• givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Harvard earns enough off trust interest they’d never have to charge another student tuition and room/board if they didn’t want to.

    They could just take all the smartest kids like this regardless of where they come from.

    It’s why having the most important part of our education system be for profit has never made sense. Just because you’re wealthy or your Daddy went there doesn’t mean you should get to take up a spot at one of the best schools on the planet.

    • sab@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      It makes perfect sense the second one stops believing in the lie that America is a meritocratic society.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Obviously, but I’m saying the only reason it’s like that, is the people calling the shots are the ones saying it has to stay that way.

        If K-12 isn’t enough of an education, we need to extend what counts as public education. Whether that means college or trade schools.

        Post secondary education is an investment in our country, not just a way to squeeze money out of 18 year old kids.

        • sab@kbin.social
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          9 months ago

          You are completely right, and I think everyone in power realizes that. They also realize that they can buy a spot for their kids in a good university, but there is no way in hell their kids would make it to the top any other way. So they have no interest in changing it.

          Changing the way universities work in the US would require a freaking revolution. It’s not about giving opportunities to those from worse-off backgrounds; it’s about taking away opportunities from the rich and tearing down structures of inherited power. So naturally the resistance to doing so is going to be immense, and whoever sets out to do it need to know what they’re up against.

          Probably why the republicans are so angry about forgiving student loan debts.

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            All Republicans are the problem, but not everyone with a D by their name is your friend either homie.

            Even when Dems control everything we can’t get basic shit like this passed.

            • sab@kbin.social
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              9 months ago

              For sure. There’s a lot of talk about forgiving student loans, but there’s a reason why they are more quiet about fixing the broken system.

        • 😈MedicPig🐷BabySaver😈@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          I agree there should be free options. State schools, community colleges, trade schools.

          However, I’d like to see some level of required service post graduation. Doesn’t have to be military. Some type of humanities service, eg: Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity.

    • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip
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      9 months ago

      Harvard earns enough off trust interest they’d never have to charge another student tuition and room/board if they didn’t want to.

      They could just take all the smartest kids like this regardless of where they come from.

      They do, technically. The admissions process is need-blind, meaning they decide whether to accept a student before looking at any financials, then provide enough financial aid for them to attend. Something like a quarter of the students don’t pay anything.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Yeah, 25% is what the website says, but that sounds like it includes scholarships. So pretty much every athlete and other scholarships.

        They have an estimate tool too

        https://college.harvard.edu/financial-aid/net-price-calculator

        75k parental income and 10k in assets was enough for it to be 15k/year.

        That’s a lot of money to a family of four with 1 kid in college.

        And Harvard doesn’t need a penny of it.