msmemory_archive: (wellesley lamp)
msmemory_archive ([personal profile] msmemory_archive) wrote2009-05-12 12:07 pm

(no subject)

I hope the administrations of other fine and expensive institutions in this region also read this article in today's Globe:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/05/12/the_harvard_disadvantage/
I never even considered frivolities like Junior Year Abroad. Not with parents who considered it a big issue when I asked for a new winter jacket during my freshman year.
laurion: (Default)

[personal profile] laurion 2009-05-12 07:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Always a huge gulf between the haves and the havenotes, even when both are given the same opportunities. I can recall scrounging for laundry money, opting for the 14 meals a week plan instead of the full 21, skipping textbooks in favor of more note-taking, etc. I lucked out with full time jobs during the non-academic times to keep from having to work on campus my first two years. I opted to live on campus all years because various financial options will pay for that where they won't cover off-campus housing. My dad was driving passenger buses at the time I went to school, and my mom has been on permanent medical disability since I was in high school.

Fortunately, despite a large segment of the school having an air of privilege, there always seems to be a good crowd of geeks there who don't care what you are, but who you are.