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>>"Between 1999 and 2004, just 2% of Princetonians came from the families in the lowest 20% of earnings, while 3.2% came from families in the top 0.1%" These k

>>"Between 1999 and 2004, just 2% of Princetonians came from the families in the lowest 20% of earnings, while 3.2% came from families in the top 0.1%" These kinds of statistics are appalling to me. I wonder if they continue along the income percentiles (e.g. top 5% has a greater chance than lower 30%, or so). My parents are as middle-class as it comes, one is a nurse and the other is a probation officer. Their combined income is about $150,000. The top 0.1% make > $1.5 million per year. How can your parent's income have such a dramatic effect on your access to college? Is it not enough applicants? Is it lower performance on AP exams? Is it the inability to pay tuition? I may be a bit bitter as I'm set to graduate med school with $250,000 in debt. It's hard for me to fathom having parents who could pay my tuition four times over every year.

lmm 10y ago
If your family income is $150,000 that puts you well above the average - you're probably in the top, what, 5%?
douche 10y ago
If your parents made less money, all other things being equal, you'd be in better shape. $150k just gets you out of the income bracket that gets heavy financial aid from the endowments at top-tier schools, and so you, or someone, has to pay nearly full-price. In comparison, my teacher and mechanic parents made slightly under 100k, underneath the line where financial aid kicked in heavily enough to be competitive with my local state university, and so I graduated with just the federal Perkins and Stafford loans I had to take out, to the tune of around 20k in debt.