In this article, the author reflects on his feelings as a working-class transplant into academic culture and the middle class. He draws on his feelings of alienation from the people who surround him and his observations of the cultural subordination necessary to succeed in the middle class world to explain his desire to do more to help other…

A recent flurry of announcements from some of the wealthiest and most competitive private colleges brought welcome news to lower- and middle-income families. Many Ivy League institutions, along with dozens of smaller colleges that also attract high-achieving students, unveiled student-aid plans that will significantly lower the cost of attendance…

Recent efforts to deal with college affordability, including measures now before Congress, raise many questions: Why does college cost so much? How can students ever be expected to pay back their loan debt? Why does the middle class always get squeezed? America's historical commitment to the education of its citizens is perhaps the most important…

This article reports that the number of international students enrolled in American colleges in the fall of 2007 shattered previous records and represents the largest one-year increase in decades, according to new data from the Institute of International Education. Educators and government officials say the bounce indicates that hostile…

A college acceptance letter has long been seen as the ticket to the middle class for students from low-income families. Simply getting into college these days is not enough. Where financially needy students enroll makes a difference--sometimes a big difference--in whether they will ever earn a bachelor's degree. This article discusses graduation…

Selective colleges are undergoing intense scrutiny these days when it comes to student aid. The decisions of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, and other private institutions to expand their aid packages for students from less-affluent families have drawn both high praise and heavy fire: high praise for making themselves more…

Middle-class moderates had begun to adopt the confrontational tactics of student protesters when the ruling party in South Korea made dramatic concessions to opposition demands for direct presidential elections. It indicates that politics is beginning to bow to societal conditions. (MLW)

State low-interest college loans programs for middle-class families have emerged in response to restrictions on federally subsidized Stafford Loans. The key difference between federal and state programs is that most state programs require student borrowers and cosigners to prove good credit risks, reducing loan default and making the programs…

The federal Hope Scholarship program, designed as a middle-class tax break, required substantial negotiation and diverse, often conflicting tactics to become policy. The story of the idea's creation and its journey to policy, based on interviews with over three dozen college officials, Clinton administration aides, lawmakers, and others is…

This article reports on efforts of various private colleges to attract students, including admission of more students, large tuition discounts, achievement-based scholarships, and loans which convert to grants if academic achievement is high. Efforts are intended to attract more middle-income students away from the cheaper public institutions. (DB)

Students from middle-income families are losing their Guaranteed Student Loans this fall as the changes in the Higher Education Act are implemented. The changes are aimed at making sure loans would be provided only to the lowest-income students. (MLW)

Fewer students from families with moderate incomes are enrolling at colleges and universities with the drop greatest for highly selective private and public institutions. The trend may be a result of increasing costs of college attendance and of fewer numbers of families in the middle-income group. (DB)

Several elite private colleges have announced additional financial aid sources for middle class students, because enrollment patterns suggested previous policies attracted proportionately more low- and high-income than middle-income students. One college feels the new policy encourages families to save for college. Critics say the institutions are…

Princeton University (New Jersey) is planning to replace loans with grants for students with annual family incomes under $40,000, and will stop considering the value of the family's home in determining need for most families with incomes under $90,000. The move will likely give the institution a competitive advantage in attracting low- and…