Do students at universities form social groups based on family income levels?

[Anonymous]

Agree - I know kids at average OOS flagships who immediately rush based on friends from their private school circle, study abroad, stay with wealthy friends of friends in Europe for breaks, live off campus with people they know from boarding school, vacation together, date people from rich areas….the list goes on. All the W kids and Fairfax kids network and room together freshman year too, it’s not just private school kids.

I went to a top school long ago and was obviously naive, I really didn’t notice a lot of wealth differences, but I think they were there and I was too Midwestern to see them all. One friend picked up a BMW on the way from the airport sophomore year - I noticed that one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not overtly, but depending on the school this can happen. At Duke, many of the Greek houses could approximate your wealth/status by asking what high school you attended and your family's neighborhood.

The wealthy Greenwich, Manhattan, Bay Area kids could sniff each other out easily and quickly formed social circles.

I have no doubt these uber-wealthy kids tend to flock together at all schools. (They did 30 years ago, too.)

Excluding this super-rarified Greenwich/Manhattan/Bay Area group, how well do the rest of the kids at Duke, Vanderbilt, Ivys, SLAC mix with each other?

For example, I know one sorority at Duke and one at Vanderbilt that are predominantly the uber-wealthy Greenwich/Manhattan/Bay Area types.

But can anyone tell me more about the OTHER sororities at these schools? Are they more economically mixed? Or are they further stratified by income? Like some sororities that are mostly full-pay and other sororities that are mostly fin aid? Or some that are mostly private school (not including Manhattan elite . . . ) and some that are mostly public school?

I'm really hoping everything is more mixed! Once you get beyond the uber-wealthy. But I'd love the hear about your kids' recent experiences.

Honestly I'd start new thread just about this....

Yes, for the sorority/fraternity part. It's better for a new thread.

But what about the overall question: Once you remove the uber-wealthy/elite, how well do the rest of the kids mix socially?

I ask as the parent of a full-pay kid from a really good public school in a mid-west suburb that includes all economic levels. (DC is not interested in the state flagship, by the way.)

My DD is part of the NYC private school crowd. At least at her SLAC, they tend to stick together somewhat but certainly don’t run the social scene. There just aren’t enough of them, even at a very small school. I’d imagine it’s no different at larger schools, where there are thousands of other students to befriend.

If you’re asking because you want your umc child to break into that particular group of kids, that’s going to be easier in schools that don’t allow freshmen to choose roommates or dorms. I’m not sure why that would be a goal, though.

[Anonymous]

From personal experience, I have kids at both private school and large public. Both have cars on campus, but the cars are what we could afford (older models and nothing fancy like a BMW or similar). The schools are several hundred miles apart. In both cases, kids at each school have made the exact same comment to each of my kids when seeing their respective cars - "are you poor?" Same comment from completely different set of kids when they need to go to work after class since both have jobs to earn spending money. Family is definitely not poor either. We are in that 250K-400K per year earnings donut hole and have graduate degrees. But we are not in that upper level of family incomes, and we even see the separation when meeting some of the parents of these kids. The wealthier tend to stick to each other. Not a judgement - just an observation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From personal experience, I have kids at both private school and large public. Both have cars on campus, but the cars are what we could afford (older models and nothing fancy like a BMW or similar). The schools are several hundred miles apart. In both cases, kids at each school have made the exact same comment to each of my kids when seeing their respective cars - "are you poor?" Same comment from completely different set of kids when they need to go to work after class since both have jobs to earn spending money. Family is definitely not poor either. We are in that 250K-400K per year earnings donut hole and have graduate degrees. But we are not in that upper level of family incomes, and we even see the separation when meeting some of the parents of these kids. The wealthier tend to stick to each other. Not a judgement - just an observation.

Crazy that the other students ask that question!

[Anonymous]

I don't think kids feel comfortable dating outside their social class. (observation)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From personal experience, I have kids at both private school and large public. Both have cars on campus, but the cars are what we could afford (older models and nothing fancy like a BMW or similar). The schools are several hundred miles apart. In both cases, kids at each school have made the exact same comment to each of my kids when seeing their respective cars - "are you poor?" Same comment from completely different set of kids when they need to go to work after class since both have jobs to earn spending money. Family is definitely not poor either. We are in that 250K-400K per year earnings donut hole and have graduate degrees. But we are not in that upper level of family incomes, and we even see the separation when meeting some of the parents of these kids. The wealthier tend to stick to each other. Not a judgement - just an observation.

What schools do people ask this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From personal experience, I have kids at both private school and large public. Both have cars on campus, but the cars are what we could afford (older models and nothing fancy like a BMW or similar). The schools are several hundred miles apart. In both cases, kids at each school have made the exact same comment to each of my kids when seeing their respective cars - "are you poor?" Same comment from completely different set of kids when they need to go to work after class since both have jobs to earn spending money. Family is definitely not poor either. We are in that 250K-400K per year earnings donut hole and have graduate degrees. But we are not in that upper level of family incomes, and we even see the separation when meeting some of the parents of these kids. The wealthier tend to stick to each other. Not a judgement - just an observation.

