Part II

Yoni Mandelbaum
Professor Henkle
English 110
14 November 2007

I. Introduction
a. Subject of Essay: Students from higher income families will do better in school than those who have families with lower income.
b. Argument: Therefore, in order to enable the students with lower family income to have the same opportunity as those with higher income, a full scholarship should be provided to the students from low-income families.
c. Method by which this paper will prove that argument: This paper will prove this argument by providing and analyzing articles from scholarly journals that support the idea that scholarships should in fact to be given to low-income families in order to create equal opportunity.
II. Body
a. Paragraph 1: This article explains that due to the high cost of college, combined with the low assistance level of financial scholarships, many low-income families are finding it very difficult to afford sending students to universities.
i. Evidence for that point: In fall 2001 Princeton got rid of student loans and instead offers scholarship grants. Since most universities are unable to do this, low-income students are finding it extremely hard to afford college, resulting in a decrease in entry and completion of college by students with low family income. Families that bring in twenty-five thousand dollars or less are considered low income, and as college prices go up it is these low-income families that suffer the most. While some financial aid programs, such as Pell Grant, can not provide as much money as is being demanded, the amount still needed after financial aid has been given is still substantial. The author concludes by advising the federal government to be more active in setting up college preparatory programs in high schools, as well as reorganizing financial aid programs and organizations in order to assist the low income families in an efficient manner.
ii. This article illustrates the major need of financial aid to be given to those with lower-income families in order to give them the opportunity to excel in college as the tuition rate rises. Although more money is demanded, financial aid organizations need to be able to provide for those not wealthy enough to fully pay their way through university. In addition, it appears that as financial grants are given, the distribution to varying income families is very important in order to ensure those with lower incomes get equal opportunity to attend do well in college.
b. Paragraph 2: This essay discusses how a higher amount of scholarship money should be provided to low-income families that need the financial help, rather than the same amount given to those families that are financially comfortable.
i. Evidence for that point: As Princeton revised its financial aid program by dropping student loans and instead offering scholarships, Harvard has joined as well by offering an additional two thousand dollars to those already receiving financial aid. This seems okay, but since black students compose seven percent of Harvard’s study body, most of this scholarship money will go to white students, as the financial help for black students will decrease. While the white students with higher income families receive the two thousand dollar bonus, so do the many low-income black families. Therefore it is unfair to those who may need more money than others do. It seems that the author is suggesting that more money be given to those with more financial need and less to those that can handle college payments without as much assistance.
ii. In order to give equal opportunity to those with lower income families, it seems that this article suggests different amounts of financial aid bonuses be given out to students receiving grants based on their own economic situation, rather than the added bonus that every student under financial aid receives. By giving the lower-income, in this article relating to African-Americans, a bigger sum as financial aid, it gives them an equal opportunity to do well in school.
c. Paragraph 3: The author of this article conveys the thought that as unaffordable as private schools are to low-income families, many of these families are finding public and state-run colleges equally financially unbearable.
i. Evidence for that point: Low-income black families are seeing private colleges as unreachable in their states due to their financial situations, and are therefore relying on state-operated colleges instead. In a study done by the Lumina Foundation, it was found that public universities were also financially unattainable for low-income families except in the states of Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Kentucky, and Wyoming, where state legislature subsidies and financial aid were sufficiently provided to lower-income students. Three factors that the researchers give as reasons for why college is affordable in some states but not others include the difference in income between whites and blacks and minorities varies by state, secondly, each states has different financial aid programs, and finally, state subsidies for college also vary by state. In conclusion, these problems must be dealt with in order to educate a broad and diverse work force and to avoid social tension.
ii. The article raises the point that in almost every state in the US even public state-operated colleges, let alone private universities, are out of the financial league for many people. This article articulates the need for more financial aid to be readily available to low-income families. Therefore it seems, in order to give the low-income students an equal opportunity at a quality education, financial aid needs to be provided more generously.
d. Paragraph 4: The topic of this writing concerns how many Ivy League colleges have decided to diversify by distributing scholarships, not based on financial need, but rather for academic achievement as well as student-athlete potential, resulting in the inability to provide low-income families with the necessary proper financial help.
i. Evidence for that point: After many years of top Ivy league schools coming together in order to address financial aid policies, these meetings came to a stop. As a result it was found that schools were giving scholarships, not based on financial need, but rather on an academic achievement basis as well the wish to include a more racially eclectic student body. In result, it was found by a professor named Caroline Hoxby from the economics department at Harvard University, that “in a period when college costs continued to escalate at a rate far higher than inflation, the amount of aid available to poor students remained bout the same.” This means that as colleges were making the decisions for students to receive financial aid to, although they might diversify by choosing black students, these students will be from middle to higher income families rather than lower-income families. Finally the author concludes that black students who are academically and athletically gifted will receive more attention and consideration in the area of financial aid rather than those who need it most.
ii. Although financial aid is being given out, it is not being channeled in the right direction. The change from financial need to academic achievement based is really leaving those who need the money most at a large disadvantage.

e. Paragraph 5: In this essay, Lewis C. Solmon, illustrates his views that financial compensation should be given to low-income families in order to reimburse them with money they would have received had the child been working rather than being in school. In addition the author suggests that money on expenses to enhance the home learning environment should also be addressed.

i. Evidence for that point: A family’s income directly affects choices parents make for their kids concerning school because the money spent to send the child to school, is also money lost since the kid could be working to provide more money for the family. If the students decide to work outside of school hours, then that time that could be spent on schoolwork and studying, are instead committed to working to help support their already low-income families. The author continues and suggests: “in order to get the poor to send their high school age children to a school of any quality, the cost in terms of proportionate reduction in family income must be reduced for low income families. Perhaps directs payments to these families based on sending their children to school (rather than welfare payments based on the number of children) are the answer”(Solmon 769). In addition, Solmon writes that because of a family’s low income, it may cause the student’s home to be less resourceful and unaccommodating to their needs, thereby giving them a disadvantage compared to students from houses of higher income. The author concludes that incentive payments should be provided to lower income families to send their children to school, in order to assist in making the home an acceptable place for children to excel in their studies, and in addition to provide a higher rate of return to schooling.
ii. As the author proposed, in order to give the lower income students a fair opportunity to achieve substantially in school, payments or scholarships should be granted in order to enable this. As a parallel, my argument states that money should be distributed to those in need as a device to help spark equal opportunity between lower and higher income students to attain good grades in school.