Financial Aid Letter?

kentuckymom
Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:05:22 +0000

I wasn’t insinuating anything about “slothful” parents. Parents should have nothing to do with it. All of these kids admitted to Vandy are legally ADULTS. Going forward, for the next four years of their life, if it is true that all of their academic credentials are essentially equal, many are getting SUBSTANTIAL amounts of money, and others are getting NOTHING–all based on the financial status of their parents. What an independent-minded 18-year old who gets nothing feels under this scenario, is that the University considers them less worthy. But their hard work and accomplishments and future potential is their OWN, not their parents. And Money talks. To require kids to pay full price (very high compared to other colleges and for which loans would make no sense) forces these kids to remain tied to their parent’s purse strings for 4 more years. The kids who receive the aid have NO strings attached to anyone–their parents or the University. They don’t even have to maintain a particular GPA to qualify. To a kid, money, regardless of how the University wants to label it, equals scholarships. And, to them, scholarships translate into how much the University values their attendance. Or, conversely, how gullible the University thinks their parents are.