College fair worried me quite a bit. I read in a pamphlet for Beloit, I think, or perhaps Lawrence, that (and this is based off of my memory) "1/3 of our classes - from cooking to language to chemistry - have an international focus." Chemistry has an international focus? When did science become about culture?
I also saw in the Cornell U. presentation an interesting little slogan: "Elite. Not elitist." I think it mostly speaks for itself. What ridiculous bullshit. Whatever happened to applauding achievement and not being scared to say that competence is valued over incompetence? Not to mention the inherent contradiction in saying you simultaneously are composed of only the best and don't only take the best.
Also Cornell-related was a weird little section in the pamphlet that said scholarships are awarded based on need alone. Merit scholarships have been eliminated. Dad says this is happening at a lot of big schools. Everyone says Atlas Shrugged is bullshit but tell me that isn't the whole point of it! Need alone? Where do these people's priorities lie?
What the hell is happening to this country?
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6 comments:
"what the hell is happening to this country?"
democracy, what a horrible thing...an education for everyone who is capable and not just those that can afford it. how horrible.
I disagree with the comment above this one.
Last year at my old school, the only available scholarships were not based on merit, but on financial need. Oh, and you could get a good scholarship if you were an amputee. Yeah. They actually had a scholarship for that.
I'm probably going to hell for saying this, but that's just crap. The fact that someone is missing a limb doesn't make that person a better student than me. Why do amputees deserve that money more than I do, just because their arm is missing or whatever?
If you look at some of the research on public schools (my personal studies validate this), the biggest factor in graduation rate and college retention rate is the number of students that come from low-income families. Students from low-income families typically stay low-income for their life and the cycle repeats itself in their children. It's a growing problem in the education system and providing strictly need based grants/scholarships are an excellent step in attempting to correct this growing problem. This is not to say that merit based scholarships should not be offered. It's just a better investment of funds. If you come from a family that can afford college then they should pay.
Think about it: people with lower incomes have to go without things that those who were raised 'wealthily' were handed on a silver platter, so they get financial aid to try to make up for it. The difference in lifestyles, in some situations, is so significant that help with college tuition really isn't a huge sacrifice to make, comparison.
I also think the amputee argument is ridiculous. THE KID DOESN'T HAVE ARMS. Do you have any idea of how shitty that would be? Getting a few thousand dollars doesn't make up for the fact that the kid can't clap.
I never said need-based scholarships have no value. It just says something pretty terrible about the system when there is nothing to honor high-achievers AS WELL as something for those who qualify and can't afford it.
everyone seems to be ignoring the other stuff i wrote about, which are at least equally pressing issues.
the reason for this: economic slump made colleges lose a shitton of money/endowment this year. in response, they cut merit scholarships. because who the f*** would cut NEED-based aid and only have merit?
NEED-based is seen as more 'ethical', whatever that means...and so society is moving thataway.
Anyway, if you have merit AND need, you're set. If you DON'T need, suck it up.
-ln
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