Low-income enrollment at elite private schools

LongTimeListener · Jul 31, 2013

X-Hack said:

LongTimeListener said:

It's not like Pell Grants cover the entire cost of education. If you get a $10,000 Pell Grant, you're still $30,000 short of the goal at a lot of those schools. So there would be a very good reason for low-income students not to be going there. And in a lot of cases -- outside of the Ivies, Stanford, Duke, Northwestern and a few others -- the follow-up question would be why any low-income student is going there anyway. The obvious answer is there may be a total financial-aid package that makes the cost comparable to a state university, but if that isn't the case it's just kids and parents fooling themselves like wine snobs, thinking the more they pay the more they get.

Is Boston College better than Boston University? Is Colorado College better than the University of Colorado? Is Davidson better than the public universities in the Research Triangle?
Click to expand...

Boston University is private and is at least as expensive as BC. It's a playground for rich kids (though its academics and selectivity have definitely shot up in the last couple of decades).
Click to expand...

Shit, my bad. I guess the chart was referring to BU and not BC.

OK, point stands: Is BU or BC a notably better education than UMass or Northeastern?

SpeedTchr · Aug 1, 2013

Football_Bat said:

Before 1965, if you could gain admission to Rice, your tuition was free. Needless to say, applications to Rice were (and still are) extremely competitive.
Click to expand...

And coincidentally, that rule changed in the same year Rice...anyone? Anyone?

deskslave · Aug 1, 2013

Dick Whitman said:

da man said:

Dick Whitman said:

qtlaw said:

Pretty sad because I believe that college is the best way for the underclass to advance.
Click to expand...

People complain a lot about how standardized tests like the SAT and ACT harm low-income students. I suppose. But I believe they are also an enormous opportunity. A great equalizier. If you are from inner-city Chicago, you don't have to go on four church missions to Zaire and join six Honor Societies and perform an unpaid internship for the Albanian head of state to compete for admissions with the investment banker's daughter at Sprawl High. You just need a 1300.
Click to expand...

To go to Yale or Harvard? You need a lot more than that. Not to mention a better SAT score.
Click to expand...

OK. A 1400. A 1500. The point stands. Whatever application window dressing isn't available to an inner-city student can be neutralized by a high standardized test score. It's the one chance to compete on equal footing with Suzie Prom Queen.
Click to expand...

Just in case anyone actually writes about the SAT, it's worth noting that you would now need a 2200, 2300, given that the scoring has changed with the addition of a writing portion.

da man · Aug 1, 2013

deskslave said:

Dick Whitman said:

da man said:

Dick Whitman said:

qtlaw said:

Pretty sad because I believe that college is the best way for the underclass to advance.
Click to expand...

People complain a lot about how standardized tests like the SAT and ACT harm low-income students. I suppose. But I believe they are also an enormous opportunity. A great equalizier. If you are from inner-city Chicago, you don't have to go on four church missions to Zaire and join six Honor Societies and perform an unpaid internship for the Albanian head of state to compete for admissions with the investment banker's daughter at Sprawl High. You just need a 1300.
Click to expand...

To go to Yale or Harvard? You need a lot more than that. Not to mention a better SAT score.
Click to expand...

OK. A 1400. A 1500. The point stands. Whatever application window dressing isn't available to an inner-city student can be neutralized by a high standardized test score. It's the one chance to compete on equal footing with Suzie Prom Queen.
Click to expand...

Just in case anyone actually writes about the SAT, it's worth noting that you would now need a 2200, 2300, given that the scoring has changed with the addition of a writing portion.
Click to expand...

As has been noted before, most universities -- including the Ivies, Stanford, etc. -- still only consider the math/verbal part of the test in their admission decisions.

Log in or Sign up

Low-income enrollment at elite private schools

LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

SpeedTchr Well-Known Member

deskslave Active Member

da man Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Low-income enrollment at elite private schools

LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

SpeedTchr Well-Known Member

deskslave Active Member

da man Well-Known Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches