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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There was a senior survey at Princeton which had a breakdown for GPA across income levels, first-gen status, etc: https://projects.dailyprincetonian.com/senior-survey-2022/academics.html

50% of first-gen students had a 3.6 GPA or higher, compared to 69% of non-first gen students.

The lowest income students by family household (below 40K) at Princeton had an average GPA of a 3.5, while the highest income students had a 3.72.

32% of the lowest income students reported cheating on an assignment or exam, compared to 21% of students overall.

Only 49% of students on financial aid reported having a job lined up for graduation, compared to 62% of those not on FA. Expected income for those on FA was 84K one year after graduating, compared to 124K for those not on FA. Students on all household income levels below 125K reported expected earnings under 84K, while all those over that level reported at least 115K.

These are considerable gaps. If higher ed is supposed to be the great equalizer, why are Princeton grads seeing such discrepancies corresponding with their background? [/quote]

[b]US schools have become [/b]a little club for the rich and the connected, with a few token minorities to cover their tracks.

It's not an inspiring scene.[/quote]

Have become?!? 100 years ago, universities were only for white men from well-to-do.[/quote]

I was a first gen student poor student from a single mother at a rich kids school (Duke) who did well. I attended on athletic scholarship and social life because of my socio-economic status and poverty was non-existent.  I think I did well academically because I had a good size chip on my shoulder, along with an honors program professor who didn't believe in safe spaces and pushed the heck out of me. Later, Law Review editor, top of the class at a T10 law school. Law school was not much work compared to my undergrad experience. My law school was competitive and far from friendly which worked to my advantage as I had no interest in any social aspect of law school. Treated it like a job - no study groups - no social needs - no need to have friends - just did the basic work. I do agree there is a preparation and cultural factor to being a first gen in poverty student but again I was fortunate to have a professor in undergrad encouraging me to embrace ego damage in learning. In fact, he didn't think you could learn without some discomfort and pressure. I gave him no worries as my athletic accomplishments in the NCAA  were due to mental toughness as opposed to high level talent, a great piece of self discovery.  He let me in his honors program after watching one of my competitions. And to be fair, my coach didn't just give lip service to academics and pushed me too, viewing anything less than magna cum laude as not acceptable, at least for me. We had a few scholarship guys with very limited academic skills but thankfully I was not one of them. A good reminder not to choose a school for prestige if the fit is not there. The focus on academics by my coach was not common because on scholarship you really must put the sport first. Between the athletic scholarship and two years of luck in futures trading (yes, sounds insane) I had no student loan debt or debt of any kind until I took on a mortgage. I thought it took this kind of aversion to debt and extraordinary efforts to break generational disadvantage. Both my kids went to top schools (Princeton and Duke) and I spoiled them - they had no worries - everything paid for including cars, vacations, clothes and so on and no debt anywhere.  They appreciate it now, but the real beneficiary was my late mother, who carried some considerable guilt over a rough upbringing for us.   Despite it all, she did a good job, and her grandchildren reaped the benefit. [/quote]

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