In the United States the income of ones family is of great importance when it comes to college education. The data clearly shows that you are more likely to go to college if you come from a richer family. (Berg) This essay will discuss how family income affects a persons possibility to apply for, go to, and succeed at a good college and some possible reasons for and consequences of the situation. First of all grades are closely linked to family-income, as Rampell states in the article Freebies for the Rich, and the lower grades makes the low-income students less likely to apply for or go to an elite college. In the example in the article the student’s grade lowered due to him working 25 hours per week to support his family. Since most elite colleges only accept student with excellent grades, most low-incomes student will feel it is useless to apply for these colleges and those who do has almost no chance of getting accepted. The table on page 43 in the previously mentioned book shows that only 5 percent of the applicants to Harvard and Princeton and 6 percent of the applicants for Yale have a family income under 30000 dollar per year. (Berg) This indicates that the low-income students feel that they have no chance. …show more content…
The families need the income of the youths to support the families. In my opinion, when a student goes to school full-time, that is what they should focus on. The families should have other possibilities to get more money. In America the minimum wage is very low, making it possible for a family to have parents with full-time jobs and still not have enough money for the family. The situations for a single parent or unemployed parents are
In Elizabeth Armstrong and Laura Hamilton’s Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality, Midwestern University’s structure is discussed in regard to its composition that fosters class structure. Both authors claim that incoming college classes are very diverse in social class structure, however, by the time they graduate they’re social mobility has not shown a difference. Using an ethnographic approach, Armstrong and Hamilton argue that student experiences are fundamentally shaped by their educational institution.
Obtaining higher education is regarded as the ultimate symbol of status in the United States (US). Access to a college education in this country is seen as an expression of academic excellence and can provide access to unlimited possibilities. In the US, Ivy Leagues are considered the elite and represent the most powerful ideogram of educational opportunity. According to the National Center for Education Statistics [NCES] (2012), from 1999–2000 to 2009–10, the percentages of both master's and doctor's degrees earned by females increased from 1999–2000 to 2009–10 from 58 to 60 percent and from 45 to 52 percent. The NCES report (2012), found that in 2009-10, of the 10.3 percent Black students who earned Bachelor degrees; 65.9 percent were women. Of the 12.5% of Black students who earned Master’s degree in 2009-10, 71.1 percent were women; and of the 7.4 percent of Black students who earned doctoral level degrees (this includes most degrees previously regarded as first-professional, i.e. M.D., D.D.S., and law degrees), 65.2 percent were women (NCES, 2012)...
For the purpose of this paper, the American Dream will be defined as the idea that you can achieve financial stability through hard work, which often means going to college. The term “college” refers to any undergraduate or graduate program at a secondary institution. This paper aims to examine the relationship between attending college and one’s ability to achieve the American Dream. Attending college is thought to be an important step in obtaining the American Dream, primarily because receiving a higher level of education tends to lead to a higher paying job and furthermore a financially stable future. However, this isn’t always the case due to an increase in the need for students to take out loans and increase their debt in order to afford college expenses.
While college may be initially uneconomical, evidence from a 1959 census shows a “three-fourths of earning difference” between those who graduated from college and those who merely received a high school diploma (Weisbrod et al 495). Weisbrod and Karpoff acknowledge the high cost of college in America, but assert the benefits of a college degree will more than reimburse a person in the long run, therefore the initial cost of attending a college is worthwhile. (Weisbrod et. al). Furthermore, this indicates only “one-fourth of the earnings differences are attributed...to non-schooling factors”, which proves the significant role college plays in determining the future earnings of an individual (Weisbrod et. al 497). College appears to be the most influential factor in regards to a person's earnings, therefore according to Weisbrod and Karpoff, college is necessary for a person who wishes to obtain a higher expected income. Even students who attend mediocre to below-average colleges will receive “a lifetime income that is [around] 10 percent lower ...than that which someone at one of the best schools can expect” (Weisbrod et. al 497). Weisbrod and Karpoff contend even low-tier colleges result in higher earnings, therefore a student should strive to attend any college regardless of the
Long ago, receiving education was once something only the rich could afford; it was a luxury. Nowadays it is open to everyone, but many students enter college only to discover that they are underprepared, and in turn they become disenchanted. David Leonhardt’s article, The College Dropout Boom, addresses the issues that are apparent in the education system and how it contributes to the gap between the upper and lower class while Access to Attainment by Abby Miller, Katherine Valle, Jennifer Engle, and Michelle Cooper calls to improve access to college education for today’s students. This is incredibly important because many students either drop out or never attended college and in today’s time, having a Bachelor’s degree has become a requirement
Later in his article, Cohen explains how this leaves middle-class families in a very uncomfortable situation. Parents or other money-making entities in the household want their student to go to college and earn a degree, but now there can be an element of stress in figuring out how the fees will be paid. Furthermore, many families have to worry about sending multiple children to college in succession, so the cost of college for the children can be quickly overwhelming.... ... middle of paper ...
