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What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)

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Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)

#61

Post by trendia »

utnick wrote: post #17
trendia wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The data show quite the opposite: the degree matters more than the institution. An engineering degree from a top 50 school has a higher return than an arts/humanities degree from a top 5 institution. http://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/images/p...

why are there no dots for humanities for schools with lower than 20% accceptance rates? Most ivy schools have an acceptance rate lower than 10%

I am not sure, but it could be that the arts programs have a different acceptance rate than the engineering programs.

Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)

#62

Post by projectileboy »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #14
Alex_Butters wrote: post #10

Even being a poor grad student at an Ivy feels like this. The undergrads are wealthy and the grad students cherish every dollar of their ~$30k salary while still sometimes do side work to get by since city's have rents set for the higher income undergrads. There was some resentment we had for our students to say the least.

This article suggests that schools are taking an interesting step to avoid such resentment: White appreciates, for example, that Harvard gives low-income students free tickets to the freshman formal, but they have to pick up the tickets in a different line from everyone else. “It’s clear who is getting free/reduced tickets and who isn’t,” he says... This seems like it might be an effective strategy. Take the people w…

My daughter attends an expensive prep school and gets a chunk of it covered by financial aid. I am indeed grateful, but I would suggest there's another possible way to frame it, which is that the wealthy parents of my daughter's classmates are paying extra to place their own children with the smartest, hardest-working students, regardless of socio-economic background (which in turn creates a more diverse student body, which is also a benefit). So while I respect that there is a charitable component, I also believe there is a transaction taking place that benefits all parties. Consequently, singling financial aid kids out as somehow special or lesser would, I think, be as unfair as either customers or wait staff in a restaurant to somehow be made feel inferior to one another.

Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)

#63

Post by ajamesm »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #14
Alex_Butters wrote: post #10

Even being a poor grad student at an Ivy feels like this. The undergrads are wealthy and the grad students cherish every dollar of their ~$30k salary while still sometimes do side work to get by since city's have rents set for the higher income undergrads. There was some resentment we had for our students to say the least.

This article suggests that schools are taking an interesting step to avoid such resentment: White appreciates, for example, that Harvard gives low-income students free tickets to the freshman formal, but they have to pick up the tickets in a different line from everyone else. “It’s clear who is getting free/reduced tickets and who isn’t,” he says... This seems like it might be an effective strategy. Take the people w…

On the contrary, you should be thankful these people aren't actively stripping your house of valuables to afford necessities.

Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)

#64

Post by Retric »

greggman wrote: post #57
misterbowfinger wrote: post #33

I can relate to this, though my situation is a little weirder than most. My parents were immigrants and we were very poor when I was younger. They became doctors sometime around middle school, so we effectively shifted up to upper-middle class. Our quality of life changed in a few ways - didn't have to think about the cost of healthcare or school. But we also didn't start buying fancy clothes, cars, or food. My paren…

What's your definition of rich white people? Just curious. AFAIK I've never met any "rich white people" of the type portrayed in nearly every Hollywood movie about school (high school or collage). I'm not saying they don't exist just that I haven't met any so I'm wondering if maybe I did and didn't know it. I certainly didn't met any kids in high school that had any kind of money to flash (a fancy car or other expens…

I worked near a 'nice' high school whose parking lot was filled with BMW's. Which is not really 'rich' but dual income in that area often meant 300+k family income by the time kids where in high school. Economically this meant a 5 year old car that might have been 50k new was not really unusual.

In many ways the gap between 30k / year and 300k/year is larger than the gap between 300k / year and 3 million per year.

PS: I actually know several people that inhered low to mid 7 figures. But, they are really more upper middle class than the kind of 'Rich' you see in a Hollywood film. But, plenty of people would consider that rich.

Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)

#65

Post by irishcoffee »

pacaro wrote: post #36

Wait, Boston Globe, for shame. Ana's height, bone structure, and hair are described, but we never get even a cursory description of Ted? When you start looking for this shit, it's everywhere.

