Are only kids of wealthy parents in elite professions majoring in arts/going to elite colleges?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. We are strictly middle class and our DD is majoring in History at Yale.

Strictly middle class at Yale usually gets financial aid.

Sure -- But how much still has to be paid??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I came from a family without means, went to an Ivy, majored in a humanity that DCUM likes to make jokes about. Then I got paid to go to graduate school, and I now earn a 6 figure salary. I had some student loans but not much and paid them off quickly. Since my family had no means, they paid nothing for undergraduate or graduate school.


So no, it's not only the wealthy and elite who major in the arts.

Those that qualify for need-based are better suited than the middle class squeeze.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems that the kids I know going to T-10 schools and are majoring in things like philosophy or sociology are from families that are in big law, IB, or medicine. They also have generational wealth from grandparents. We are first generation college grads with no parental help but worked our way up to UMC with no advice or mentoring. Our kids did well enough to get merit at some private universities but ultimately chose the state flagship to save money. They also pursued majors that led to high paying fields upon graduation. But are people like us short-changing our kids in not providing them with a liberal arts education at an elite school so they can join the rarefied alumni clubs and networking opportunities that lead to the truly big bucks?

Not just wealthy but also ones on need based free rides have flexibility to study what they want and where they want, not what’s cheapest and has best ROI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like you made the right call. In my eyes, unless you’re at an elite school and have zero loans to pay back, it’s too risky to major in the humanities.

NP. As MC parents, we feel the same way and we encouraged our kids to pursue interests like languages and classics on the side. What if your kid is more inclined toward the humanities? I've talked to some parents who think they cannot intervene but many teens are also somewhat naive and believe that they will become the next best-selling author or artist. Our neighbors' son who majored in fine arts at Yale is in his mid-30's, is financially supported by his parents, and is still waiting for his big breakthrough. Our family cannot afford to do that though.

That’s on the (no-longer) kid. Most of my fellow humanities-major Yalies are doing just fine and are productively employed making good or great salaries. My own high-schooler is not a top-tier student nor are they STEM-inclined, and I am just fine with them getting a humanities degree at a “lesser” school. Who are all of you people that think you are only going to be employed doing exactly the thing you majored in? Most jobs don’t have a perfectly parallel degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I came from a family without means, went to an Ivy, majored in a humanity that DCUM likes to make jokes about. Then I got paid to go to graduate school, and I now earn a 6 figure salary. I had some student loans but not much and paid them off quickly. Since my family had no means, they paid nothing for undergraduate or graduate school.


So no, it's not only the wealthy and elite who major in the arts.

Those that qualify for need-based are better suited than the middle class squeeze.

At HYPSM truly middle class families qualify for significant FA. Not DCUM $300k HHI “middle class.”

[Anonymous]

STEM degrees from state school is a dream for middle class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:STEM degrees from state school is a dream for middle class.

Why only the middle class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:STEM degrees from state school is a dream for middle class.

Why only the middle class?

Because according to DCUM, all poor people get to go to Ivies, and they get to go to them for completely free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:STEM degrees from state school is a dream for middle class.

It’s a straight and time efficient route, doesn’t need money, connections or sacrifices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:STEM degrees from state school is a dream for middle class.

Is this mentality keeping the MC from reaching the UC though?

[Anonymous]

We make under 150k, my dad is an immigrant, and my mom's parents were immigrants. I grew up solid middle class -- we all got college degrees, but not from top schools. I also got a grad degree that I paid for (in state). My kid was interested in theatre. I have history and theatre degrees and thought that theatre was better than history in terms of employment in the field! But, I was honest that I was not keen on a BFA for several reasons-- I think applied arts are more mature in perspective with a BA, and I wanted her to double major in math to demonstrate serious academics. I also thought that if she were to get into a top school, it wouldn't really matter what the major was because there would be prestige and opportunities from the institution. She was fortunate to be admitted to 2 Ivies and another top 10. So, we're like study whatever you want!!!! Also, the financial aid at these schools was great.

[Anonymous]

The better the college, the less important the major. Easy to find employment as a humanities major if you went to HYP or AWS, much harder if you went to a relatively lower ranked school. Then again, a high percentage of graduates from these top schools go on to graduate school, so having a philosophy or theology degree is less important in terms of income than getting accepted into a top law school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The better the college, the less important the major. Easy to find employment as a humanities major if you went to HYP or AWS, much harder if you went to a relatively lower ranked school. Then again, a high percentage of graduates from these top schools go on to graduate school, so having a philosophy or theology degree is less important in terms of income than getting accepted into a top law school.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems that the kids I know going to T-10 schools and are majoring in things like philosophy or sociology are from families that are in big law, IB, or medicine. They also have generational wealth from grandparents. We are first generation college grads with no parental help but worked our way up to UMC with no advice or mentoring. Our kids did well enough to get merit at some private universities but ultimately chose the state flagship to save money. They also pursued majors that led to high paying fields upon graduation. But are people like us short-changing our kids in not providing them with a liberal arts education at an elite school so they can join the rarefied alumni clubs and networking opportunities that lead to the truly big bucks?

Rich people going to Liberal arts colleges - Strong network; high paying jobs.

Poor people going to Liberal arts colleges - Pity network; high paying pity jobs.

UMC or MC people going to Liberal arts colleges - No access to network; Barista at Starbucks (if going to a SLAC); Dunkin (if going to a LAC).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems that the kids I know going to T-10 schools and are majoring in things like philosophy or sociology are from families that are in big law, IB, or medicine. They also have generational wealth from grandparents. We are first generation college grads with no parental help but worked our way up to UMC with no advice or mentoring. Our kids did well enough to get merit at some private universities but ultimately chose the state flagship to save money. They also pursued majors that led to high paying fields upon graduation. But are people like us short-changing our kids in not providing them with a liberal arts education at an elite school so they can join the rarefied alumni clubs and networking opportunities that lead to the truly big bucks?

Rich people going to Liberal arts colleges - Strong network; high paying jobs.

Poor people going to Liberal arts colleges - Pity network; high paying pity jobs.

UMC or MC people going to Liberal arts colleges - No access to network; Barista at Starbucks (if going to a SLAC); Dunkin (if going to a LAC).

What is high paying pity job?