Forced Gratitude
Coming from an upper-middle class Korean family, I’ve been fortunate enough to be free from the burdens of financial aid at Yale. To be completely honest, I did not apply for financial aid at all, because Korean applicants are taught that Yale’s need-blind admissions should not be completely trusted, and that Yale prefers internationals who do not request financial aid. The idea of Yale being less friendly towards international students is a pervasive fear for applicants and prospective students, and is hardly alleviated throughout their four years at Yale. The assumption goes: Why would Yale choose to finance a student who will not benefit the U.S.?
My mistrust may be unfair to Yale’s gracious offerings of need-blind admissions to internationals, but that is the myth that pervades, which I believe instills a stronger sense of gratitude for kids from smaller countries like mine. Perhaps that is why it is difficult to find international students willing to speak up against institutional injustice, like the fact that Yale’s financial aid office does not take into account rapidly fluctuating currency rates, inflation, and local tax rates when they consider the financial aid package for internationals.
The student income contribution demands a level of gratitude from all students on financial aid. With this forced gratitude, students from lower-income families are bound to the school, temporally, financially, and I believe--inevitably--mentally. The student income contribution sends the message that students on financial aid should be constantly indebted (literally) to Yale, the generous institution that gave them the opportunity to attend. Attend, but not belong to the student body in the same way as students who are not required to work for the school. Students not on financial aid are not bound to the school, thus are able to have a life outside of it. With temporal, financial, and emotional freedom, we are able to situate ourselves as both students and individuals outside of Yale’s walls. The same cannot be said for students who must bear the burden of the student income contribution. Yale has the financial and social clout to provide a truly equal space for students of all income brackets, and eliminating the student income contribution would be a pivotal step towards equality.
My mistrust may be unfair to Yale’s gracious offerings of need-blind admissions to internationals, but that is the myth that pervades, which I believe instills a stronger sense of gratitude for kids from smaller countries like mine. Perhaps that is why it is difficult to find international students willing to speak up against institutional injustice, like the fact that Yale’s financial aid office does not take into account rapidly fluctuating currency rates, inflation, and local tax rates when they consider the financial aid package for internationals.
The student income contribution demands a level of gratitude from all students on financial aid. With this forced gratitude, students from lower-income families are bound to the school, temporally, financially, and I believe--inevitably--mentally. The student income contribution sends the message that students on financial aid should be constantly indebted (literally) to Yale, the generous institution that gave them the opportunity to attend. Attend, but not belong to the student body in the same way as students who are not required to work for the school. Students not on financial aid are not bound to the school, thus are able to have a life outside of it. With temporal, financial, and emotional freedom, we are able to situate ourselves as both students and individuals outside of Yale’s walls. The same cannot be said for students who must bear the burden of the student income contribution. Yale has the financial and social clout to provide a truly equal space for students of all income brackets, and eliminating the student income contribution would be a pivotal step towards equality.
