Blog #5

Maybe I was lucky and chose the right school, but I could not relate to what Vicki Madden was talking about in “Why Poor Students Struggle.” I understand where Madden is coming from with regards to how poor students are failing to graduate college because of the difference in their worlds at school and at home, but I just could not relate to it. I do not consider my family poor because I am not exactly sure what being poor means nowadays as the income gap continues to widen. We are not exactly in the middle class either, but we are getting by every month with what we have.

Perhaps it was easier for me to adjust to college life at SDSU because there are more people who are like me than there are those who are not. Most of my classmates live alone as opposed to living with their parents like I do, so they are simply getting by each month on the hourly wage they make. There are some people who are exceptions because their world is entirely different from mine, but I do not associate with them (not on purpose, it just happened that way) so I never had to deal with my world being compared with theirs.  

Financial aid covered my tuition and also gave me extra money for my books and living expenses, so the hardest part about going to school for me was the struggle of getting out of bed in the morning after staying up late the night before (like I am doing now as I am writing this blog at 1:30 AM…). However, the thought of not graduating college has never once crossed my mind. Rather, my mind was filled with thoughts like, “I need to graduate in 4 years or less,” and “Can I squeeze in an extra minor or major within four years?” My upbringing and especially my parents are the reason why I think this way. Graduating college is like eating or drinking water to me. It’s something that is going to happen no matter what and I can only think of a few things that is going to stop it, like the world ending.

SDSU is not exactly an elite school so the income gap here is not as big as say, the Ivy League schools. Maybe I would be able to relate more with what Madden is saying if I were in such an environment. Perhaps it is also my pride in my accomplishments thus far and my confidence in my abilities that I don’t question myself about whether I have the right to be here.

I will say though that how I act at home is different than how I act at school. Being the only English speaker of my household, I am the person in charge of everything such as paying the bills or contacting people when a problem arises. My parents depend on me so that is who I need to be at home. Meanwhile, there aren’t people relying on me at school so I don’t have that type of responsibility. Instead, I have to be outgoing and network with others because it is important to make connections while in college. This is especially true for my career field as a marketer since we depend on connections to move up the ladder.  

Overall, I think the most important thing for kids in lower socioeconomic background is for their parents to be supportive of their education. While I understand that those whose conditions are worse than mine will need to work in order to help their family, it is still possible to graduate if their family is supporting them. There are online classes and classes at different time of the day, so it can work if they are motivated and have supportive parents.