On April 1, Bloomberg published a piece entitled “Ten Elite Schools Where Middle-Class Kids Don’t Pay Tuition.” Number 3 on that list is Cornell.
The list represents “the top schools that students from a range of middle-class families can attend, tuition-free” and cites relevant tuition policies. For Cornell, Bloomberg cites the fact that families making under $60,000 per year pay no tuition.
However, talk to any Cornell student who self-identifies as somewhere in the middle class, and he or she will certainly disagree with Bloomberg.
Just yesterday, the Cornell Daily Sun published a staff editorial about Cornell’s affordability, writing “the price to attend Cornell and universities across the nation remains high because less financial aid is available to [middle-class students].” Before spring break, student protesters attempted to infiltrate a Board of Trustees meeting in order to express their discontent with the rising cost of attending Cornell.
By definition, the “middle class” must include the median U.S. income, which in 2013 was $51,939, according to the Wall Street Journal. Furthermore, a 2013 Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll seems to indicate that the $50,000-$75,000 range is what most people consider middle class. Therefore it seems Bloomberg’s assertion that middle class kids at Cornell don’t pay tuition is quite true.
The problem is that many families earn too much to qualify for Cornell’s generous financial aid but too little to pay for tuition with ease, and the burden is compounded when parents have to support more than one child’s tuition. Most likely, these families’ yearly income is $100,000 or more, but these families are likely to consider themselves middle class too, especially if that combined yearly income is the sum of two $50,000 middle-class jobs. Going forward, it will only be the case that more families earning $100,000 and more will start self-identifying as middle class, and Cornell’s affordability will continue to become more and more taxing on these middle-class families.
All in all, reading this Bloomberg piece was quite disheartening. A good laugh though.
Middle class has always been a non-scientific, hazy concept at best. People tend to “self-identify” as middle class no matter what their income level, except at the very highest level (over $100,000). It is more of an attitude than a useful economic or sociological concept. Income level is also related to your geographic location. Here in the boondocks an income of $100,000 is quite substantial…in NYC not so much. Bottom line, a college education costs much more, even taking into account inflation, than it did 40 years ago when I attended. Let the buyer beware.