4 ms·
One thing I notice about articles like this, is they always try to pull their punches at the end. I think that for first-generation college students, the risk
by rossdavidh 8y ago
One thing I notice about articles like this, is they always try to pull their punches at the end. I think that for first-generation college students, the risk is greater that they won't get the truth of the matter. College students whose parents went to college are, I think, more likely to hear (in blunt, unmistakable language) that taking on a large amount of debt for (most) liberal arts majors, is not a good idea. First-generation college students are more likely to believe what their professors or college administration tells them, which is that all majors are a good idea, and thus more likely to pick a major which digs them a deep hole (in student loan debt) without giving them the benefit of a highly marketable degree to help get out of it.
- Buldak 8y agoI can see it working the other way. That is, parents who are not college-educated (who are immigrants, poorer etc.) are more likely to view education in practical terms. You need a certain level of affluence to view college as a more purely intellectual or artistic (or recreational?) pursuit.
- bootsz 8y agoYeah. I feel like many personal economic problems (esp. in the US) boil down to trying to emulate the lifestyle of the upper-class while actually being middle-class. We tend to ignore the existence of an upper class in the US but the distinction is very real.