Colleges expect middle-class families to be able to pay for most of their child's college education. They prefer to save their financial aid for those coming from lower-income families. This is supposed to give those children living in poverty a way out through education.
I completely agree that these children should be given a chance to succeed and that their financial background shouldn't hold them back. However, by providing little to no financial aid to middle-class families, colleges create a debt problem for these families and students.
When you graduate college, you're expected to go buy a house and a car and start a family. This will help the economy, right?
The problem is many come out of college in so much debt that they can't buy a house or a car. Or, if they somehow manage to, they'll be paying off these things for the rest of their lives. More debt equals more poverty. That certainly doesn't help the economy.
This leads me to believe that colleges are only shooting themselves in the foot by not helping the middle class.
Allison Hacker
Averill Park