"The Inequality Machine" -- Book Review

Goodness gracious: The higher education system in the United States is not broken; we need a new system. 

And if you don't think we need a new system, then you should read The Inequality Machine: How Colleges Divide Us by Paul Tough. 

Before reading this book, I already knew that our higher education system favored the wealthy and connected. Just watch Operation Varsity Blues to see how the rich have gamed the admissions process. But after reading it, I now realize that these same inequities dominate not just the admissions process but all phases of the college experience: from applying all the way through graduation and beyond. 

Tough lays out an irrefutable case in his book that colleges allow the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. The hope of achieving upward mobility through a college degree is just a dream that enrollment managers sell to keep their tuition revenue stable. 

It's a pretty dark conclusion especially from a personal standpoint as my children will soon enter the college admission process. Yet it is hard to argue with the facts that Tough lays out: 

• Both rich and poor students, who attend the same colleges, achieve similar levels of success. However, rich and poor students are not attending the same colleges: the rich are attending the most elite schools while the poor are not. 
• Many outreach programs to level the playing field have been successful, but on such a small scale that the results are difficult to measure. 
• The College Board has marketed its efforts to make test prep more equitable yet there has been little change in the fact that SAT scores go hand-in-hand with income, education and race of the parents. 
• Even if admitted to elite colleges, lower income students and students of color feel isolated and alone. The culture of many elite colleges fail to support lower income or racially diverse student bodies. 
• As much as colleges profess equity and inclusion, they still need to admit a large proportion of wealthy students in order to make the university solvent. 
• Graduation rates for students of color and low income students pale in comparison to white or wealthy students. 

Despite these harsh realities, Tough also presents some optimism. He tells of the 10% Rule that has made the University of Texas system more diverse. He shares a successful intervention program at Georgia State to target potential dropouts. And he shows how colleges can create study groups and community outreach to help lower income students who are unprepared for the rigor of college. 

Most importantly, he lays out a case that the United States has historically supported education in ways that could be replicated to decrease inequalities. For example, the GI Bill was a way we got more students into colleges. And the bottom-up initiatives by U.S. citizens from 1910-1940 created a culture around the importance of high school. 

Ultimately, Tough calls for a change. He argues that, "If you create an economic system in which achieving financial stability depends on obtaining a product that costs a lot of money, social mobility will inevitably decline.” And since the pandemic of 2020 further exposed the vast inequities in the system, "Change can’t come soon enough."

So if you agree with Tough that "Our collective public education benefits us all," then now is the time for change. Let's look at each step of the college experience--from considering college attendance, to applying, to accepting an offer, to financing the education, to graduating and to entering the work place--and revamp the entire process to make it more open to more students regardless of race, income level or background.

Yes, we have some work to do. But if we truly believe that education is a path towards upward mobility, then now is the time to make sure that path is inviting and welcoming to all.

"The Price You Pay for College" -- Book Review

Simply put, The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make by Ron Lieber is required reading for any parent navigating the finances of sending a child to college in the United States. 

This book thoroughly digs into the details of college costs, financial aid, merit aid and how to balance the financial decisions of paying for college with the goals and aspirations of the educational experience. While it may be most useful for families with younger children, all families with children will find a lot of practical information. 

For example, some of my favorite nuggets are: 

• College tuition has gone up but so have the discounts. 
• Financial aid may be need-based but merit aid is a marketing tool that colleges use for all students to lure all them away from competing schools. And there is much more merit aid than athletic scholarships. 
• If you were to save just $75 a month over 18 years in a 529 plan or similar, you could save $25,000 towards the cost of college.
• Consider the cost of college as a series of fractions: save 1/3 before your child attends, pay 1/3 while the child attends and borrow 1/3. This fractional approach can take away some of the fear of affording college. 
• Financial aid offers, including merit aid offers, can be appealed with some professional communication and persistent outreach. 

In addition to this practical information, the most helpful parts of this book might be the questions posed to its readers. By distilling the college experience into three primary objectives--learning, kinship and credentials--Lieber raises a litany of questions that families need to answer early in the college planning process to help evaluate what they can expect to pay and what they can expect in return. 

For example, since the "student:faculty" ratio is such a popular metric in marketing colleges (and thus subject to manipulation), Lieber recommends that families clarify this metric by asking, "What percentage of class time is spent in smaller classes?" 

