Hmmm…I will grant you college is way more expensive now. But I went to an Ivy in the 1980s and it was definitely the case then as well. I took loans, my parents took loans…it was a lot. One thing that has gotten MUCH better since then is that Ivies and a few other super select schools have gotten WAY MORE generous than they used to be.
I’m not disagreeing with your point generally but I think it’s only fair to also note that while most colleges have gotten very expensive and hard to pay for, there has been huge progress on affordability at many elite schools. Just my two cents.
I agree need based aid is in another universe now than even 25 years ago let alone 40.
I was thinking about full rides, which many think is merit aid - it used to be very clear at many universities and there were automatic full rides, automatic full tuition scholarships .. CC used to keep a chart but starting in 2011 it started to get obsolete very quickly as states and universities started to cut funding, either totally or to redirect aid to need based. So strong stats made full rides at least within the realm of possibility and are now almost impossible.
And in the 80s-90s it was generally possible, as you explain, to cover instate public college costs with a full time summer job+part time job during the year+federal loans and minimal to no parental help.
I remember Harvard cost 16k which according to the internet (not sure how solid the calculation is) is 38k in today’s dollars. However its financial aid wasn’t good.
They don’t talk to me about where the money for my current school comes from but I know its somewhat scrapped together, I think the main reason for the apprehension about college payments is because they think all universities are all “woke” and bad now, not as much as when they sent me to a college prep school.
For my senior schedule I mentioned that I’m tentatively because of scheduling taking 3 instead of the normal 2 electives next year, and we have yet to schedule for retaking the SAT (I only struggled with the math, english I had almost perfect) but I will take it in the summer. I have no plans on taking the ACT.
Universities are generally more diverse than high schools, and want to market themselves to the greatest number of potential students from all backgrounds, so there is no getting around that they tend to be more favorable and accommodating of diversity. The few exceptions would be specialty ones where the specialty effectively limits diversity (mostly religious colleges where religion is a major part of the curriculum and student life).
And you said in the initial post that you identify as LGBTQ? Oh dear, this just got messier.
Not sure what they mean by woke, and I’m curious if they could define it themselves (please don’t ask them!!), beyond ‘Some students there do stuff I don’t like’. The problem is that there’s currently a moral panic going on about college student behavior, and (as those of us who liked to play Dungeons & Dragons back in the early 80s can attest) it’s essentially impossible to convince people who have bought into a moral panic of its utter ridiculosity until it’s burnt itself out.
So no solutions on that one, but definitely some sympathy.
There are still some automatic full rides, but far fewer than before, and having regional preferences away from the south* (where most of them, then and now, can be found) and less common academic interests may make it difficult to fulfill everything.
*where LGBTQ, especially T, may find state laws and policies hostile enough to be a quality of life issues, although this is not exclusive to the south.
This is a good idea if Minnesota is not too far away. In addition to UMN-Twin Cities and UMN-Morris mentioned above, I might suggest UMN-Duluth which offers a BS in linguistics and has good merit aid. Duluth is a fun city (small, industrial, LGBT friendly.)
I also find myself wondering about the geographical constraints and how firm they are.
In the same spirit as the Minnesota recommendation but more affordable for OOS students, I was thinking about U of New Mexico. This is another school with very strong indigenous studies - for example, several of these learning communities could be of interest: Indigenous Learning Communities :: Native American Studies | The University of New Mexico The Latin American & Iberian Institute offers Quechua, Nahuatl, and Yucatec Maya, and the Linguistics Department offers not only a BA in Linguistics but also a minor in Navajo Language & Linguistics. Plus, another approach that could be worth considering is the study of Linguistic Anthropology which is an option through the Anthro department.
While New Mexico hopefully would not jump out at your parents as a “woke” destination, Albuquerque is a solidly progressive city in a reliably progressive state - not somewhere you should have any qualms about going as an LGBTQ+ student. UNM offers relatively affordable baseline costs, plus generous scholarships and OOS tuition waivers, so it would be possible for it to be a good financial deal for you.
U of Montana is another flagship with a relatively low sticker price, OOS merit scholarships, and potential in terms of its programs in linguistics, linguistic anthropology, and indigenous studies. Not as progressive as New Mexico but possibly still worth a look.
But of course neither could be spun as “northeast,” even by the most “very general” definition, so…
