Snow Boots
Getting into Yale was the culmination of all the sleepless nights and canceled plans throughout my high school career. For months I dreamed of what it would be like, even before I had committed to enrolling. Once I arrived on campus, I wanted to do anything to make this dream of mine come true. And Yale made it seem that they would do the same. Countless times, I was assured that money wouldn't be a problem and that Yale was so generous with its aid that none of its students would have to take out loans to pay for their education. So, at least temporarily, I laid that worry to rest.
Being raised in under the unforgiving South Florida sun, the worry that naturally followed was rooted in the fact that I didn't own so much as a pair of wool socks, much less a sturdy coat or winter boots. As the days of my first semester got shorter and the nights got colder, it became increasingly important for me to figure out exactly what I needed. I was definitely blindsided by (what seems to me to be) the ridiculously high prices of winter clothes. but I saved what I could from my off-campus job and got what I could afford, and skipped a few lunches to get the rest with my Durfee's swipe (gloves, hats, etc.). There were many days where I came home with wet socks and frozen toes, and it took me a while to realize this wasn't normal, but rather fairly dangerous.
This winter, I remembered one of the resources that was so often cited to me in my early days. There was money set aside each year for students to buy winter gear, and all I had to do was extend an open hand, and I would surely have my needs taken care of. Such is the deified generosity of Yale. I applied for a $250 grant and wrote a detailed description of my situation and what I planned to buy. I hoped, in the worst case scenario, I would get at least half of it. I promptly received an email that I would not be granted any additional help for winter supplies, it simply wasn't in the budget. Out of 29 billion dollars, Yale couldn’t find a way to give me fifty dollars to buy a pair of actually waterproof snow boots. Although Yale’s aid system is lauded for its reform and improvement in recent years, but it is far from perfect. It is far from holistic, it is far from nuanced. And it will never get to be any of those things without true commitment to listening to the stories and understanding the experiences of students with financial needs.
Being raised in under the unforgiving South Florida sun, the worry that naturally followed was rooted in the fact that I didn't own so much as a pair of wool socks, much less a sturdy coat or winter boots. As the days of my first semester got shorter and the nights got colder, it became increasingly important for me to figure out exactly what I needed. I was definitely blindsided by (what seems to me to be) the ridiculously high prices of winter clothes. but I saved what I could from my off-campus job and got what I could afford, and skipped a few lunches to get the rest with my Durfee's swipe (gloves, hats, etc.). There were many days where I came home with wet socks and frozen toes, and it took me a while to realize this wasn't normal, but rather fairly dangerous.
This winter, I remembered one of the resources that was so often cited to me in my early days. There was money set aside each year for students to buy winter gear, and all I had to do was extend an open hand, and I would surely have my needs taken care of. Such is the deified generosity of Yale. I applied for a $250 grant and wrote a detailed description of my situation and what I planned to buy. I hoped, in the worst case scenario, I would get at least half of it. I promptly received an email that I would not be granted any additional help for winter supplies, it simply wasn't in the budget. Out of 29 billion dollars, Yale couldn’t find a way to give me fifty dollars to buy a pair of actually waterproof snow boots. Although Yale’s aid system is lauded for its reform and improvement in recent years, but it is far from perfect. It is far from holistic, it is far from nuanced. And it will never get to be any of those things without true commitment to listening to the stories and understanding the experiences of students with financial needs.
