How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich
theatlantic.com
How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich
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Re: How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich
#2Historically hasn't this always been the case? I thought it wasn't until recently when college became a at least remotely affordable option.
Re: How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich
#3When people vote to not raise taxes to fund these schools, what do they expect is going to happen to subsidized tuition? We saw this happen a few years ago in Washington after voters voted against raising taxes to fund schools, and schools started accepting more foreign students and fewer local students to make their budgets. People were upset about this, for some reason.
If the school gives four students $5,000 scholarships on a $20,000 bill - the school makes $60,000 and the students feel good about themselves. If they give one student $20,000, they make zero. At the end of the day, someone has to foot the bill - and if it's not the taxpayer, it'll be the people who can afford to pay.
Of course, high quality education should be available to everyone, but as a society we have to be more lucid about where the money is coming from. If taxpayers want people from low income families to go to school (and I am firmly in this camp), taxpayers need to be willing to pay for these people to go to school.
Re: How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich
#4I don't mean to restate the obvious, or pander to the crowd on HN, but every time we read one of these articles it needs to be stated that the current system is broken even when it is paid for. That is, for all the ink spilled over who can afford what and how much money is spent where, there are tons of kids right now graduating without a sliver of hope for a job. Worse yet, the system has been blowing smoke up their asses for so long that many of them somehow feel entitled to a job whether there's one out there or not.
I love education-related stories. I feel that hacking in this area can help the most people and advance the species the furthest. But we also need desperately need to keep new information we receive in context.
Re: How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich
#5> At Wabash College in Indiana, 28 percent of students receive Pell Grants, and low-income students pay an average of $15,480. Yet 12 percent of its freshmen get merit aid, averaging $15,393 each. At Case Western Reserve, one of the better known institutions among the high-pell, high-net-price schools, 23 percent of students receive Pell Grants grants, and low-income undergrads pay $18,381 on average. And yet 19 percent of freshmen also receive merit aid, averaging $18,359 each
I don't mean to nitpick, but these are tiny differences between averages.
Re: How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich
#6Historically hasn't this always been the case? I thought it wasn't until recently when college became a at least remotely affordable option.
In the US, it was the G.I. Bill following the Second World War. That's how my other grandfather, the one who didn't go to The Cooper Union, went to college. He pre-paid with four years in the 504th PIR, from Benning to Berlin.
Re: How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich
#7> At Wabash College in Indiana, 28 percent of students receive Pell Grants, and low-income students pay an average of $15,480. Yet 12 percent of its freshmen get merit aid, averaging $15,393 each. At Case Western Reserve, one of the better known institutions among the high-pell, high-net-price schools, 23 percent of students receive Pell Grants grants, and low-income undergrads pay $18,381 on average. And yet 19 perc…
You're misreading (and the article is poorly written). That quote is listing the amount paid by low-income students, and the amount in merit scholarships received by high-income students. Apples, and oranges.
Re: How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich
#8When people vote to not raise taxes to fund these schools, what do they expect is going to happen to subsidized tuition? We saw this happen a few years ago in Washington after voters voted against raising taxes to fund schools, and schools started accepting more foreign students and fewer local students to make their budgets. People were upset about this, for some reason. If the school gives four students $5,000 scho…
This is the classic dilemna, everyone wants good public services but low taxes.
The argument is often that either ways should be found to deliver better services for lower cost, or that money should be diverted away from something else instead of a tax raise. Or people want a tax increase for somebody else but not themselves to cover it.
Re: How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich
#9When people vote to not raise taxes to fund these schools, what do they expect is going to happen to subsidized tuition? We saw this happen a few years ago in Washington after voters voted against raising taxes to fund schools, and schools started accepting more foreign students and fewer local students to make their budgets. People were upset about this, for some reason. If the school gives four students $5,000 scho…
It seems we play plenty of taxes if the opening quote to the article can be believed: "Neat fact: If the federal government were to take all of the money it pours into various forms of financial aid each year, it could go ahead and make tuition free, or close to it, for every student at every public college in the country."
Re: How Colleges Are Selling Out the Poor to Court the Rich
#10When people vote to not raise taxes to fund these schools, what do they expect is going to happen to subsidized tuition? We saw this happen a few years ago in Washington after voters voted against raising taxes to fund schools, and schools started accepting more foreign students and fewer local students to make their budgets. People were upset about this, for some reason. If the school gives four students $5,000 scho…
I think it's too easy to blame people who vote against raising taxes. The rate at which college tuition has gone up since I went ('95-'99) is insane. This is not including that you could graduate from college from my era and find a decent job.
I don't know why the tuition fees have risen so rapidly over a short period of time but it's certainly not helping out middle class families.