Or when considering the return on investment of paying for a residential undergraduate experience, parents should ask, "How residential is the campus? As in, how many students live on campus and how long does it take to walk across campus?" 

And my personal favorite: "How does the university measure student learning?" 

Lieber does not answer these questions for the parents. Instead, he lists them so parents can be become more informed and aware of where their money is going. Some families might be willing to pay extra for a small, liberal arts, residential experience while it may make more sense for other families to pursue the community college route with a defined plan (which Lieber provides). 

In addition, Lieber cites numerous books, blogs, podcasts and resources that are sure to help families navigate the "biggest financial decision" they will make. 

While readers may finish the book with more questions than answers, the questions are personal and all parents should take the time to answer them in order to maximize the value of the cost of college. 

Perhaps the only criticism I might humbly offer is the format: the content might be easier to digest if the nuggets, facts and questions were listed in bullet form. But that is just a personal preference. The book is easy-to-follow with direct and succinct points. 

In sum, Lieber does a fabulous job of framing the balance between what families pay and what they can or should expect. If saving for college, paying for college or just college in general is anywhere in the future for your child, pick up this book and make lots of notes.

With two teenagers myself, this book spoke to me personally. And it's not just about the money. It is about what that money can buy when it comes to a university experience. 

Many thanks, Mr. Lieber, for your insightful take on college financing and the value behind it. I am more equipped to continue this journey and more prepared to have frank conversations with my teenagers about college and its costs. 

And if you wish to access more merit aid by improving your GPA or SAT/ACT score, contact CROSSWALK today. CROSSWALK is the Monterey Peninsula's local resource for academic tutoring and test prep. 

"Indebted: How Families Make College Work at Any Cost" -- Book Review

In "Indebted: How Families Make College Work at Any Cost," author Caitlin Zaloom pulls back the curtain on the world of college financing. Zaloom delivers an eye-opening look at the policies and procedures in place for families who are considering how to pay for college.  

Zaloom's central argument is that the challenge of college financing has reshaped the middle class experience in the United States. The middle class, as Zaloom defines for the purposes of her book, are those families who are too wealthy to receive major financial aid for college tuition yet not wealthy enough to pay for the full college fare. Parents in this class have the culturally engrained belief that an investment in college is a moral obligation to provide for their children. 

As a result, Zaloom argues, these families organize their entire lives around how to pay for college. They start saving early in their children's lives, then sign for loans to pay for college, and finally continue to pay for college loans well after the child has graduated. 

Zaloom cites the rising cost of college as a major challenge for these families. In addition to this obvious point, Zaloom points out many other obstacles that middle class families encounter when deciding how to pay for college. For example, most middle class families don't typically talk about finance openly. Also, Zaloom details how the U.S. government has shifted the burden of college financing from grants to loans over the last several decades allowing the banking sector to leverage great influence on families. She then identifies how financial instruments like 529 plans favor a small segment of the middle class: those who are financially savvy. And she points out that financial aid models are not accounting for more modern familial structures. 

Zaloom ultimately balances anecdotal stories of several middle class families around the country with facts from her own research and other historical data. She presents ironies, inefficiencies and downright inequalities in the U.S. model and calls for a new way to approach college financing. Zaloom offers the Australian model, which calculates student loan payments based on income earned after college, as one way to lessen the burden of college debt. 

This book is not a playbook for families trying to figure out how to pay for college. It is not a ranking of the best 529 plans or a strategic guidebook to getting financial aid. So if you are looking for a book on on how to pay for college, this is not your book.

However, this is a book for you if you want to understand the "Student Finance Complex," which Zaloom defines as policies linking  families to universities, government programs and financial institutions. Or if you want to understand "Enmeshed Authority," which Zaloom explains as the paradox parents face in both engendering independence for children while also providing ongoing financial assistance even after college to pay student debt, then this is your book. 

In all, "Indebted: How Families Make College Work at Any Cost" is informative, illuminating and enlightening. Personally, I hope the players involved in the "Student Finance Complex," like the universities, banks and government institutions, take a long look at Zaloom's findings. The system is creating great stress on many families. 

And we see this at CROSSWALK. Some families hire us to prepare their children for the SAT and ACT because they know that improved test performance can be a way to access merit-based financial aid. While this strategy is proven, it can create undue stress on some families.

While reading this book, it is hard to not be cynical. Does the United States really care about educating our middle class? As Zaloom asks, do we value higher education for the opportunity it can provide? Or is it just about the money?