NE/Mid-Atlantic bias on this forum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It must have been hard growing up without a vacation home, I don't know how you managed to survive. It was a valiant sacrifice for your family to make. You are out of touch to think that is within the realm of possibility for every student and family, no matter how hard the student works or the family hustles, scrimps, and saves. Enjoy your life, but don't look or talk down to others like the only difference is that your family held education as a priority and theirs didn't.

You are hopeless if you focus on a simple thing (the example of a vacation home) and try to paint me into the picture you want to believe in. I KNOW where I came from and the STRUGGLE my family went through over several generations to put me in the position that I am in. You can believe what you want and pity yourself, but I know that your assumptions about me are WRONG and that the path I followed is available to ALL. It's not easy and there is certainly unfairness along the way, but the opportunity is there for everyone. Yes, there is DEEP poverty in my family history and whether you want to believe it or not education was one of the keys to escaping poverty. Guess what? It didn't happen overnight and others had breaks we didn't have.

I'm so sorry to burst your bubble of self pity, but I'm here to tell you that you must take responsibility for your circumstances. Life is not fair, but there are opportunities out there and pursuing the best possible education available to YOU is an important step to achieving your potential.

[Anonymous]

^^Arrogant, judgmental, self-entitled elitist. Female affirmative action candidate? My money's on it.

[Anonymous]

It's classic "selection bias." That is, "because I made it, everybody can if they just work hard enough." You always hear this argument from people at the top. It's a way to justify privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's classic "selection bias." That is, "because I made it, everybody can if they just work hard enough." You always hear this argument from people at the top. It's a way to justify privilege.

Right, because we all know that hard work has nothing to do with success or lack of success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's classic "selection bias." That is, "because I made it, everybody can if they just work hard enough." You always hear this argument from people at the top. It's a way to justify privilege.

Your are right.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, you are right. And I went to one of "those" schools which I cannot afford for one of my own kids. Nice to know I can't spell now, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
For a family with household income well above $1,000,000 (thanks in part to an elite education), the burden of $300,000 K for DC education is not as great as the $30,000 burden was for a family making $40,000 "back in the day."

I doubt very much you're the poster who was asked this question. It's fascinating, however, that you have some of the same grammar issues as the "back in the day" poster from General Schools forum. Hmm......

She's not making any sense, either. SLAC tuition has greatly outpaced inflation. Every college keeps hiking its tuition simply because it can and much of that money gets poured back into slick marketing just to lure in more applications to maintain that all-important U.S. News & World Report "selective" rating. The result is that we have third-tier SLACs asking for 60K a year because Harvard and Yale ask for 60K a year. It makes no sense to pay $60K-$65K for a middling SLAC that cost me $4K when I attended. My SLAC simply isn't worth that kind of money pre or post-tax but because of the demand for college slots (and especially skewed because of the international, especially, Chinese students who will pay full freight), all private colleges think they can continue to play this game until the bubble bursts. A Mercedes is not a Hyndai, but in our current system, all privates think they can charge what the Mercedes does. (Yes, I know Harvard, Yale, etc., were all charged for price-fixing decades ago - but that didn't stop the problem did it?). I agree with the poster about Andy Ferguson's book. What was affordable in my generation is no longer affordable. I left college and law school with only $80.00 in student loan debt a month. Some kids are now graduating law school with $260K in loans due (and no job). The system is broken so is affordable only for the very well-to-do or the lucky financial aid kid, diversity kid, or athelete. And the Chinese students who will pay full freight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, one thing is true. The odds are "stacked in your favor" coming out of Yale, but chances are they were stacked in your favor long before that. Unless you are asserting it was your smarts and hard work that birthed you into an affluent family who could get you in and pay for it. What you have to realize is that for some, no matter the intellect, their resources and "odds" are on a totally different scale.

The "odds" are never even at birth - of course some start out with an advantage. Even people born in the worst possible circumstances in THIS country start off better than 2/3 of the people on earth. Virtually every "affluent family" can trace its wealth to someone who had a comparatively humble start and took advantage of the opportunities available in this country. I did not grow up in an "affluent family," but my children will - why? because my family invested in me and provided the best education and other opportunities that they could. They sacrificed a vacation home for my education and now they go on vacations that only dreamed of.

Seriously? Vacation home. HOw old are you? Do you even think before you type? Are you even married or have kids because you come off as though you have no world experience whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
For a family with household income well above $1,000,000 (thanks in part to an elite education), the burden of $300,000 K for DC education is not as great as the $30,000 burden was for a family making $40,000 "back in the day."

I doubt very much you're the poster who was asked this question. It's fascinating, however, that you have some of the same grammar issues as the "back in the day" poster from General Schools forum. Hmm......

