10 ms·
What about the other 99% of talented students that couldn't afford these schools?
by anotherarray 10y ago
What about the other 99% of talented students that couldn't afford these schools?
- katm 10y agoWe do office hours in cities that anyone is welcome to sign up for. We're also going to be opening up signups for the MOOC shortly that anyone anywhere is welcome to participate in.
- mayneack 10y agoThrough need based financial aid, these schools are very affordable for many of those students.
- the_watcher 10y agoOnce you get in. Unfortunately, it's often extremely expensive to build the resume required for getting into these schools in the first place.
- aleeds 10y agoThat's really the problem. Sure, its cheap and they have great financial aid, but they don't pay for the tutors and the "life changing" experiences in Africa the rich kids have.
- SamReidHughes 10y agoThis just ain't reality. Most kids don't get in because they took a trip to Africa. Parents that pay a ton of money on making their kids the perfect college applicant generally get a bad deal and are a small minority.
- John23832 10y agoIt's not about paying to pad the application. There are legit methods of expanding your kid's world/mind. Those method generally cost more money than sitting in the house all summer watching tv.
- paulsmith34 10y agoPoor kids may not have a house to sit in and watch tv all day. They are at a major disadvantage and Ivies and other elite schools don't do a good job incorporating them into their schools due to their low sat scores and poor educational training, which is due to their poor socioeconomic status. You speak as if everyone is privileged and have the same opportunities but lazy.
- John23832 10y agoI think we were actually agreeing. My point was that money can convey an educational advantage.
- SamReidHughes 10y agoChild enrichment isn't limited to the wealthy. Kids join sports teams, boy scouts, church groups, etc, at all levels of society.
- John23832 10y agoAnd when everyone does those exact same things, nobody stands out (unless you lack those activities, in which case you are hurt). Look at what a high school degree has become... or what a bachelors is becoming. Truly standing out takes money and/or rare opportunity.
- SamReidHughes 10y agoThat's just not a reality-derived statement. All it takes is time.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- sotojuan 10y agoIt's more expensive in terms of opportunity than money. Sure, an expensive SAT tutor will help but lower class kids usually have to work or take care of a substantial amount of chores in the household. That takes time away from the activities that get them into top schools.
- Kephael 10y agoThe marketing departments at these schools have done wonders. People whose families have modest incomes of 100-150k annually are going to pay a very large sum of money to attend these schools. It is only the very poor and very wealthy who do not have issues funding their education at one of these schools.
- sotojuan 10y agoStanford takes care of tuition for families under $125k of assets, but even that means the upper middle classes will spend tons because they'll fall out of that range.
- Kephael 10y agoExactly, less than 125k in assets is absolutely nothing. The reality is that a married couple consisting of two working professionals will not qualify for any of these reduced tuition schemes.
- nitrogen 10y agoIt would help if they also considered whether that income was from one or two people, and divided it by the number of kids so larger families with parents working multiple jobs aren't penalized.
- sokoloff 10y agoassets and income are two different things.
- nitrogen 10y agoBut correlated. A two-parent, four-income, six-child family in a house just big enough to hold everyone might have $125k in assets, but in no way would they be able to help their kids pay for school, especially the older kids.
- morgante 10y agoThese schools are actually some of the most affordable in the country due to their extremely generous financial aid. Poor families pay nothing and even middle class families have minimal contributions. (For example, all of the elite universities I was accepted to cost less than my state school would have.)
- plandis 10y agoNow if only poor people could get educational equality in the 13 years prior to college :-/
- morgante 10y agoEh, it's hardly impossible. My parents have qualified for food stamps at times yet I still had a pretty decent education.
- paulsmith34 10y agoBeing the exception doesn't exclude the fact that poor kids are at disadvantage of gaining admissions to Ivies. A student from Phillips Exeter Academy has a much higher chance of being accepted vs a very smart but poor kid from a rural America high school.
- nitrogen 10y agoAs an example of this comment's point, one of the problems where I grew up is that when you told the guidance counselor you wanted to go to MIT she said, basically, don't bother.
- morgante 10y agoShe probably said that because of all the people pushing the narrative that elite schools are only for rich kids. Spreading this myth dissuades thousands of qualified students from applying to top schools where they would get a great education for free.
- dikdik 10y agomaybe you should start a scholarship fund for them....you know, be the change you want to see and all that.