Poor Students at Ivy League Schools

Foster’s article “What is it like to be poor at an Ivy League school” was really interesting and kept me wanting to read further. I never really took the time to think about the living conditions for students who come from low-income families in such an upper-class environment, like Harvard, because I guess it’s hard to think of things that you haven’t fully experienced in some way or another.

My mom doesn’t really contribute much when it comes to my education, and my dad doesn’t have a very stable income due to eye troubles, so I wouldn’t say that I come from a family of money. If it weren’t for my grandparents, I’d be nowhere. Thankfully, my grandparents take care of my tuition, which allows my dad to supply me with the little bit of extra money I can use for whatever I choose to. Pitt isn’t an Ivy League school, and I have plenty of friends who are on a tight budget, but reading this article made me think about all of the ways that my life could be different if I didn’t have the support from my grandparents that I do and if I wasn’t able to have the extra money to spend on things outside of school.

Going to college in the first place is a huge and scary transition for many students, including myself. Traveling all the way across the country to a school where I didn’t know anybody at all was hard to say the least, and there were definitely times where I felt isolated and lonely. To think about these low-income students at Ivy League schools and how they have such a hard time settling in to their new lives, losing opportunities to make friends just because they don’t have enough money to go out for dinner and a movie on the weekends, is heartbreaking.

I think the newer financial aid campaign used by the Ivies is an awesome system. To think about how many students are now able to receive the education that they deserve but otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford is really just great. There are some flaws in the system, such as students having to wait in separate lines if they are receiving their tickets for free, but they said that they are working on that, which will hopefully be able to make the students more comfortable.

Taking all things into consideration, I think that what the Ivy League schools are doing is a step in the right direction. Yes, these students who are given free tuition are feeling out of place, but they are also receiving an amazing education that they will be thankful for later in life. In no way am I saying that these students are unreasonable to be unhappy about the way that they’re feeling, because I understand how much of an effect feelings of loneliness can have on a student’s life. But this education will be able to take them so far and will probably (hopefully) be able to lead them to a life of happiness. Another thing to consider, this financial aid system that they are using is fairly new, and like many things, will improve greatly with time. It is my hope that the system will be able to improve enough to leave these students with a college experience that they can enjoy and have amazing memories about.