5 ms·

His post does not cover the whole story, but it is certainly on topic. Where you're from and income level of your parents doesn't just affect your college expe

His post does not cover the whole story, but it is certainly on topic. Where you're from and income level of your parents doesn't just affect your college experience once you're in college, but also earlier in the process. I'll provide my anecdote: I grew up in a decent suburb with a decent public school system. However, my high school never produced any Ivy League college students and the counselors and teachers there never presented it as an option. Most kids were only vaguely aware of what the Ivy League even was. It was even a running joke in my year about one student who did apply ("Oh, so and so thinks he's going to go to "Harvard"). Meanwhile, the neighboring school districts, which were slightly more upper-middle class, routinely produced dozens of Ivy League-bound seniors yearly. The main differences between my district and the neighboring ones was a 10 minute drive and a half century long history of old money in the other neighborhoods. The point is: Where you are from and your surroundings can greatly impact your knowledge and access to higher levels of education.

hkmurakami 14y ago
I wonder if these need based aid package recipients tend to be from (1) lower income neighborhoods or (2) are from lower income families who strained financially in order to live in a higher income neighborhood so that their kids could go to the better schools.
- mjmahone17 14y ago
  Truth be told, it's probably a mix. My family was a high-ish income family for my high school (which seemed to have a range of income levels), but I'm still on financial aid. It actually seems most students on financial aid at Ivy Leagues aren't from the bottom-fifth of the income bracket, but more the third-to-fourth fifths. And some in the bottom of the top fifth.
  - rayiner 14y ago
    Financial aid at say Yale doesn't phase out totally until $200k+ household income. It's substantial even at the $100k mark.
- andrewchoi 14y ago
  Technically, at least for my university, they're all need-based aid packages. Anecdotally, I'm from the latter type of family. Despite my mother's efforts, we still couldn't relocate to a really good area in time for me to go to high school, but we eventually got my brother into a much better public school than I went to.
nateburke 14y ago
Agreed. My life was changed by a single biology teacher who graduated from Harvard in the 1960s. He decided to devote his life to teaching in a sleepy, company-town (East Hartford, CT) public high school rather than pursue research, $$, etc. On the first day of class in 9th grade, he handed out photocopies of the sheet of paper that alumni interviewers fill out for potential applicants. This sheet of paper had checkboxes indicating achievement levels in things like art, music, sports, research, etc. with the following gradations: -locally distinguished -distinguished at the town/county level -distinguished at the state level -distinguished at the national level He told us that we were not competing with each other, but rather that we were competing with "a kid from Glastonbury [CT] who drove to school in a BMW this morning". The message was clear: if you wanted to get into an ivy, the next four years of school were to be a grand song and dance to get as many state and national level checkmarks as possible. We were lucky to have heard his message. There were a couple thousand other kids in the school that didn't hear it. How could they know that it worked this way?
el_fuser 14y ago
Definitely. Having grown up poor and rural, but with a kid that attends a private school in a city, I am amazed at the opportunities he will have that we didn't at his age. Sure, we were all told we could be doctors or lawyers or industry titans... But we didn't actually know anybody that WAS those things. Compared to my kid, who sits next to kids that have dads and moms that are district attorneys, nationally known surgeons, oil company owners, etc... Kids at his school showed up for kindergarten and all but a few could already read. They spend their afternoons doing "enrichment" activities... Compared to the local public school where a sizable number of kids receive remedial tutoring and show up hungry.

hkmurakami 14y ago

I wonder if these need based aid package recipients tend to be from (1) lower income neighborhoods or (2) are from lower income families who strained financially in order to live in a higher income neighborhood so that their kids could go to the better schools.

mjmahone17 14y ago
Truth be told, it's probably a mix. My family was a high-ish income family for my high school (which seemed to have a range of income levels), but I'm still on financial aid. It actually seems most students on financial aid at Ivy Leagues aren't from the bottom-fifth of the income bracket, but more the third-to-fourth fifths. And some in the bottom of the top fifth.
- rayiner 14y ago
  Financial aid at say Yale doesn't phase out totally until $200k+ household income. It's substantial even at the $100k mark.
andrewchoi 14y ago
Technically, at least for my university, they're all need-based aid packages. Anecdotally, I'm from the latter type of family. Despite my mother's efforts, we still couldn't relocate to a really good area in time for me to go to high school, but we eventually got my brother into a much better public school than I went to.

nateburke 14y ago

Agreed. My life was changed by a single biology teacher who graduated from Harvard in the 1960s. He decided to devote his life to teaching in a sleepy, company-town (East Hartford, CT) public high school rather than pursue research, $$, etc. On the first day of class in 9th grade, he handed out photocopies of the sheet of paper that alumni interviewers fill out for potential applicants. This sheet of paper had checkboxes indicating achievement levels in things like art, music, sports, research, etc. with the following gradations: -locally distinguished -distinguished at the town/county level -distinguished at the state level -distinguished at the national level He told us that we were not competing with each other, but rather that we were competing with "a kid from Glastonbury [CT] who drove to school in a BMW this morning". The message was clear: if you wanted to get into an ivy, the next four years of school were to be a grand song and dance to get as many state and national level checkmarks as possible. We were lucky to have heard his message. There were a couple thousand other kids in the school that didn't hear it. How could they know that it worked this way?

el_fuser 14y ago

Definitely. Having grown up poor and rural, but with a kid that attends a private school in a city, I am amazed at the opportunities he will have that we didn't at his age. Sure, we were all told we could be doctors or lawyers or industry titans... But we didn't actually know anybody that WAS those things. Compared to my kid, who sits next to kids that have dads and moms that are district attorneys, nationally known surgeons, oil company owners, etc... Kids at his school showed up for kindergarten and all but a few could already read. They spend their afternoons doing "enrichment" activities... Compared to the local public school where a sizable number of kids receive remedial tutoring and show up hungry.