Although 58 percent of Amherst students receive some form of financial aid, the widespread assumption persists that students here are free from financial worries.
"The lack of discussion on campus perpetuates that myth. There are people here who are upper-middle class, and that becomes the most visible part of our campus culture," observed Pem Brown '06. This article is intended to aid the class dialogue stirred by recent events.
Through tireless negotiations and fine-tuning, the financial aid office does its best to meet students' needs, and, as a result, students have access to opportunities previously unavailable to them.
Lauren Grau '06 recalled the remarks of a financial aid officer during a training session for the Telementoring program. "One of the things [he] said is that he has one of the best jobs in the world," she said. "All he does is crunch numbers so that he can give people the best financial aid packages possible. Other schools don't have that liberty."
Anthony Paz '08 expressed his appreciation for the school's help. "It's a gift and I want to take full advantage of it. I'm so happy with everything the school has done for me that I want to tell everyone else who thinks that they can't afford it that it's possible," he said.
Oscar Baez '08, born in the Dominican Republic, moved with his family to Boston while Baez was still a toddler. For eight years prior to coming to the College, Baez had been unable to visit his immediate family in the Dominican Republic due to financial reasons.
With the help of a Fellowship for Action, Baez was able to return to the Dominican Republic this Interterm not just to visit his family, but also to work for the Customs Department there.
Despite the best efforts of the financial aid office, some students struggle to make ends meet. For many students, working during the semester is a necessity, not a choice. Students juggle jobs in addition to course work and extracurricular activities, resulting in overextended schedules.
Angelica Cesario '08, who works three jobs–telementoring program, career center and campus police–said, "It's really hard when people of a higher economic class don't have to work [at a job] so hard, and I still have to work just as hard in my classes as everyone else."
Many students take on multiple jobs that require upwards of 10-12 hours per week. When the demands of courses and jobs become overwhelming, extracurricular activities are the first things to be compromised. Tahnee Tangherlini '08, co-chair of La Causa and co-president of La Casa, said, "I have to limit myself to two clubs and three jobs. It's affecting me academically. I'm exhausted." Tangherlini's jobs include shifts at the Telementoring program, A Better Chance (ABC) tutoring and Woodside Children's Center.
The costs of college living present a daunting obstacle course that requires careful planning, often long in advance, in order to make ends meet. Baez commented, "We all like to generalize that we are all 'poor college students.' In a sense it's true, but it's basically not."
Buying books online and at the Option or checking books out on reserve from the library for limited three-hour time blocks, though inconvenient, are all strategies students rely on in order to reduce the steep costs of books. In the face of a restricted budget, some students are not able to go home over breaks and must limit their cell phone use. Cesario will complete paying her two-year payment plan on her laptop a few months from now.
Going out to dinner on the weekends or grabbing a snack at Schwemm's are simply not options for a number of students on campus. Many students on financial aid do not have the luxury of traveling around the world, taking advantage of unpaid internships and volunteering opportunities, or studying abroad.
Students' socioeconomic backgrounds influence their social lives on campus in varying degrees. For some students, sharing experiences with other students from similar backgrounds is reaffirming and comforting, yet class lines are generally not divisive and barely palpable on campus.
Claire Rann '08 feels that class similarities have affected her relationship without determining them. "I find it easier to open up about family issues that are related to our economic status to students who I know are on financial aid than students who are not. But that hasn't defined my relationships here," Rann said. "Most people here don't flaunt how much money their parents have or how much they have." Rann credits the AAS' (Association of Amherst Students) requirement that all events the AAS sponsors be free for creating a more fluid campus culture.
For others, however, the social climate on campus can be more alienating. "It is extremely divisive. All of my friends come from low socioeconomic backgrounds," Tangherlini said. "Just by people's mannerisms and how they dress and how they talk, you can tell what group they belong to."
Some students became more aware of their socioeconomic status upon arriving on campus. Grau remembered her incredulity observing the financial ease of her fellow classmates. "What shocked me the most were the resources they had to pull from. Any money I had to live on, I was making myself," she recalled.
Students on financial aid are keenly cognizant of the sacrifices their parents and families make in order for them to be able to attend the College. Rann, whose father is a police officer, said, "My dad's willing to work extra hours so that I can pay for my books. My parents are willing to make sacrifices like that for me. I am really lucky to have that."
As the first person in her family to attend college, Cesario feels that she has high expectations to live up to. She acknowledged, "It's a lot of pressure to be the first one to go to college. Everyone has high expectations, but everyone back home is really supportive." Her family made plans months in advance in order to pay for hotels and meals during Family Weekend of her first year at the College.
Last fall, Cesario's family rode a bus sponsored by the College along with the families of other students from New York City to Amherst for Family Weekend. To avoid hotel costs, they stayed in her dorm room.
Indeed, the ideal college experience is one that is job-free and carefree, allowing students to wholly devote themselves to their academic and extracurricular activities. Yet, the reality of the college experience for many students on this campus is very, very different.