As anyone who has thought about or attended university is well aware, financial aid is responsible for ensuring that people of all economic backgrounds have the necessary means to obtain higher level education. Financial aid for college is a massive industry that contains countless millions of dollars; moreover, without financial aid, it would be all but assured that college would remain largely exclusive except to the wealthy upper classes. Financial aid is a topic that requires analysis and exploration, so we encourage you to read this sample essay in order to get a better understanding of the importance of financial aid.

The 'affordability' of college

An unknown author once asked rhetorically, “What if the cure to cancer was trapped inside the mind of somebody who couldn’t afford an education?” Although the question is definitely a stretch to the average person, it definitely puts things into a different perspective. Many children around the world are yearning to learn, but are held back because their parents simply cannot afford tuition, especially when it comes to higher education tuition where public schools cannot be the source of funding anymore. The achievement of success has nothing to do with affluence, social status or stereotypes. 

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Financial aid difficulties

Somebody with financial difficulties may still have the potential to be truly successful. A very street-smart and intelligent woman could achieve success without belonging in the higher class of society just by working hard and studying what she knows, and asking questions. Some families cannot afford to pay for extra courses or for their children to attend a good ranking school because perhaps they have too many children, they aren’t around, or the parents aren’t educated enough to work high paying jobs in order to support their children’s education. 

Angela Locke has never been able to convince herself that she was even worthy of success because she has never been able to afford the things her wealthier friends could- including accepting themselves as worthy. (“Born Poor and Smart” p.503 par.4) Although Locke realized that she wasn’t affluent enough to afford a high education like some of her wealthier friends, she realized she had identified herself as “unworthy”, and it was probably because of the way she felt others felt about her, or the remarks she received from others. It wasn’t fair that Angela’s self-esteem had to drop just because of the way others looking in would view her, and didn't know the truth about financial aid.

Does social status have an impact?

Social status also has no indication of whether or not a person deserves to be stuck living in poverty. Nobody deserves to live in a contaminated, low-income area and not be able to afford three meals a day or a proper education. Americans are quick to judge others that they may not necessarily understand, including the poor.  Hostile actions and words do not need to be exchanged or used as verbal attacks towards the poor or homeless.

There are many reasons for one to be poor, but far too many of the poor are labeled as “undeserving” when in reality, the reason they cannot live up to society’s living expectations could be explained by remaining childless in adolescence, finding and continuing a job, and staying off welfare.

Each of these does not define them as immoral, lazy or criminals. (“The War Against the Poor Instead of Programs to End Poverty” p.505 par.4) There are reasons and a background story to the reason that everybody ends up who and where they are in life, and nobody has the right to judge somebody else’s life, for they are no better. The reasons students may feel as if they cannot do well is because they may feel judgment from not only wealthier or more successful peers, but strangers from the outside looking in as well. 

Perhaps the ability to learn is not the fault of the students, but of the government and the education system. Students may not feel as equal as one another when it comes to academics and education because of their social or wealth status in society. If the government held a few subsidized college courses, perhaps just a few pertaining to each student’s major, they would be able to feel the push and the ability to do well in school and go out of their way to find resources and search for possibilities in order to make a life for themselves. On top of that, they would also be able to learn more about what they could do and enjoy doing and succeed through their own abilities. Regardless of if they have money or not, that is sure to boost one’s self esteem.

Changing the broken financial aid system

In order to change the policy of how education is taught in America and reforming the way schools are financed, or giving federal help to financial insufficient college students, American politicians would need to acknowledge the flaw in our school’s education. If they fix the flaw, then it would be sure to lessen social inequality, and possibly the worth of American students. (“Middle of the Class” pg.510 par.1)

There isn’t just one big flaw in the education system, but there are several ways politicians and school board members could help students prosper in their learning experience. Education is a big factor when it comes to success because knowledge is the key to becoming successful, but it is completely unacceptable when others are looked down upon because their family cannot provide the financial stability for them to attend school and get an education, just as the poor don’t deserve to be labeled as “undeserving”. 

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Fixing flaws

All in all, equality should be a crucial matter, especially when it comes to American privilege, and is education not a privilege? In order to take the first step towards truly being an equal country, we must learn to see each other as sisters and brothers, regardless of ethnicity, race, hometown, and social status.

References

“The War Against the Poor Instead of Programs to End Poverty” by Herbert Gans pg. 504

“Born Poor and Smart” by Angela Locke pg. 502

 “Middle of the Class” from The Economist pg. 524