school caliber, so why pretend they were? I mean, come on.
A few decades ago, when I was in college (not at a Big Ten school), it seemed the opposite. The students from high income families tended to be much more party-prone, although their initial advantage in high school academic preparation and other knowledge about college, plus fewer or no financial constraints (like having to work to earn money to help pay for school) helped them avoid flunking or dropping out.
@concerndad --wow. So if someone has zero experience with professionals and how they got where they are, and go to high schools with little to no guidance, and maybe have parents who don’t speak English, they “weren’t ever medical school caliber”–just wow.
There’s so much stereotyping in your post I don’t even know where to start. And, tutoring is free for ALL students at every college, so if your rich examples are paying 100 dollars an hour, that doesn’t seem so smart to me.
You can find free tutoring for low-income and first-gen students at every Big10 university. I can find free writing center help for all students. I can find free therapy. Free mentor programs. Free summer aid. Extra scholarships if you earn a decent GPA or pursue a STEM. Exclusive underrepresented internship events. Pretending these incredible resources don’t exist or that they’re underfunded is a shameless attempt to shift responsibility away from families and immature students.
@ucbalumnus@OHMomof2 Stop pretending it’s just money and stereotyping every wealthy kid as a privileged lazy slacker coasting on their parents’ dime (and every poor kid as a gritty grind who never stops studying, just lacks the “resources” to finish college). Wealthier kids come in with savvy and stronger stats, therefore they can party and not suffer the consequences. An average upper middle class kid at a good high school takes AP exams, maybe merely scores 3s, but this still allows them to stroll into Indiana with 12-20 credits, lightening their load all through undergrad.
Underprepared students can’t handle partying. They can’t handle video game systems in their rooms. They cling to bad anti-academic influences from back home. And they fail to use all the free resources.
Um, i have to question your own reading skills here. I said free tutoring IS available for all students–nowhere did I question that. What I DID question is why your exemplary “rich” students are shelling out big money for it, when it is already free.
The rest of your post is such cliche ridden misconceptions about anyone not rich enough to pass your muster that it’s not worth refutation. Except that I fail a few of those partying rich kids most semesters.
