Admitted but broke

I start college this week -- Barnard, on a full scholarship. I never thought I'd feel lucky that my parents have virtually no income. I live with my mom, who is a full-time student; my dad teaches part time. Although I'd like to think my scholarship is merit-based, were my parents more comfortably middle class, I would not have been so fortunate. And without a scholarship, there's no way I could afford a school such as Barnard.

The situation is more complicated for my friend E.G., who will be a freshman at his first-choice school this fall, Johns Hopkins University. He was at my house when his dad text-messaged me, asking that I pass along that his ACT score had come -- 34 out of a perfect 36. Last year, he competed in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair with a project in which he figured out how to extract a chemical from sassafras root that treats parasites in beehives and could prevent colony collapse disorder.

His parents met in South Korea, where his father was based during his U.S. military service. E.G.'s mom is an overnight supervisor for Kmart, and his dad is a civil engineer working with flood relief/recovery operations in the Air National Guard. This is information that he has volunteered to me proudly.

E.G. got some scholarship money, but he is having trouble coming up with his share of the costs for one year -- $30,875 -- because, as his dad put it, his family is "in the nether region." Their household income is too much to qualify for substantial financial aid but not enough to pay that amount. In other words, being middle class makes it nearly impossible to afford the college of your choice, even if you get in.

Sure, E.G. could accept one of his more lucrative scholarship offers at another school. But E.G. wants the best, and suggesting that all brilliant middle-class kids should just go to the schools they can afford undermines the meritocracy that we claim as a nation. Those worthy of the best are not the richest or the poorest but the brightest.

The latest U.S. census figures put the median household income in 2006 at $48,200. According to the College Board, the average tuition at a public four-year college is $6,185; for a private one, $23,712. Most top-tier universities are edging up on $40,000. The total cost -- room and board, books, transportation -- at E.G.'s college for the 2008-09 year is $52,578.