Why my low income background should be the rule not the exception at Brown

If you’ve kept up with social media, then you may have seen a New York Times study that breaks down economic stats of students at colleges and universities across the nation.

Among these breakdowns are median incomes of students’ families and percentages of students who come from the top and bottom income brackets. These studies also showed the glaring disparities between the financially “elite” and the low-income students.

Being at Brown has been a blessing, but there are times when differences in financial status between me and my classmates are pretty obvious.

Growing up, I didn’t realize that I was low-income until I entered high school. As school fees arose more often, and once I had to start considering financial options for college, I could tell that we struggled more than others.

For most of my life, my mother has been the only one financially supporting me and my grandmother, so we’ve been living paycheck to paycheck. The scholarship I received through the QuestBridge National College Match program is the only reason I am able to attend Brown. Without it, I might not even be in college right now.

Even so, there are times that I question the support that Brown provides for its low-income and first-generation students. Few of them know about resources that may exist or feel comfortable seeking help, often from the lack of support and information readily available.

Brown and other wealthy schools can boast multi-million-dollar artwork, additions, or donations, but can’t provide better financial assistance for students who aren’t legacy kids or children of the elite.

It often feels like they cater more to the students from the wealthiest families and just leave the rest of us the crumbs.

Low-income and first-generation students need to be more visible on college campuses because unlike many of our classmates, we didn’t have the resources and proper preparation for college. Many of us have lived on monthly incomes that are probably some people’s weekly allowances.

We are at these “elite” institutions not because our parents attended these schools or because we share the same last name with an influential figure in history. We are here because, despite our background and circumstances, we defied the odds. We vowed to make our parents proud, to provide a better life for our future children, to help our families, to improve the lives of others so they don’t have to struggle.

The nation’s top colleges are portrayed as where the “best and brightest minds go,” but what about those who are bright but cannot afford an education at these schools?

By doing more to help those of us who weren’t born in the top 20%, colleges would foster more inclusive environments for students from all backgrounds and help more students become successful. We still exist, and we need to be heard.