Why does the middle-class always get boned?

[n yusef]

Originally posted by: skim milk

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: Xylitol
I'm getting no financial aid from the school that I'm going to be attending. My brother goes to a private school and is getting almost no financial aid. ugh
I am very thankful for my parents for paying for a lot of the tuition though

Be happy you won the genetics lottery by being born a Korean male.

can you explain what you mean by this?

I need some ego stroking

JS80 thinks he's being oppressed for being an affluent Asian American Male. Sure, some poor black women might have an easier chance getting into college (with the same grades and score, which you shouldn't assume because she's probably attending worse schools and has a worse home environment than you), and she would get better aid. But she's also poor and black (still a disadvantage in our society, AA only does so much). JS80 doesn't like blacks much; it's obvious he's quite happy with his place in life.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: Xylitol
I'm getting no financial aid from the school that I'm going to be attending. My brother goes to a private school and is getting almost no financial aid. ugh
I am very thankful for my parents for paying for a lot of the tuition though

I know exactly what you mean. Those that make a lot can afford to pay for their kid's tuition, and those that don't make a lot get it paid for (financial aid). Those in the middle get screwed.

Be glad your parents are middle class and are still paying "for a lot of the tuition". I got squat.

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: TheVrolok

Originally posted by: Mo0o

Originally posted by: TheVrolok

Originally posted by: blinky8225

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
why do people expect to get any aid at all?

Because supposedly the mission of schools is to provide education for all, not just people with money. Anyway, the top 20 private schools claim to meet 100% of your need. These schools have made a lot of progress on this issue. In fact despite my parents making six figures, I receive $25,000+ in grants, which means no loans. My school isn't even that generous compared with say Harvard or Princeton.

In any case, I don't believe ability to pay should limit one's education, and it's refreshing to see some progress in this matter.

To be honest, that seems like a way to keep the wealthy safely secure within the upper class .. rather than a kindhearted gesture to help educate the middle (or lower) class. I got into 2 Ivy League schools and went to neither as I was denied any grants/needs based financial aid. My parents made a middle class income at the time (they've since moved to the upper class). Consequently, I didn't go to either as I simply couldn't afford it.

You couldn't afford it or your parents wouldn't pay for it? Did they offer you perkins+stafford loans?

Well, I suppose we would need to define what "affording" is. I couldn't afford it plainly. However, if my parents had sold our house, and moved into something smaller (seeing as I was moving out to go to school) and perhaps sold a car (and shared one which would have been logistically impossible) then I suppose they could have paid for it and lived paycheck to paycheck without paying into savings/retirement accounts/etc. etc. So could they, by the most strict definition, have afforded it? Possibly (perhaps probably?) with a fairly drastic change in lifestyle.

From what I recall, I was offered 2k in subsidized stafford loans and another 5k or so in unsubsidized. The numbers may be a bit off, it was years ago. Regardless, I took similar amounts to pay for tuition when I went to a public school and my parents where then able to help pay the portion for which I couldn't (non-private) take loans.

That's weird. When I went to Duke, they gave me about 11k/yr in free money with an addition 9k in loans per year. Parents paid the rest, which was about 20k/yr. I think they made about 100k/yr at the time. So they werent paying all of it out of pocket and the amt the school wanted us to pay was reasonable. I dunno, I always thought they offered packages that made sense for people and didnt force you to radically change your living situation unless your budget is already overstretched

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: Mo0o

Originally posted by: TheVrolok

Originally posted by: Mo0o

Originally posted by: TheVrolok

Originally posted by: blinky8225

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
why do people expect to get any aid at all?

Because supposedly the mission of schools is to provide education for all, not just people with money. Anyway, the top 20 private schools claim to meet 100% of your need. These schools have made a lot of progress on this issue. In fact despite my parents making six figures, I receive $25,000+ in grants, which means no loans. My school isn't even that generous compared with say Harvard or Princeton.

In any case, I don't believe ability to pay should limit one's education, and it's refreshing to see some progress in this matter.

To be honest, that seems like a way to keep the wealthy safely secure within the upper class .. rather than a kindhearted gesture to help educate the middle (or lower) class. I got into 2 Ivy League schools and went to neither as I was denied any grants/needs based financial aid. My parents made a middle class income at the time (they've since moved to the upper class). Consequently, I didn't go to either as I simply couldn't afford it.

You couldn't afford it or your parents wouldn't pay for it? Did they offer you perkins+stafford loans?

Well, I suppose we would need to define what "affording" is. I couldn't afford it plainly. However, if my parents had sold our house, and moved into something smaller (seeing as I was moving out to go to school) and perhaps sold a car (and shared one which would have been logistically impossible) then I suppose they could have paid for it and lived paycheck to paycheck without paying into savings/retirement accounts/etc. etc. So could they, by the most strict definition, have afforded it? Possibly (perhaps probably?) with a fairly drastic change in lifestyle.

From what I recall, I was offered 2k in subsidized stafford loans and another 5k or so in unsubsidized. The numbers may be a bit off, it was years ago. Regardless, I took similar amounts to pay for tuition when I went to a public school and my parents where then able to help pay the portion for which I couldn't (non-private) take loans.

That's weird. When I went to Duke, they gave me about 11k/yr in free money with an addition 9k in loans per year. Parents paid the rest, which was about 20k/yr. I think they made about 100k/yr at the time. So they werent paying all of it out of pocket and the amt the school wanted us to pay was reasonable. I dunno, I always thought they offered packages that made sense for people and didnt force you to radically change your living situation unless your budget is already overstretched

I had hoped so at the time. Who knows what happened with all the number crunching; it simply didn't work out for me. While slightly frustrating when I think back on it, I have no regrets about attending school where I did, and realistically I still saved myself and the family some money - so it's all good. Now the issue becomes paying for med school. 50-60k in loans per year is rather daunting.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Get a job.

 

[Gibson486]

My parents made about 80 K combined....I got little aid. They paid for my first year, but I had to pony up the rest with loans because as time went on, they reduced aid even more to th point where aid was just a $4000 low interest loan. I am now knee deep in debt Sucks....I worked part time just to pay for housing.....

 

[maziwanka]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: Xylitol
my parents [are] paying for a lot of the tuition

you answered your own question

yep

 

[gorcorps]

Truth of the matter is that many people who think they're 'middle class' are 'upper middle class' in the eyes of the gov. I got quite a bit of aid which combined with my scholarships resulted in a free ride, but am still considered 'middle class'.

 

[GasX]

You know you are in trouble when you fill out fafsa and you get to enter 99999 in more than one field....