在美国名校念书的贫困生面临哪些挑战.docx

在美国名校念书的贫困生面临哪些挑战.docx

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在美国名校念书的贫困生面临哪些挑战

在美国名校念书的贫困生面临哪些挑战

TheChallengeOfBeingPoorAtAmerica'sRichestColleges

Shellingout$300foronechemistrytextbook.JettingofftoBudapest,ParisandRomewhilestudyingabroadinMadrid.Grabbingalast-minuteAmtraktickettoManhattanforajobinterviewduringsenioryear.

FormanystudentsatAmerica’selitecolleges,theseareasmuchapartofuniversitylifeaspullingall-nightersandcomplainingaboutdininghallfood.Butforlow-incomestudents,thesearenotonlyunaffordableluxuries,butpartofatopicthatcanbemoretaboothansexualorientation:

thesizeoftheirwallets.

Muchhasbeenwrittenaboutgettinghigh-achieving,low-incomestudentsthroughtheIvy-coveredgatesofAmerica’stopcolleges.Andindeed,thefocusonimprovingtheeconomicdiversityofcollegeadmissionsisneeded;arecentBrookingsstudyfoundthatjust8%oflow-incomestudentsappliedtoa“reach”schoolandjust34%ofhigh-achievingstudentsinthisgroupattendedoneofthecountry’s238mostselectiveuniversities.（Thestudydefinedlowincomeasbeinginthebottomfourth,income-wise,offamilieswithaseniorinhighschool.For2008,theyearstudied,low-incomemeantafamilyincomebelow$41,472.）

Notsurprisingly,whilepoorkidsareunderrepresentedonelitecampuses,thewealthiestkidsareoverrepresented.AtHarvard,45.6%ofundergraduatescomefromfamilieswithincomesabove$200,000—inotherwords,incomesinthetop3.8%ofallAmericanhouseholds.

YetforallthestudiesandattentionpaidtohowtogetmorelowincomestudentsontoAmerica’stopcampuses,there’slittlediscussion（onoroffcampus）aboutwhatlifeislikeforthosestudentsaftertheywinadmission.

InaguestcolumnforDukeUniversity’sstudentnewspaperthatrecentlywentviral,seniorKellyNoelWaldorfaddresseshowisolatingitcanfeelasalow-incomestudentataneliteuniversity.“WhyisitnotOKformetotalkaboutsuchanimportantpartofmyidentityonDuke’scampus?

Whyistheword“poor”associatedwithwordslikelazy,unmotivatedanduneducated?

Iamnoneofthosethings,”shewrites.“WhyhasourculturemademesoafraidorashamedorembarrassedthatIfeltlikeIcouldn’ttellmybestfriends‘Hey,Ijustcan’taffordtogoouttonight?

’”

Inarecentphoneinterview,Waldorfclarifiedthatthisisn’tjustaDuke-specificproblem,butanissuethatexistsacrossthecountryandisexacerbatedbysomeofthewealthsheandothersseeatDuke.

“Iwasinaclassoncewhereaprofessorbasicallyassumedthatnooneintheclasshadcleanedahouseformoney,andthatwasn’ttrue,”Waldorfsays.“It’ssortoflikeanerasureofthatpopulation,”shesays.

BethBreger,executivedirectorforLeadershipEnterpriseforaDiverseAmerica（LEDA）,ascholarshiporganizationthathelpshigh-achieving,low-incomestudentsgainadmissiontoAmerica’stopcolleges,sayspartoftheproblemstemsfromthefactthatamajorityofcampusesaresetupforyouraverageupper/middleclassstudent,onewhocomestoschoolwithacertainsetof“softskills”thatdisadvantagedstudentsstillneedtolearn.

“Settingupabankaccountforthefirsttime.Howtomakeanappointmentwithaprofessor.Howtoaskforarecommendationletter.HowtonavigatesupportfromaTA（teachingassistant）,”arethingslower-incomestudentsneedtolearn,Bregersays.Andtheseknowledgegapsarejustthetipoftheiceberg.

Asanyonewho’seversubsistedonramennoodlesforweeksonendknows,theeffectsofanemptywalletcanpervadevirtuallyeveryaspectoflife.StudentsIspokewithtalkedabouthow,despitefullacademicscholarshipsthatcovertuition,roomandboard,difficultiesarisewitheverythingfromaffordingon-campusstudentevents（suchasmusicalsorconcerts）,tomissingoutonGreeklife,toeatingaloneinatthedininghallonaFridaynightwhenfriendsareeatingoutsomewheretheycan’tafford.

Evensomethingassimpleasatriptothelaundryroomcanserveasareminderoftheincomedisparities.ChristianRamirez,aLEDAscholarwhogrewupinQueensandiscurrentlyajunioratHarvard,remembersatimeduringhisfreshmanyearwhenhismothercametovisitanddecidedtohelphimwithhislaundry.Theybothnoticedpilesofclothingontopofthewashingmachinesinhisdorm’slaundryroomandRamirezrealizedthathehadseenthoseexactsamepilesaweekortwobefore.Therealization—thatsomeonewouldsimplyforgettopickuphisclothes–tookbothRamirezandhismotheraback.“WhenIdolaundry,IliterallymakesureIhaveeverysinglesockandnopieceofclothingisleftbehind,”hesays.“Ipersonallycannotaffordtoreplacethem,’’hesays.

