30. May 2024

Lower Income than My Upper Class Peers

by Jack Murrow, class of 2028, a Computer Science and Engineering student at Santa Clara University.

Introduction

I am Jack, a Santa Clara University Computer Science and Engineering student. I came from a public high school in a middle-class to upper-class community, where most of my peers were middle-class or upper-class. I was one of the students who had lower incomes at the school compared to my classmates, and there were quite a few others who were lower-income, too, but I wanted to present my experience in high school.

Personal Experience and Effort

I felt that I worked just as hard, or even harder, than some of my classmates but did not get the same rewards or opportunities because many of my classmates already had connections and networking through their parents, where a lot of it had to involve inherited wealth. It was more about knowing people for these specific internships or connections, and since I was at a disadvantage because I did not have connections at all, I had to create many projects on my own without the help of others. I was a hardworking student with an unweighted GPA of 3.98, but it did not help me at all regarding networking or connections.

Fortunately, creating my projects helped me to be more entrepreneurial, so even though other students may have had a vast advantage in networking and connections, I learned many skills through creating my projects.

Access to Resources

My high school had a lot of great teachers, as it was well-funded. Many teachers wanted to help personally, and my counselor was there for me when academics became tough.

Many of my extracurriculars had to be free because I could not afford to pay for internships or other important extracurricular activities. I had done sports, and it took a bit of a toll financially due to the cost, but because most of it was funded by the school, it was not too expensive.

Many students I knew did not have part-time jobs and had much free time on their hands to work on academics, sports, etc. I did have part-time jobs, on and off, and it took a good amount of my time from working on academics, extracurriculars, etc., because I had to help pay my mom.

College Admissions and Future Opportunities

I knew many friends with private college counselors as they were wealthy enough to afford them. I felt disadvantaged because my friends were getting tons of advice on what they could do better on extracurriculars, essays, etc., whereas I was mostly on my own to figure it out.

As a first-generation student, I did not know how to apply well to colleges. I relied on searching online and figuring everything out, as none of my parents were familiar with applying to colleges. I also regretted paying for my college application fees, as it took a huge financial toll on me. I was not in the Free and Reduced Lunch program but did not know other ways to waive the fee. I felt that I made enough money so that I could not waive the fee, but I should have tried to waive it before assuming anything.

Getting into honors and AP classes was tough because I asked teachers if I could get into honors/APs, but they made it seem more challenging. They exaggerated it because I remember first trying it, and it was not as difficult as I thought. There seemed to be a significant barrier between honors/AP classes and regular college-prep classes. However, if not for my courage and resilience, I would have believed I was not good enough and never would have taken it.

Conclusion and Thoughts