> When you start looking for this shit

You tend to find it, even if it isn't there.

Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)

#66

Post by akhilcacharya »

trendia wrote: post #61
utnick wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why are there no dots for humanities for schools with lower than 20% accceptance rates? Most ivy schools have an acceptance rate lower than 10%

I am not sure, but it could be that the arts programs have a different acceptance rate than the engineering programs.

Most top schools have general admission for undergrad programs.

Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)

#67

Post by stanfordkid »

I went to Stanford. I was poor. I think young people are bad at peeling through the layers of superficial bullshit that mask most human interactions.

Rich, Middle Class and Poor can all have screwed up (or awesome) lives in different ways...

If you get to the core of it we all struggle but yes the day to day is different. I think you can always find "pockets" of people in all classes that are curious free thinkers trying to relate to people from different backgrounds -- especially at Ivy League schools. Unfortunately kids who are young are also insecure about surface things.

We need to just push diversity in the dorms and fraternities/sororities because I don't think "economics" really has much to do with it unless you make your whole life about buying $200 shirts or going to fancy restaurants.

I also think the high end universities should give poorer kids a social stipend -- it is a really bad thing if all the rich kids hang out together and all the poor kids hang out together. The whole point of the Ivy League is to put the best minds together and to build a bridge between old school wealth and talented youth.

Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)

#68

Post by burkaman »

yummyfajitas wrote: post #51
unethical_ban wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Guys, yummyfajitas is kidding. Of course he wouldn't consider a grad student stipend "living on the largess of others". Right? This is Poe's Law, right?

I was on a stipend during grad school. And I was grateful, rather than resentful, towards the undergraduates and taxpayers (in my case, far more of the latter than the former) who paid for it. I enjoy exploring ideas that are emotionally unpleasant, but which it's hard to construct a logical argument against. Some unpleasant ideas turn out to be correct!

It's fine to be grateful, but a grad school stipend is not charity. You are being paid to perform a service. If the undergraduates (or more commonly, their parents) and taxpayers did not think research and teaching were useful, they wouldn't pay you.

Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)

#69

Post by mconzen »

Retric wrote: post #64
greggman wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's your definition of rich white people? Just curious. AFAIK I've never met any "rich white people" of the type portrayed in nearly every Hollywood movie about school (high school or collage). I'm not saying they don't exist just that I haven't met any so I'm wondering if maybe I did and didn't know it. I certainly didn't met any kids in high school that had any kind of money to flash (a fancy car or other expens…

I worked near a 'nice' high school whose parking lot was filled with BMW's. Which is not really 'rich' but dual income in that area often meant 300+k family income by the time kids where in high school. Economically this meant a 5 year old car that might have been 50k new was not really unusual. In many ways the gap between 30k / year and 300k/year is larger than the gap between 300k / year and 3 million per year. PS…

Considering the median salary in the USA is $51939, which is the equivalent of 5.1% return on $1M cash, I would say the plenty of people who consider that more than "upper middle class" are correct.

Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school? (2015)

#70

Post by ido »

Retric wrote: post #64
greggman wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's your definition of rich white people? Just curious. AFAIK I've never met any "rich white people" of the type portrayed in nearly every Hollywood movie about school (high school or collage). I'm not saying they don't exist just that I haven't met any so I'm wondering if maybe I did and didn't know it. I certainly didn't met any kids in high school that had any kind of money to flash (a fancy car or other expens…

I worked near a 'nice' high school whose parking lot was filled with BMW's. Which is not really 'rich' but dual income in that area often meant 300+k family income by the time kids where in high school. Economically this meant a 5 year old car that might have been 50k new was not really unusual. In many ways the gap between 30k / year and 300k/year is larger than the gap between 300k / year and 3 million per year. PS…

In old movies, you definitely see "millionaires" as the definition of "rich". $1m in 1950 is about $10m today, so that seems like a pretty safe bet for "Hollywood rich".
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