Reply to Are top private colleges mainly for poor people now?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The opposite is true,

according to the new research by Stanford economist Raj Chetty and co-authors.They show that 14.5% of students in America’s elite universities (eight Ivy League colleges, University of Chicago, Stanford, MIT, and Duke) are from families in the top 1% of income distribution, compared with only 3.8% from the bottom quintile. That’s a dramatic overrepresentation of the richest Americans.[/quote]

But think about it. We are talking about a 320k education. Why would the very poor and the very rich be equally represented? Also there are many moor poor people than very rich people so while very rich people are of course over represented they seem to be very much outnumbered by lower income people on campus. [/quote]

What are you talking about?  Op is only referring to "top" colleges.  These places are need blind and have endowments in the billions.   Affluent students are way overrepresented.   Spend a week at a top college and see how many poor kids you can find.  Good luck.[/quote]

Much easier to have the "resume" to get admitted to an elite university if you grew up privileged.  The "poor" might attend schools with only a few AP courses if any, they did not have Kumon starting when they were 3, did not have tutors thru MS/HS or a college counselor or individual SAT test prep at $100+/hr.  The list goes on and on. There is a dichotomy between what the privileged have growing up vs others.  The non-affluent with the top test scores and gpa may not be able to even apply to an elite university because they are worried about affording it (transportation, books, spending $$, etc) so they apply to the local state U or do CC.  
Basically, there are many more affluent people applying than non-affluent/poor. [/quote]
I don't agree with OP's premise, however, my high stats kid has never had a tutor, test prep, or a college counselor other than what the public school provided.

Now, if you are comparing with a private school kid who has had their hand held by the private school, then I might agree with you.[/quote]

Yours may not, but many top students have.  Point is they have had privilege along the way, if needed to get assistance to keep them on track.  They have had the opportunity to do ECs that cost money, they have the time to do ECs because they do not have to work to help the family or take care of younger siblings after school (or grandparents, etc).  Much easier to achieve top stats when you don't have major obstacles in front of you.  That's what privilege is.

[/quote]
I have no problem with giving lower income kids a leg up, and actually, I grew up lower income to immigrant parents who don't speak English. I know what it's like to not have support or "privilege".

I managed to go to no name state school eons ago, worked my way through college, and got a job.   I lived frugally, worked hard, and live a nice life now.  But, I make too much for any aid but not enough to afford $320K for two kids in college.

The system is just messed up.  College costs need to be regulated.[/quote]

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