She's not making any sense, either. SLAC tuition has greatly outpaced inflation. Every college keeps hiking its tuition simply because it can and much of that money gets poured back into slick marketing just to lure in more applications to maintain that all-important U.S. News & World Report "selective" rating. The result is that we have third-tier SLACs asking for 60K a year because Harvard and Yale ask for 60K a year. It makes no sense to pay $60K-$65K for a middling SLAC that cost me $4K when I attended. My SLAC simply isn't worth that kind of money pre or post-tax but because of the demand for college slots (and especially skewed because of the international, especially, Chinese students who will pay full freight), all private colleges think they can continue to play this game until the bubble bursts. A Mercedes is not a Hyndai, but in our current system, all privates think they can charge what the Mercedes does. (Yes, I know Harvard, Yale, etc., were all charged for price-fixing decades ago - but that didn't stop the problem did it?). I agree with the poster about Andy Ferguson's book. What was affordable in my generation is no longer affordable. I left college and law school with only $80.00 in student loan debt a month. Some kids are now graduating law school with $260K in loans due (and no job). The system is broken so is affordable only for the very well-to-do or the lucky financial aid kid, diversity kid, or athelete. And the Chinese students who will pay full freight.

I'm really sorry that things didn't work out as you planned, but please put a lid on your resentment.

[Anonymous]

Who cares about schools in Chicago? or Dallas? Who wants to go to school there? Or live there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who cares about schools in Chicago? or Dallas? Who wants to go to school there? Or live there?

Umm ...I dunno? Maybe the millions of people living there? You really need to get out of the bubble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
For a family with household income well above $1,000,000 (thanks in part to an elite education), the burden of $300,000 K for DC education is not as great as the $30,000 burden was for a family making $40,000 "back in the day."

I doubt very much you're the poster who was asked this question. It's fascinating, however, that you have some of the same grammar issues as the "back in the day" poster from General Schools forum. Hmm......

She's not making any sense, either. SLAC tuition has greatly outpaced inflation. Every college keeps hiking its tuition simply because it can and much of that money gets poured back into slick marketing just to lure in more applications to maintain that all-important U.S. News & World Report "selective" rating. The result is that we have third-tier SLACs asking for 60K a year because Harvard and Yale ask for 60K a year. It makes no sense to pay $60K-$65K for a middling SLAC that cost me $4K when I attended. My SLAC simply isn't worth that kind of money pre or post-tax but because of the demand for college slots (and especially skewed because of the international, especially, Chinese students who will pay full freight), all private colleges think they can continue to play this game until the bubble bursts. A Mercedes is not a Hyndai, but in our current system, all privates think they can charge what the Mercedes does. (Yes, I know Harvard, Yale, etc., were all charged for price-fixing decades ago - but that didn't stop the problem did it?). I agree with the poster about Andy Ferguson's book. What was affordable in my generation is no longer affordable. I left college and law school with only $80.00 in student loan debt a month. Some kids are now graduating law school with $260K in loans due (and no job). The system is broken so is affordable only for the very well-to-do or the lucky financial aid kid, diversity kid, or athelete. And the Chinese students who will pay full freight.

I'm really sorry that things didn't work out as you planned, but please put a lid on your resentment.

+1 Envy is a horrible thing to see. If you think education is too expensive, don't pursue it - but please don't try to bring everyone else down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
For a family with household income well above $1,000,000 (thanks in part to an elite education), the burden of $300,000 K for DC education is not as great as the $30,000 burden was for a family making $40,000 "back in the day."

I doubt very much you're the poster who was asked this question. It's fascinating, however, that you have some of the same grammar issues as the "back in the day" poster from General Schools forum. Hmm......

She's not making any sense, either. SLAC tuition has greatly outpaced inflation. Every college keeps hiking its tuition simply because it can and much of that money gets poured back into slick marketing just to lure in more applications to maintain that all-important U.S. News & World Report "selective" rating. The result is that we have third-tier SLACs asking for 60K a year because Harvard and Yale ask for 60K a year. It makes no sense to pay $60K-$65K for a middling SLAC that cost me $4K when I attended. My SLAC simply isn't worth that kind of money pre or post-tax but because of the demand for college slots (and especially skewed because of the international, especially, Chinese students who will pay full freight), all private colleges think they can continue to play this game until the bubble bursts. A Mercedes is not a Hyndai, but in our current system, all privates think they can charge what the Mercedes does. (Yes, I know Harvard, Yale, etc., were all charged for price-fixing decades ago - but that didn't stop the problem did it?). I agree with the poster about Andy Ferguson's book. What was affordable in my generation is no longer affordable. I left college and law school with only $80.00 in student loan debt a month. Some kids are now graduating law school with $260K in loans due (and no job). The system is broken so is affordable only for the very well-to-do or the lucky financial aid kid, diversity kid, or athelete. And the Chinese students who will pay full freight.

I'm really sorry that things didn't work out as you planned, but please put a lid on your resentment.

+1 Envy is a horrible thing to see. If you think education is too expensive, don't pursue it - but please don't try to bring everyone else down.

Nasty, nasty, nasty. And childish. I'm not that PP and my own DC is at currently at an Ivy, before you go after me too. PP has a very valid point, and this is coming from an economist. PP is saying that it's a seller's market, where even middling schools are charging $55k because they can. That in no way ensures that the education is better than state options. If you can't understand this simple point, then you two (or just one sock puppet?) aren't very bright.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^Arrogant, judgmental, self-entitled elitist. Female affirmative action candidate? My money's on it.

??? Affirmative action favors boys in the college admission process these days. Girls are at a distinct disadvantage since more girls apply to college than boys and colleges are interested in maintaining gender parity.