OVER 540 STUDENTS ARE TAKING A STAND
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¿Cero dólares?


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The financial aid system at Yale is downright confusing. So confusing, in fact, that it seems intentionally deceitful. The first Yale award arrived on my doorstep sometime in 2014 and, at the time, I thought I had been kissed by plump, exuberant angels from on high. ¿Cero dólares? Cero dolores, virgen santíssima. Little did I know the mess I would get myself into later that year because of the Student Income Contribution. I still remember the confusing phone calls attempting to explain to my parents what the hell this or that term means, translating to Spanish whenever possible. Only an economics major could pull such a Herculean feat off. Actually, I doubt that even they could do so.

The simple fact that Yale's administration took no care, made no investment in making matters of money clear to my freshman self caused me a lot of grief freshman year. There was no FroCo session on it, no well-advertised town hall. All there was, and still is, is a skeptical office where quick appointments are made, often after low-income students have already accidentally tossed themselves in the cauldron.

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  • Photo Campaign
  • Endorsements
  • About
    • Report
    • Press
  • Testimonies
    • The Keys to Sterling
    • Yale, What's Going on Here?
    • ¿Cero Dólares?
    • Passing as a Yale Student
    • "I Just Work Here"
    • Apologize for Living
    • The Most Expensive Computer
    • Hard Reality Hardly Promised
    • The Boys' Club and Academic Alienation
    • We Both Had Meaningful Work
    • Why Do You Think We're Here?
    • "Special Circumstances"
    • This Message is a Facade
    • Read More
  • Submit