The establishment of financial aid endowments at private colleges and universities is just one example of the charity and generosity which well-educated and wealthy Americans are known for: noblesse oblige.
... the least expensive selective colleges for poor and middle-class students often have the largest endowments. Amherst, Dartmouth and Williams are all examples. Yale stands out for providing the most financial aid to middle-class students, charging them only slightly more than poor students.
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For both poor and middle-class students, these colleges tend to be significantly cheaper than four-year public universities.
As a matter of affordability, $6K may be a larger proportion of a poor family's income than $69K is to a wealthy family's income, and therefore may not seem "cheaper" or even affordable without a loan (which, as we all know, tends to make the total cost higher, not necessarily more affordable). Even the deeply discounted price may mean that all of a poor family's income may go to fixed expenses, leaving nothing left in the budget for discretionary expenses... and may therefore represent considerable struggle, sacrifice, and commitment to complete college.
It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.
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The real problem is elsewhere: among for-profit colleges and public colleges with lower list prices but much lower graduation rates. They often produce students with debt and no degree, which is a miserable combination.
Bottom Line: Thanks for sharing this interesting article. It is well worth reading.
