The first son spent one year at Williams and went on to USC. The second one liked the Ivy League. Princeton, Columbia, and H until his death.
As a govt employee who owns a house in Brooklyn near Bill deBlasio’s houses, and whose family brings in substantially less than his, I only say that we did not qualify for need based aid because of the equity in our house. And rightly so, because ours has increased four times since we bought it so we have a huge amount of equity. Values in Brooklyn, particularly where de Blasio’s houses are, have skyrocketed over the last 15 years. A house that cost $400,000 in 2000 in our area now goes for $1.6 million.
I expect BDB does not want to get into a public discussion of this situation. He presents as middle class, which is fair. but his real estate is worth millions (and his salary is not chopped liver IMO). This may conflict with both his public image and his self image.
And yeah, you can live in NY on less than $250,000 a year. Especially if you were able to buy a nice little house in Brooklyn, back when houses cost less than that. Or two.
The beauty of the Ivies need blind admissions policies is that the Mayor with the financial stats he appears to have very well may qualify for financial assistance. As a recruiter for Yale, this is what I have been telling students and their parents until I am blue in the face.
Also, those that are bemoaning the fact that they are well off and full pay, that is the blessing of have a child be accepted to an Ivy League school and may be one of the reason why so many students are applying. These schools have more money than some countries and are willing to pay to have the diversity in their schools that they want. And in this case I am not talking about racial diversity, but economic. They do not want their classes full of full pay kids.
@Tperry1982 - I’ll contribute to the thread drift by posting a link to a NYT article discussing the issues first-generation students face at Ivies.
It’s great that these schools have worked hard to increase economic diversity, and I applaud them for that However, it can still be tough for students receiving significant aid and living on a shoestring budget to be surrounded by affluent students who can spend as much as they chose. The students on aid are working during the school year and again during the summer in order to cover their portion of the financial aid package. Those with affluent parents don’t have to work during the school year, are going out on the town, and can afford to take unpaid internships in the summer that are out of reach for many of their peers.
Indeed. Most NYC residents make far less than $250k and manage to survive…even though they may struggle more than folks living in less expensive geographic regions.
Granted, some of that may be offset somewhat by other expenses such as the need to buy/maintain a car whereas it’s usually not necessary unless you live in a suburbanlike neighborhood far from convenient public transportation links…like Bayside, Queens.
@BldrDad - oh, yes sir. You are preaching to the choir. While my D, Class of 18, may be privileged, when I went to Yale in 1978, I came there as a working class African American female from a disadvantaged public school. I do not need to be told how hard it is to adjust. I remember my first semester as clearly as if it was yesterday and wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into. I got terrible grades, didn’t understand how all the students around me seemed to be so worldly and know so much, and was terribly homesick. What got me through was hanging with other students like myself and the determination to not let “them” beat me. I went on to graduate, go to grad school and now am in the position so that my child is one of those kids I wondered about back then (a fact that I remind her of often).
Now, I work with students at my old high school and other under served public schools to recruit students for Yale and my D’s hoity toity high school. One of the biggest issues I bring to the table is that just dropping a disadvantaged child into an environment like that is a great disservice and that they need supports. When their rommates are jaunting off to Florida for Spring Break, they are at school because they can’t afford to go home, more less to Florida. While my kid is joining activities, they have to work to have spending money (like I did). While my kid is gallivanting off to Germany this summer to immerse herself in German culture and language (and not making a dime in the process), there will be others working their tails off just to have money for books next year.
I work with Questbridge Scholars, Bill Gates/College Success Foundation and other foundations with students for the very reason you cite, giving a student money to attend a school is not the answer to their prayers. But in Yale’s defense, even its most disadvantaged students still have the same graduation rate as the rest of its students. That I know for a fact.