Being a student on significant financial aid/scholarships is not an entirely new experience for me given that I also got a scholarship to a prep school in high school, but I'll never forget the first conversation I had where someone actually told me that they are able to pay full Carleton tuition. I felt like I was in the room with a celebrity or something. Later (this was freshman year) I saw some statistics that showed the percentages of people on financial aid and their incomes and again I was just shocked by the number of people from wealthier backgrounds. Honestly, seeing those numbers made me feel a little ashamed and small. There have been several other instances throughout my time here that brought class into my life in real ways: when one of my extracurriculars required a surprise $100 fee for certain events, hearing where people are going on their break trips, realizing that not all people working campus jobs have to apply all their earnings to tuition and realizing what a difference that would have made over the last four years. I've had very few conversations with people about class over these four years (I could probably count them on one hand) just because most of my friends are significantly wealthier than I am and I don't want them to feel uncomfortable, or worse, to pity me. I do feel bitter sometimes, as I've had to spend more time stressing about money than many of my friends, but I'm still trying to find productive ways to have conversations without guilt or shame.
- Laura Freymiller
- Laura Freymiller