What schools do people ask this?

I can see kids asking this in a totally joking way. Is the PP suggesting that the kids did this in a horrified and disgusted way to be taken seriously? Sometimes friends mock each other. Their cars, clothes, hair, whatever.

[Anonymous]

There is nothing new here. It was true when I was in college 25 years ago. I went to an Ivy and the rich kids formed their own clique, especially the richer they were. There is a whole level of wealth where the kids have completely different relationships to the schools, an example is they pay the room and board as mandatory but have private off campus apartments or live in a full service luxury hotel suite. The jet setters/international cohort were infamous for doing this. The Park/Fifth/Bel Air/Brentwood kids were slightly more grounded but still stuck to each other like glue. I was a normal UMC kid from a day school and even most of my group of friends were similar UMC kids from private or good public schools. Some did get a small amount of financial aid, others were full tuition due to careful parents.

[Anonymous]

Of course they do. Remember Olivia Jade was spending spring break on her friend Gigi Caruso's yacht (USC Board of Trustee's kid) when the scandal broke that Olivia Jade's mom had paid Rick Singer $500K to cheat and pretend Olivia was a sports recruit so she could get in with lower academic creds to USC like a real sports recruit can. It was a clique of super rich kids only from USC vacationing on her private yacht.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course they do. Remember Olivia Jade was spending spring break on her friend Gigi Caruso's yacht (USC Board of Trustee's kid) when the scandal broke that Olivia Jade's mom had paid Rick Singer $500K to cheat and pretend Olivia was a sports recruit so she could get in with lower academic creds to USC like a real sports recruit can. It was a clique of super rich kids only from USC vacationing on her private yacht.

Why is anyone concerned what Olivia Jade and Gigi Caruso do on spring break? What a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

Of course social groups are stratified by wealth and of course there are always exceptions. It was that way before we all went to college. It was that way while we were in college and it's going to be that way when our kids and grandkids and their grandkids are in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course social groups are stratified by wealth and of course there are always exceptions. It was that way before we all went to college. It was that way while we were in college and it's going to be that way when our kids and grandkids and their grandkids are in college.

I agree. this whole thread is weird...............

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Studies have shown that attending an elite college helps low income students move up in the world.

As for actual social groups, it really depends on the college. Colleges that charge different rates for dorms, that permit residential Greek life, and that charge students to attend activities like concerts, indirectly encourage economic stratification.

If you really are interested in attending a college that discourages economic stratification, I would look to Quaker colleges, colleges that have lottery systems by year for housing, and that have "cashless" campuses where events are free for students.

It’s not just low income kids who are helped by an Ivy education. It’s also women of color - black, brown, south Asian…. When my daughter got into HYP, my fancy, wealthy neighbor was so thrilled for her and all of a sudden started being very friendly. I had vaguely known her for years before but she couldn’t get out of my way fast enough. Now she knows my name and stops to chat every single time she sees us. Just a small example of how my kid attending an Ivy gets me much more “respect” or inclusion or whatever it is. It’s like being admitted to the Ivies validate women of color!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they do. Remember Olivia Jade was spending spring break on her friend Gigi Caruso's yacht (USC Board of Trustee's kid) when the scandal broke that Olivia Jade's mom had paid Rick Singer $500K to cheat and pretend Olivia was a sports recruit so she could get in with lower academic creds to USC like a real sports recruit can. It was a clique of super rich kids only from USC vacationing on her private yacht.

Why is anyone concerned what Olivia Jade and Gigi Caruso do on spring break? What a waste of time.

Just sharing how the mega-rich hang out with only each other on Spring Break. It was only the super rich kids and nepo-babies on that Yacht, no financial aid or middle or UMC kids from USC - just the very wealthy. You go to the same classes, but there's a very different social experience depending on financial class. Very wealthy internationals do get an invite to the yacht parties but not UMC/MC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Of course they do. Remember Olivia Jade was spending spring break on her friend Gigi Caruso's yacht (USC Board of Trustee's kid) when the scandal broke that Olivia Jade's mom had paid Rick Singer $500K to cheat and pretend Olivia was a sports recruit so she could get in with lower academic creds to USC like a real sports recruit can. It was a clique of super rich kids only from USC vacationing on her private yacht.

Why is anyone concerned what Olivia Jade and Gigi Caruso do on spring break? What a waste of time.

Just sharing how the mega-rich hang out with only each other on Spring Break. It was only the super rich kids and nepo-babies on that Yacht, no financial aid or middle or UMC kids from USC - just the very wealthy. You go to the same classes, but there's a very different social experience depending on financial class. Very wealthy internationals do get an invite to the yacht parties but not UMC/MC.

Okay but that's stating the obvious. I don't think people believe that uber rich nepo baby kids drastically change when they go off to college any more than any other kid.