Elite college sticker prices conceal costs low-income students still cannot afford.
Evidence
Just as purchasing a home in a white neighborhood can require significant financial and emotional investment for a black family, attending a predominantly white elite institution can present financial and emotional obstacles for black students. Cost is a factor: The most selective institutions are expensive, with the University of Chicago topping the 2019 list at
80,000 for a year of tuition, fees, and housing. Just because the “sticker price” is80,000 does not mean every student pays that price. Some pay less (or get it at a “discount”) because their college awarded them scholarships or financial aid grants. But tuition doesn’t tell the whole story: Even a student with a generous financial aid package can lack money for textbooks, housing, and food. Anthony Abraham Jack, an assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and author of The Privileged Poor, successfully petitioned Harvard to keep its dining halls open during spring break after a low-income student told him that the closed dining halls meant “famine” to students like her. — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 270
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims