alumni Digest, Vol 39, Issue 5

[Jeremy Portzer]

Nick Gorton wrote:

>  
> However, even assuming this goal, I don't think a blanket entitlement is 
> the best way to use that money. We don't need to target all kids from 
> science and math, but only those for whom that $3500/year would be a 
> significant differential benefit that would make them attend a UNC 
> system school instead of Harvard. If you have one kid and make $200,000 
> a year, $3500 is not going to make you willing to send your kid to a 
> college that is not their first choice. So giving that kid free 
> tuition is wasteful at best. Kids from wealthier families may go to UNC, 
> but not because they choose to do so out of financial necessity.
>  

I think this makes a lot of assumptions that aren't necessarily true in 
every family.  My family is affluent by overall NC standards, but that 
didn't mean my parents were interested in spending their money on a 
high-priced private school.  We don't feel we're "rich" but yet are in a 
place in the middle class where I wouldn't be eligible for any grants. 
Yet the FAFSA formula would have required a large percentage of my 
parent's income and assets to be spent on college had I attended a "full 
price" private school.

As a compromise, my parents told me they would give me the amount of 
money to attend college equivalent to NC State or UNC.  I could choose 
to go to UNC or NC State, and they would pay all the costs, or I could 
go to a private school, and they would only pay the equivalent amount. 
(They said they would co-sign on loans or do whatever else was necessary 
to allow me to attend, but made it clear I'd be expected to repay the 
money.  So it wouldn't be much different from those who have 
federally-supported student loans.)

I ended up going to Duke with a Navy ROTC scholarship, but didn't 
continue after a year (that's another story for another day).  But the 
point is, just because my parents COULD afford to send me to Duke and 
pay for it completely, or another private school, doesn't mean they were 
actually willing to do it, since it would have greatly changed their 
financial position.  Remember, one reason that people remain affluent is 
by wisely spending and saving money, and they didn't feel that a private 
school undergraduate education was really worth that much change in 
their lifestyle.  Given my experiences at Duke, I tend to agree.

Had the tuition grant been available, I would have almost certainly 
taken it and attended NC State.  Then my "college contribution" money 
from my parents could have been saved for grad school, extra enrichment, 
etc.

Now, my personal experience is tough to compare to the general case, as 
I ended up staying in North Carolina anyway.  (NC has a small grant for 
all NC residents attending private school in-state by the way; in 1999 I 
believe it was about $750/year.)    But the point is, just because the 
federal formula says that families can afford to send students to any 
college they want, doesn't mean that is truly available to the actual 
students.

--Jeremy c/o '98