Clothescanbeoneofthemostconspicuousindicatorsofwealth,andmorethanonelowincomestudentnotedthedesignerthreadspeerswearserveaspersistentremindersofthewealthgap.YasmineArringtonisaJackKentCookescholar–therecipientofaprestigiousscholarshipfromtheJackKentCookeFoundation,sonamedfortheformerRedskinsownerwholefthisfortunetohigh-need,high-achievingstudents—whonowattendsElonUniversity,asouthernschoolwhereguysfavorkhakisandmanygirlswearthepreppyLillyPulitzerbrand.ArringtonremembersherreactionwhenshediscoveredwhatanaverageLillyPulitzerpiecemightcost.

“Iwaslike,‘ohmygoodnessadressfor$200?

’”Arrington,anElonjunior,says.However,shesaysitdoesn’tgettoherbecauseshefocusesondevelopingherownstyleforherownprices,whichmostimportantly,makesherhappy.“Idon’tfeeldeprivedbecauseitmakesmemoreunique.Mystyleismystyleandnooneelseisgoingtowalkinwithmysuedebootsorjeans.”

Nightlifeoffersitsownsetofdilemmas.Thosewhosewealthierfriendsdon’tmindfootingthebillforanightout—inthenameoffriend-groupunity,perhaps—findacceptingsuchfinancialhelpcanintroduceacertainlevelofguilt.

“Ifwegoout,andfriendsarelike,‘ohno,I’mgettingthis,I’llpayforthis,’andthenit’slikebah!

”saysEdithCarolinaBenavides,aJackKentCookescholarwhoisasenioratHarvard.“Iliterallyowesomuchmoneytomyfriends,beyondowingthemsomuchfortheirsupportandbeingthereforme.”

MaureenMahoney,thedeanofthecollegeatSmithCollege,andBarbaraCervone,presidentoftheeducationnon-profitWhatKidsCanDobothnotedthatmedicalproblems—particularlylaggingdentalcareorundiagnosedlearningdisabilities—cancausesignificantsnagsforpoorstudentswhomightalreadybereelingfromtheacademiccultureshock.CervoneremembersonehighachievingstudentfromtheDominicanRepublicwho,inherfreshmanyearatWellesley,foundshehadseveralrottingteeth,whichcouldn’tbefixedbecausetheuniversity’shealthpolicywouldn’tcoverit.Afterapetitiontothecollegepresident,thepolicychangedandthestudentwasabletogetthecaresheneededandcontinuewithherstudies.Butthesituationhighlightshowproactivestudentshavetobetoprocurethefundsandcaretheymightneed.

Thisproactivenessdoesn’talwayscomenaturally,Mahoneynotes,asmanyhigh-achievingstudents（lowincomeorotherwise）havetroubleaskingforhelpwhentheyneedit.Assuming,ofcourse,alowincomestudentknowsexactlywhatresourcestheyneed.RenataMartin,aJackKentCookescholaratBrownsaysthatsheneversawherselfas“disadvantaged”whilegrowingup,butcomingtoaschoollikeBrownbroughttolightalltheresourcesandopportunitiesshehadmissedouton,andmissingoutoneventhesimplestthings–likeacademicsupportresourcesorindividualizedacademicattention–canmakeithardtolookfortheminahigher-edscenario.

“Ithinkthehardestpartisnotevenfinancial–it’stryingtoknowaboutmostofthethingsthatyourpeersknowabout,”shesays.“Itcanbeisolating,goingtoapublichighschoolwithallthesedifferencesyoudon’tthinkaboutuntilyougotoaneliteschoolwhereyoustandoutinmanydifferentways.”

Somecolleges,likeSmith,andscholarshipfoundations,likeLEDA,trytospreadawarenessoftheacademicandfinancialsupportresourcesavailabletolow-incomestudents.AtSmith,thissupportincludesa（limited）extrafundavailabletostudentsinemergencysituations,soifafamilyemergencyarisesandalast-minuteflightacrossthecountrybecomesnecessary,alow-incomestudentcanmakethetrip.Notallcampusesorscholarshiporganizationsofferthisfeature,soit’simportanttocheckwiththeofficeofstudentlifeand/orthefinancialaidofficetogetafulllistofstudentbenefitsandresources.

Whilemanyofthestudentsinterviewedsaythatlifeasalowincomestudentatanelitecampusgotprogressivelyeasierastheygotolderandcarvedouttheirownniches,Duke’sWaldorfnotesthatherlow-incomestatusaddsadditionalpressuretooneofthemoretryingpartsofsenioryear:

huntingforajoborapplyingtograduateschool.

“Idon’thavemoneytopayfortransportationforinterviews.Whatifmyphonegetsshutoffrightbeforeaninterview?

”shesays.“AlotoftheDukepopulationisnotthinkingabout,‘isitdifficultformyneighbortojobsearchbecausetheydon’thaveniceinterviewclothes?

’”

Tobesure,thesolutionstotheseissuesvaryonacampus-by-campusbasis.Somestudentcareerservicecenters—likeBarnard’s—haveasuit-borrowingprogramfromwhichstudentswithoutbusiness-professionalclothingcanborrowadonateddresssuitwiththeirstudentID,atnocost.Othercampuses,suchasUNC,haveastipendstudentscanapplyforthatcanhelppayforinterviewclothes.Likewise,somecollegesandgraduateprograms（WilliamandMary’sMasonSchoolofBusinessisone）havestipendsavailableforjob-huntingtransportationcos