merkur

In ways, both sides of this debate are right. Yes, 100k/yr. is more prosperity than much of the world could ever dream of. To me, "miidle class" is becoming like "liberal" and "conservative" in our political debate; everyone wants to impose their unspoken definition of what each term means. I think it is not a number based on median family income, but a collection of lifestyle and values. A state university is a very good alternative for someone in that range of income, but trust me, as properous as 100k per year is, no family could find 50k a year after taxes (Aalways keep those in mind) to pay for a private university. I don't know that ND has to do it or necessarily should, but for less than 1% of investment income on the $6.5 bil. endowment, they couls provide half the students with 20K/yr. in grants or scholarships. But, I'm sure there are many important needs and interests competing for the budget every year, too.

DancingFeet17

To the original poster, my brother is a sophomore at Washington and Lee. W&L was not his first choice. He was accepted Early Action to Georgetown, his first choice, but he also received a full tuition scholarship to W&L. It was the hardest decision of his life, and he hated having to turn Georgetown down in favor of the smarter financial choice. But it all worked out for him! He absolutely loves everything about W&L, he's super involved, on the golf team, president of his fraternity, dean's list, etc. (If you can't tell, I'm just a tiny bit proud of him). I'm sure your son will love being a General too!

mcknight

It's great to hear that your brother loves W&L. My son was initially bummed about ND but he's now feeling much better about his decision, and is looking forward to becoming a General. He's also going to play baseball at W&L which wouldn't have been an option at ND. I think that it's going to work out just fine for him as it did for your brother. Thank you for your post.