DISSENT: The Forgotten Middle

Financial aid is a good thing, but it is not a panacea. There is a large, and too often ignored, middle class that does not qualify for major financial aid, but still balks at the high price of a private college education. The burden of the five–to-ten percent tuition increase that has become an almost annual tradition in higher education falls most heavily on these families.

Tuition hikes may not mean much for those at the top of the income bracket, or for those whose education is largely subsidized by expanding financial aid programs. But for everybody else, they present a major impediment to pursuing a college degree. If we allow tuition to rise at current rates, we risk creating a polarized community of a privileged few who subsidize the education of low-income students, while those in between these two extremes opt for cheaper alternatives such as state schools or non-Ivy League institutions that offer attractive scholarship packages. If the overall price of tuition is ignored in the name of financial aid, top universities will experience a decrease in socioeconomic diversity and integration.

Schools like Harvard and Princeton already have generous financial aid programs in place. They do their job of promoting diversity by supporting families at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. The real concern is the students who don’t quite make the cut for aid but still feel the crunch of tuition hikes. It’s good that someone is finally paying attention to their predicament.

Clay A. Dumas ’10, a Crimson editorial editor, lives in Holworthy Hall. Daniel E. Herz-Roiphe ’10, a Crimson editorial editor, lives in Straus Hall.