A minority student is generally classified as belonging to a lower-income family than the average white American, who is classified by earning a higher income. A student belonging to a low-income family will not have the same opportunities as a student from a high-income background. A student from a high-income family will be able to afford more study aids and supplies. A student from a low-income family, generally a minority, does not have access to these resources. Because they frequently cannot afford the same materials as their white counterparts, they generally do not perform as strongly on standardized tests. Wealthy families are generally very well educated. They have greater knowledge of how to guide their children in the right direction for academic success. Some can afford a private school with better teachers and a more comfortable learning environment. Paying for college is easier, and academics often take greater priority in these well-to-do households. Usually, poorer families have a harder time paying for college and supporting their children. Schools in low-income areas tend to lack funding for good teachers and supplies because of their financial situation. More often than not, the main goal of these families is to have their children get through high school so that they can begin ea...
There are many families were not able for the chance of college because they could not afford it. An example of this, happened to the Morais family. Richard Morais’s daughter got accepted into John Hopkins University. The whole family was happy, but with the acceptance letter was the cost for all of the expenses. All of the expenses came out to be a total of $54,470 dollars. Financial aid only paid for $6000 which left the family to pay $48,470. This caused the family to take out student loans to allow the daughter to go to college. With her taking out the loans she will graduate being $200,000 in
The fact that students from lower income families fail to perform as well in school holds no dispute. Growing up with less money has been proven to create a significant disadvantage. Those struggling to pay their bills often are forced to cut back the money spent on food, leaving kids with only the option of cheaper food with poor nutritional value, or sometimes skipping meals. This inhibits the brain from functioning at its best and can leave students more worried about their growling stomachs than their schoolwork (Ladd, Fiske). Low income students face other distractions from their schoolwork including home struggles like in the movie Freedom Writers. A teacher starts a job...
Many students struggle with college for various reasons, whether it is financial, academics, or personal. We may not fully understand why college students struggle the way they do; however, it does not mean help is unavailable. “Clearly, many of the benefits that accrue from a college education are explained by the knowledge, skills, and contacts that students gain from their time on campus and in the classroom (Brock 2)”. A certain degree of success in life can be related to the amount and quality of education which can also relate to income.
Reardon, Sean. "The Widening Academic Achievement Gap Between the Rich and the Poor: New Evidence and Possible Explanations." Stanford University, July 2011. Web. 10 May 2014.
With tuition rising every year, students face the challenge paying the debt achieving a college degree comes with. “Student debt surpassed credit-card debt in June 2010 for the first time in history, rising to about $830 billion — or nearly 6 percent of the nation 's annual economic output”(Clemmitt, Marcia). Not everyone has a ton of money just laying around. Being that financial trouble is the biggest problem for students, they begin to question whether college is worth it or not. In recent years, students have taken out loans to help with expenses. Most students choose to attend a community and junior college to help minimize the debt. Even after graduating with a degree, students still face the struggle of finding a job in this economic time. For higher class families this may not be a problem to them. But for the middle class and low income families, they face tougher times being that they don 't have the financial help like higher class families do. For the middle class and low income families, it makes more sense attending a community and junior college rather than a four year university.
Successful education requires to be affordably priced because not all students have the ability to afford education preventing many students from obtaining a good education. The tuition of education has skyrocketed within the last few years. Currently private college tuition such as the Ivy League Harvard University costs an arm and a leg. According to Harvard University, 1 year of tuition costs around $60,000 (Harvard University). Degrees are usually 4 years that totals to around $240,000 for education. This amount is outrageous and only some people have the ability to afford this expensive and good education. The price of education affects the social classes greatly. The middle and upper class people have the ability to pay for the $240,000 for education. On the other hand, the lower class people are unable to pay for high costs of education. Alternatively, a lower class person would choose to attend a public college due to its affordability. For example, the lower class person might attend Baruch Col...
It is a universal fact that college is not a cheap investment, and acquiring aid to help with the cost can be hard to come by. Due to the recent drop in the economy, it is almost necessary to have a college degree to get a job. The rising cost and necessity of a college education has raised a debate on the eligibility of financial aid and who exactly should obtain the aid. The main focus in the financial aid debate is whether or not aid should be based on merit or need. A simple way to put this is should the student from lower income families receive aid because money is tight, or should students with the best grades get money for working hard and gaining high grade point averages? When both sides are examined, merit-based aid seems like the best choice when it is compared to need-based aid.
Many significant questions regarding higher education are in relation to its cost, raising fears that higher education has become unaffordable. Education fee for universities and colleges has continuously grown to become one of the largest expense for most students and parents over the years, especially with the never-ending dramatic tuition fee increases resulting from public funding cuts for education by the federal and state governments. Selingo (para 3) reported that higher education cost definitely has a direct impact on access, thus, the frequent increases in cost are logically of great concern to many, including parents, students, and education policymakers. In other words, this has disadvantaged the poor families, resulting in unequal education opportunities for Americans and putting attainment of higher education in danger of becoming a hereditary privilege rather than a right for all people (Selingo para 6).