This resonated with me - a poor farm kid from Iowa going to Stanford. I had my student loan plus zilch. Other students were off to Hawaii for vacation. Me, I had to bum a place to stay over breaks when the dorms were closed. I never asked questions; never used any tutors or talked to a professor; never studied in groups. It was a lonely life.
What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school?
11–20 of 154 posts
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school?
#12This resonated with me - a poor farm kid from Iowa going to Stanford. I had my student loan plus zilch. Other students were off to Hawaii for vacation. Me, I had to bum a place to stay over breaks when the dorms were closed. I never asked questions; never used any tutors or talked to a professor; never studied in groups. It was a lonely life.
> I never asked questions; never used any tutors or talked to a professor;
I am a professor (albeit at a non-elite university). How do I persuade students such as yourself to ask questions, to use tutors, to show up to office hours, and to talk to me?
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school?
#13I attended an elite UK university having had a poor upbringing. This article reads painfully to me. I don't have the words to describe why, but I can try. The closest I can come is to say that this idea of inclusiveness is terminally broken. It's a sort of bandage over a huge chasm of differences. For a poor person to become wealthy requires them to discard their baggage. Change the accent, the clothes, the pop cultu…
> For a poor person to become wealthy requires them to discard their baggage.
Yes! Thank you for using the perfect word for how I feel. I'm sure rich people have "rich people baggage" but I believe they are either a) not a deal blocker or b) mitigated by their advantages.
Edit: I have a few 1% friends. As far as I can tell, rich people baggage is usually complaining about money.
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school?
#14I would caution against too much class consciousness. My parents came to the west in a boat, much like the ones that are sinking every day in the med. They scraped together a living and tuition fees running Chinese food joints. When I arrived in Oxford, I did realise there were some interesting characters around. One guy with a posh accent stuck waved his chequebook outside his room during a tuition fee demonstration…
I'm from east Europe, so the problem could not concern me as it has been written, as nobody here really flashes their money around like a clown. But I remember the feeling of being excluded as a student not coming from a top notch high school. The majority of the other people had nice groups of friends from day zero. But guess what - I graduated with a really good diploma, easily landed a job at a major tech company, and most of these people are now my friends or colleagues.
What matters in the end is your results, and your results only.
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school?
#15This resonated with me - a poor farm kid from Iowa going to Stanford. I had my student loan plus zilch. Other students were off to Hawaii for vacation. Me, I had to bum a place to stay over breaks when the dorms were closed. I never asked questions; never used any tutors or talked to a professor; never studied in groups. It was a lonely life.
> I never asked questions; never used any tutors or talked to a professor; I am a professor (albeit at a non-elite university). How do I persuade students such as yourself to ask questions, to use tutors, to show up to office hours, and to talk to me?
[deleted]
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school?
#16I attended an elite UK university having had a poor upbringing. This article reads painfully to me. I don't have the words to describe why, but I can try. The closest I can come is to say that this idea of inclusiveness is terminally broken. It's a sort of bandage over a huge chasm of differences. For a poor person to become wealthy requires them to discard their baggage. Change the accent, the clothes, the pop cultu…
>For a poor person to become wealthy requires them to discard their baggage. Change the accent, the clothes, the pop culture references, the 'back home...' stories. Avoid the discussions about parents. The list goes on.
This sounds like a perfect summary of Dick Whitman's transition into Don Draper.
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school?
#17I can answer this, just wrote an answer then deleted it.
Bottom line: If you are poor and can figure out this loophole, just do it. On the balance I'm very, very glad I did.
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school?
#18This resonated with me - a poor farm kid from Iowa going to Stanford. I had my student loan plus zilch. Other students were off to Hawaii for vacation. Me, I had to bum a place to stay over breaks when the dorms were closed. I never asked questions; never used any tutors or talked to a professor; never studied in groups. It was a lonely life.
> I never asked questions; never used any tutors or talked to a professor; I am a professor (albeit at a non-elite university). How do I persuade students such as yourself to ask questions, to use tutors, to show up to office hours, and to talk to me?
Hard. I would have evaded your attempts to talk to me. Anything to avoid standing out from the rest. Maybe if everyone had a regular TA one-on-one or something? So they could identify, in private, who needed help and get that scheduled.
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school?
#19This resonated with me - a poor farm kid from Iowa going to Stanford. I had my student loan plus zilch. Other students were off to Hawaii for vacation. Me, I had to bum a place to stay over breaks when the dorms were closed. I never asked questions; never used any tutors or talked to a professor; never studied in groups. It was a lonely life.
> I never asked questions; never used any tutors or talked to a professor; I am a professor (albeit at a non-elite university). How do I persuade students such as yourself to ask questions, to use tutors, to show up to office hours, and to talk to me?
Next time you return a graded paper to them, write a note asking them to come to your next office hour or make a separate appointment to see you.
Re: What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school?
#20I attended an elite UK university having had a poor upbringing. This article reads painfully to me. I don't have the words to describe why, but I can try. The closest I can come is to say that this idea of inclusiveness is terminally broken. It's a sort of bandage over a huge chasm of differences. For a poor person to become wealthy requires them to discard their baggage. Change the accent, the clothes, the pop cultu…
I too also grew up poor, but find myself in a position where I have a very nice job, and I also have a hard time articulating to other's how warped I feel about money/status/etc.
The best I've ever found is John Cheese's Cracked articles on the topic which I felt were almost like he was writing from inside of my head.
http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-5-stupidest-habits-you-devel...
http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-5-stupidest-habits-you-devel...
If someone reads these, please understand that this is how I actually feel/act to this day, even though I make 100k+ a year. For example, I only own two pairs of shoes. My work sneakers, and my "nice" shoes. And I replace my sneakers only when they are completely busted, and I get the cheapest ones on sale I can find. Three pairs of shoes is literally crazy to me, and I feel bad about having 2 pairs of shoes since I never wear the "nice" ones.