The American Education System Caters to the Elite While Leaving the Rest of us Behind

By Cameron Froehlich, Colonie

April 27, 8:47 a.m.

When I received my financial aid package from Syracuse University, I said some words I can't repeat in a school paper. But ultimately I was asking “how do they expect me to afford $43,778 per year in loans?”.

This is the question many high school seniors find themselves asking as the May 1st college decision deadline approaches. The average family cannot afford to put their kids through college without taking on loans, so the question for students becomes: Can I pursue my desired path at my desired school without putting myself or my family through unsustainable financial hardship?

I am the oldest son in a middle class family of four. My mother is a public school teacher, and my father is a tradesman. While our household income is enough to support our family, it is not enough to pay for college outright. However, it is enough that I received almost no federal financial aid. 

We had hoped that as a 4.0 honor roll student with high test scores, a multitude of extracurricular activities that include leadership positions, and work experience, I would be able to afford a private university that had my major of choice, Interior Design. This was not the case. 

While I was accepted into every school I applied to, including my top choices of Syracuse and RIT, the cost of admission was not justifiable based on our income, contributions, and my future salary. Had I chosen to go to Syracuse despite the cost, I would have graduated with over $160,000 in loans to repay, and $140,000 at RIT.

I had done everything right. I took advanced classes throughout my high school career even as a senior, I dropped my lunch for three years so that I could take more classes. I did as many activities as I could, I took on leadership roles including being president of the drama club, I made it into the NHS, I applied for external scholarships. But it still wasn’t enough. 

The aid I received from schools was disheartening. Yes, they wanted me academically. I could do great things on their campus. But I did not fit the bill financially; they needed someone richer. This was devastating news and made me question whether the efforts I had put in were worth it. While the offers were generous and the words were kind, ultimately the message sent to me and thousands of other students was this: this institution is not made for you.

As a country that supposedly values education and stresses the importance of higher education as part of the path to success and building a career, one would think that college might be more affordable and accessible to the working and lower class; unfortunately this is not the case.

Colleges are businesses. Yes, they are places of learning and research but before all of that they are a business. Public universities are more affordable, but many of them do not offer the same facilities and programs as a higher cost private university. On top of that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a better job outlook for students who can afford to go to a private university. 

Since the United States is  such a “great” country, I continuously ask myself: why do we not grant all young people within our society access to the same opportunities to succeed? It always comes back to two things. Power, and money.

Being a business, colleges are going to want students who they can get the most money from. Which is often the upper class, those with both money and influence; who can afford an education without the need for nearly as many scholarships and grants as middle or lower class families. 

These institutions with costs nearing $100,000 per year cater to the rich, despite college being a necessary step for most careers. The college system needs an overhaul, one that allows everyone the same opportunities to succeed in life regardless of their financial status. 

Think of how many brilliant people could become doctors, lawyers, designers, musicians, or experts in many different fields if they were simply given the same opportunities as their richer peers.