<p>I think it’s true some terribly poor kids can naturally feel out of place when surrounded by rich kids or when they need to head off for their student job but others are planning something more fun. I think we should allow that there are cases where a student might feel more capable, more empowered, when he or she goes to a state school, which might have more socioeconomic breadth. Of course, he/she could still land with a privileged roomie, who brings 'round his/her privileged friends.</p>
<p>I also think that, we are influenced by our parents’ experiences, sure. My mother steered me to a smaller college because she hated the large auditorium classes, hundreds of kids, in her experience at Cornell (eons ago.) She had ideas of what student jobs would haunt me, socially. But, things evolve! At schools where 30-50-plus % of kids are on aid, there is always someone headed for that job, hoping for take out pizza. We have to be careful that experiences in our day or our parents’ don’t lead us to assume.</p>
<p>You want to watch for hearsay and, as another poster noted, stereotyping.</p>