Woes

The middle class hurts in this country. The whole of America hurts in this financial crisis, rich, the poor. A bailout is necessary. But what kind? The middle class that saves, works over time, plans for a "brighter" future, must continue giving up that hard earned money. Times are tough for all of us. I agree that some sort of bail out must be in order. But I wonder, when we give these corporations the money for restructuring, finding footing... Will their workers be any better off? Or in this dance of overhauling infrastructure, will more employees find themselves shuffled out of the picture?

This is echoed in the world of college funding. To get outside scholarships that can be used at any school, there are often restrictions. These restrictions are often to be a minority [African American, Hispanic, Native American, or Pacific Islander NOT Mainland Asian] or show financial need. Middle class, then, is excluded. In the shuffling around of financial aid from colleges, middle class is Screwed. Royally. Savings tell the college, oh, you have money. You can pay for it then. Smiley face. So you sit down, talk about it, Plan for the Future, like you have always done. Okay, so how about a low interest rate loan? The government puts a cap on how much you can take in loans. And most of the low interest ones are available to those, guess what, with "Demonstrated Financial Need." Go ahead and rip a new one for the Middle Class.

I am probably naive. But it seems to me, that in this time of economic strife, the middle class with good credit and savings, should be the ones the government TRUSTS to pay back loans. I'm sorry, colleges, but $100,000 of annual income [before taxes!] does not stretch as far as it used to. Maybe it would be better for us all if we had taken that vacation. Not clip coupons. Get that BMW. Sure, we wouldn't have relative financial security, but hey, we would have saved time not going through the Sunday papers with our scissors. But hey, we would have destressed at that spa on the cruise. But hey, we would have been able to drive fast with the top down. And the colleges would give us more money. A whole lot of sense, right?

Right?

Those in the lower income brackets need the money from colleges. I'm glad that colleges acknowledge that, and that colleges find ways to help those who have need. But I implore that colleges also consider that other people need too. I'm not asking for a full ride. Or even half a ride. Just some help.

MIT, I love you. You know that. You are brilliant. Thank you for accepting me. I wish I could say yes, right now, that I will forever wear your brass rat. But I can't. I'm willing to take out loans, work study, work beyond work study if there is time [helllloooo UROP]. Any extra help could tip the balance though.
Caltech, WashU, You guys are awesome. Pasadena, you've got the best weather. St. Louis, you've got awesome public transportation. Thank you for accepting me. I'm willing to make it work. Give a girl some faith.
Gatech, The best international food markets are at your doors. And I love me some food. But you Georgians make it hard for an Alabama girl like me to get some financial aid. Thank you for accepting me. I could work around the tuition.
UA, you have welcomed me with open arms. Thank you, so much. You make me proud to yell Roll Tide at the TV screen, when I think of the hospitality I have encountered on your campus. Your campus is beautiful, and so are your people. Your honors college and special mentoring programs are amazing. The physics department seems so small and cozy. I'm still thinking of you. You are a school that seems to understand the economy, and making college affordable for students.
Harvard, Yale, I haven't heard back from you guys yet. But thank you for giving my application consideration. I appreciate that. I appreciate that both of you have revamped your financial aid policies in the past year. It makes dreams possible, truly it does. The normalization around 10% for generally the middle class income, makes one dare to think funding is possible.

Education is education. There can be no replacement for knowledge learned, wherever it be found, in or out of a lecture hall, in personal life or at a job. Education. I've always sought you. And there are many fine institutions to explore. They tell you with the right drive, persistance, talent, a wee bit of luck, you can go anywhere and do anything. I don't know about doing Anything. I will never be a gymnast. But you can go. Strive to go. Learn to appreciate, if you can't do. But in the going, can you afford it?

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Avo