Some Rich Students 'Merit' Financial Aid

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Wow. How stupid. I'm sorry that your parents only make enough to get by. However, why should a family who has worked hard for what they have be forced to shell out money from their pocket to pay for their CHILD'S school? Kids in college are 18 and up. They are adults. Why should I not be able to receive aid because of my parent's income? Maybe not ALL rich parents think that it's their responsibility to pay for their child's education. I think ALL scholarships should be based on academic achievement. Why should someone who has parents that don't work be able to get financial aid, while they DON'T do any of the necessary schoolwork?? It should be based on the effort of the STUDENT, not the parent. I am in class EVERY DAY with kids who come just to get their grant money. After the first week of class, these kids (who are on financial aid due to "need") are skipping class, not doing work, and making bad grades. Help should go to the better student, not the poorer parents. So what if someone has poor parents. If they do what they should, and work hard in school, they will get help. You can't have poor parents and expect to have everything handed to you just because your family is poor. This is why we have the cycle. Poor parents begat poor kids because of this feeling that they are "owed" something because of their parents laziness/misfortune/bad choices/etc etc. Break the cycle! Don't expect everything to be handed to you because you're poor. Big deal. Show some iniciative and work hard like these "rich kids" have to do since WE can't get financial aid because the majority of it goes to poor kids who NEVER go to class or do their work.

cee of CO 11:08AM May 31, 2011

J, based on your comment I can officially pressume that you've had a bad experience with this issue. When considering a college you must also keep in mind the status of that facility (Is it accredited? What is on campus? How are the teachers? etc.). I'm pretty sure that those students considered these things and knew that it was going to be hard. You should also know that some community colleges are not accredited in certain states and their financial aid is limited. I'm sorry if you feel upset with the education system, I am too. Although, some of the most noticable characters of American history never went to private school so you can't judge a book by it's cover. Maybe your classmates are good at something else (or athletes, every school tries to snatch them days. I wouldn't say that all poor or public school students are terrible; in fact, their testing is worse that in private schools. Ej. One of my Science teachers has a Doctorate degree and eight others have Masters). If I could invest on a straight A student it would be a homeschooled one. They tend to do better than private and public students due to the high amount of regulations required and one on one care (at least the ones I know). On another note: States and their universities should concentrate more on bringing and keeping people in their state, not "rich daddies and uncles" who may or may not donate depending on their kid's grades. Such an action would put the whole college under questioning and damage said reputation. Anyways, if you make 500k and have one or two kids in college and you're asking for financial aid, you have a problem. In my family of five, we make $101,000 a year and still need help. Despite me being mad over that, whenever I meet someone who does qualify for what I can't get, I just simply say this: "Don't waste this opportunity and try your best."

Pythia 4:40PM January 24, 2010

I think financially abled student's shouldn't recieve the extra money, for what? They should put that extra money towards student's who need the help for real! All those rich kids have the money to go to school and fine it's great that their smart and can afford it but the middle class should get a chance at it too.

miley of CA 10:20PM December 14, 2009

Awww. Poor little rich kids can't afford financial aid and now their parents have to sell one of their cars.
Sod off.
My folks make less than $15000 a year and all I can say is: thank god for need-based aid.
Also, to those of you basically saying poor people shouldn't have children: money fluctuates. When they have kids the economy might be perfect, they might have jobs, the whole nine yards. But, 18 years down the road, wham! layoffs, medical bills, other children, terrible economy et c.

S of WV 4:26PM May 03, 2009

I also do not feel sorry for families that cannot afford to send their child to school. If money is an issue, don't pick a school that costs $18,000. What's wrong with community college that generally does not cost more than $3,000? Also, if you are receiving financial aid at a $18,000 school, community college would most likely be completely free. Also, often times poorer students are not capable of doing college level work because of where they went school before. When a college gives a student a merit scholarship, they are essentially investing their money in a student. If I had to invest my money in a straight A student who went to private school, or a straight A student who went to a poorer public school, I would most definetly choose the student who went to private school because they would have had access, in general, to a better education. I currently attend a private 4 year school, and there are many students here who academically should not be. They cannot read, write, or speak at the collegiate level. The only reason they are here is because they are poor and the government paid for them to attend. Just because someone makes less than 50k does not make them less deserving than a child whos parents make 80k. Also, just because a child is wealthy does not reduce their merit at all. Merit scholarships are called merit scholarships specifically because they are solely based on merit, not need. Also, a parent who makes 500k vs a parent who makes 50k is much more likely to donate a significant amount of money to the school. So offering them some incentive to attend a certain school is a good thing for every student and faculty member at that institution. I'm not saying poor people shouldn't have children, but I think people need to realistically consider the cost of raising children before they have them.

J of NY 10:12PM March 29, 2009

i am poor university student i want help

abebe girmaw of CA 4:00AM February 26, 2009

I think the previous comment on freeloaders, etc. is a little reactionary. Their kind will be the first against the walls when the revolution comes.
Yet, this article seems to support "merit" scholarships for students in need of financial aid. With this I must vehemently disagree. A student's neediness does not translate to their merit, which I would define vaguely as the student's academic aptitude.
There is a wholly dishonest practice under way at some higher-end institutions, which affect fewer people. That is, some colleges offer "merit" scholarships only to students who are smart *and* rich. For those with options and for whom money is less of a concern. This resume-padding for rich kids is anathema to the ideals of academia and must be stopped.

J. S. of CA 9:17PM February 13, 2009

I don't feel sorry for poor families that can't afford to send their kids to college. We make, on paper, a very decent living but we live in an expensive area. We pay huge property taxes and income taxes. We spend money on things that require us to pay sales tax. My kids should be able to get aid money, not the freeloaders who already get plenty of government aid. I am already doing my part to help the economy and I strongly resent that a huge portion of my daughter's tuition to UCSB goes to pay for financial aid and we get nothing. I am tired of supporting people who should never have had children to begin with. This is why the economy is getting so bad - too many leeches at the public trough. It will only get worse with Obama and his type. There should also be laws against any kind of aid tied to race. We should live in a truly color-blind society.

Susan M. of CA 3:57PM February 11, 2009

i am a student in the universasity who is in nneed of help to further my education

iag prince of GA 5:44AM January 20, 2009

THis is veryyyy true. i am a new college student and financial aid hasnt givent me anythinggggg and yet they make me wait because they say there are more important students that are paying right now so you have to wait untill we are done with there documents. this really sucks. these people are rich and get financial aid when i am a low income family. and we make 0 income. everyones laid off in my house. isnt that great?

of 9:05PM November 17, 2008