Reply #23: Hmm...

[Katherine Brengle]

Okay. Now I'm into it.

I think the practice of monetary exchange for information (or in many cases, a piece of paper that says you have that information) is inherently classist and unjust. It rewards those who are born into wealth and severely limits the opportunities of those born into the lower classes.

As one who was not born into wealth, but pushed my way into college thanks for grants, loans, and scholarships, I've also seen another part of this. Those progeny of wealthy families not only have a better chance of receiving higher education, they also tend not to have to take out loans to get there - which means they do not leave college and start their lives in crushing debt, as happens to most college-educated children of the middle and lower classes. They already have the advantage of living in nice areas, going to great primary and secondary schools, and having a relatively easy time getting into and staying in college, but they also get a leg up on the rest of us by not having to deal with huge loan payments.

Having this financial support system also better enables these students to go on to graduate school, which often further increases their earning potential.

Anecdotally, most of the lower and middle class students I've known have not been able to FINISH college, even though they managed to get started. This includes myself. The costs build up, the loans keep getting bigger, tuition prices are rising, as are all other education-related costs, and too many of us who worked really hard for our places in this country's institutions of higher learning have to bail out.

And guess what? Turns out prospective employers don't really care if you're just 20 credits shy of your BA - it doesn't count for anything. It doesn't matter if you worked your ass off to get there, and stay there, and had a better academic record than 90% of the students who graduated - doesn't matter. Except to the creditors of course - they know exactly how long you were there, and they have the bills to prove it.

Me, bitter? Nah. Why should I be?