msmemory_archive | (no subject)

(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.

Threaded | Flat

*nods*

The rich girls were like a different species.

Frivolity? Interesting way to think about it. My kids get winter jackets from Salvation Army, but I don't consider a junior year abroad a frivolity. It's an incredible chunk of education - and, like, many things that are good for kids, costs money that not everyone has - though, if you do it right, it can cost very little.

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.

When I was in college I don't remember even hearing about study-abroad options. Were it possible I wouldn't have been able to, but I didn't even know I was missing out on it at the time. Maybe I wasn't and it's a newer thing. I sure do hear a lot more about it now than then, including from the non-rich.

Interesting article; thanks for sharing it.

Threaded | Flat