But there are many smaller liberal arts schools that LOVE that #2, #3 or even #25 kid and offer large scholarships to bright kids."
But many of these scholarships don't make up for the tuition increases over state schools. That was my case, and my friend's case. We got scholarships to Christian schools who effectively made it so that we'd "only" have to pay state university fees.
We couldn't even afford that. Her parents had a small business in a small town that was in the red every other year, and my own mom was a single mom with two children.
We never even considered top-tier schools like MIT, Harvard, etc. though we'd both received invitations to apply based on SAT scores. I'm just trying to explain the situation that young people are in when they calculate whether it's worth it to continue striving towards that goal.
I've talked about this problem with a friend who is a middle school teacher at a neighboring (and rural/poor) district-- she can't give research assignments because 90% of her students lack basic transportation even to the municipal library-- which won't give them library cards anyway if they live outside of city limits. She estimates that at least 70% of her students (who are about 90% white) lack internet resources at home.
Oh, I believe it. I was one of two minorities in my all-white class and definitely the white kids from poor families had it the worst. They believed they had no chances at scholarships, their parents were working-class and had no idea about college, and they didn't feel comfortable in the city. They felt like people thought they were hicks.
Of course I can also see how inner-city black kids get caught up in the net.
The point is that we have GOT to stop jacking the poor around in this country and make it worthwhile to get in the top 25% of your class.
Funny how people here seemed to think free college was anti-meritocratic. I think that if you have admissions criteria that are higher, it would be the epitome of meritocracy, at least after awhile, because there is a real, tangible reward there for children to strive for. Just stay in that top 25%, that top 10%. In Texas the 10% rule has seen disproportionate growth in the share of Hispanic and black high-school graduates and college entrants, though it's still unequal. But they made gains during a recession, which is pretty amazing.
