alumni Digest, Vol 39, Issue 5

[Nick Gorton]

Jeremy Portzer wrote: "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 place in the middle class where I
wouldn't be eligible for any grants."

That's why I suggested 6xFPL. Assuming your parents are college
educated, having that income would place you in the
upper-middle-class. Most need based grants are for people living at
the 2-3xFPL level, so the cut off I suggested covers a much larger
range of incomes.

"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"

That is certainly their decision. However, that should not be the
basis for spending tax dollars. Taken to its logical end, this would
mean that Bill Gates' kids should get as much financial aid as a kid
whose parents make $20k/year. It would be nice if all kids were
allowed to attend college free of charge. However in out current
society, it is still a zero-sum game. Money that is used to pay for
one kid's education come from a limited supply of funds. So that money
should be spent in a manner that controls for need. It doesn't have to
be entirely need based, and some merit based scholarships are
necessary in order to promote academic excellence. However, there is a
point (and we can argue the location of that point... 6xFPL, 8xFPL,
etc) but this should always be a concern. And while the limit is up to
interpretation, *that* there is a limit is not. Unless of course you
think Bill Gates' kids should also be given free tuition to UNC if
they attended SM?

Nick