Class system? When it comes to school aid, rich have the edge

Class system? When it comes to school aid, rich have the edge

College students have a better chance of getting financial aid if they come from affluent backgrounds than if they are lower on the income scale, some new studies show. There is growing evidence that colleges may be offering more scholarship money to wealthy students and less to those truly in need, and by doing so are perhaps closing a door to advancement for many families.

A new study by Sallie Mae found that 36 percent of students from wealthy families received scholarships averaging $10,213 for the school year just ended, while 35 percent of students from families earning less than $35,000 a year received scholarships worth an average of $7,237.

And a study released in May by the New America Foundation analyzed federal data on what students pay out of pocket for college, and found that the share of students receiving merit aid more than doubled, from 8 percent to 18 percent, at public colleges between 1995–1996 and 2007–2008.

At private colleges, that share rose from 24 percent to 44 percent –and at all colleges, the share of students receiving aid based on need barely changed. "With their relentless pursuit of prestige and revenue, the nation's public and private four-year colleges and universities are in danger of shutting down what has long been a pathway to the middle class," wrote Stephen Burd, author of the New America study.

And the war on poverty continues or is it the war on the poor. First why would someone who is from a wealthy family need aid for college? Wouldn't a parent who could afford it want to pay their kids way through college so the kid wouldn't be starting off with ten to fifteen years of debt? And seeing how interest on college loans is about to go up it could be twenty to thirty years of debt.

Also why would the poor get less money? Isn't that what aid is for the people that can't afford it? I know it's a private school they could go to a public college but aren't private schools generally better schools?

Originally posted by buster2010
And the war on poverty continues or is it the war on the poor. First why would someone who is from a wealthy family need aid for college?

The article speaks of scholarships.
And while the PR language speaks of scholarships as "assisting students" (or whatever spin they put on it), the reality is that scholarships are a university's way of luring on the students that they want.
And universities want the best students. Makes them look good.
So... they give them scholarships.

And I think its no secret that students from wealthier families do better at school than students from poorer families.


Edit - the article even says this, so I'm not sure why you're asking the question.

For starters, colleges are in a perpetual race to rise in published rankings. Second tier schools are using offers of aid as lures for highly qualified students who might not otherwise attend