“The idea is for the university to know you well enough to expect something from you,” said Sara Goldrick-Rab, professor of sociology and medicine at Temple University and author of Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid and the Betrayal of the American dream. “You get those words very early in the relationship, and they don’t really know you. It does not build trust. “
Then comes the kick: this expectation may just be the beginning. “A college generally expects students to pay more than EFC,” said Robert Kelchen, associate professor of higher education at Seton Hall University and author of Higher Education Accountability.
Everyone in the family
For students who are applying for college right after high school, the “family” in OBE usually means parents, as it is almost impossible for students to work through college in any reasonable amount of time.
But the OBE does not make allowances for families where the parent believes that a child should try to do so. Or when parents look suspiciously at higher education because they see no value in it and then decide not to help. Or when students feel an obligation to help their parents, even (or especially) if the parents are unable to help them.
Strangeness also complicates things. “With LGBTQ students, people really start to understand the problem right away,” said Goldrick-Rab. “When a 19-year-old comes and gets cut, what is family now?”
EFC also does not make allowances for extended families and obligations to elderly parents, aunts, siblings or a chosen family.
“This negates any responsibility that may be elsewhere,” said Zaloom.
And contributions ?!
In expressing the final word of the OBE in the language of charity, the federal financial aid system tries to soften the blow. Sure, powerful forces are demanding from parents, whether they like it or not, but at least it’s kind of a gift. Right?