Helping out financial aid
The Board of Visitors Finance Committee's proposal to reduce the amount of financial aid to out-of-state students would eliminate the minute specks of diversity already existing at the University. Coming from a socioeconomically disadvantaged community in New York City, I have helped shift the University's student demographics, while also benefitting hugely from the financial aid system. Attending school out of state was something I never thought I could do because I came from an economically disadvantaged family. The University's financial aid system, however, has given me access to a variety of opportunities. I am the only person from my neighborhood in the South Bronx going to college right now, mainly because no one in my neighborhood considers college a priority or has access to buffers from financial hardship.