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Equality

People shared their experiences encountering insanely rich kids for the first time

"Her parents used to call her and check on her because she 'wasn't spending enough money.'"

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Are they out of touch with reality or just living in a different one?

Most people grow up going to schools where people are of a similar social status. Lower-income people tend to grow up with people in the same situation and affluent people usually grow up around people who are rich as well. But things can change dramatically in college. People who are from completely different sides of the socioeconomic spectrum attend class together and sometimes wind up sharing the same dorm room.

One student can be there on a scholarship and have a part-time job to make ends meet. The other may be on a massive allowance from their parents who pay full tuition without batting an eye. What exacerbates the issue is that many people go through college dirt poor. If they have a job, it's often low-paying, they can't work many hours and they aren't old enough to have accumulated any wealth. According to the Lumina Foundation, a nonprofit based in Indianapolis dedicated to providing "opportunities for learning beyond high school" for all, 47% of today's college students don't have or rely on parental support, and of those students, one in four live below the poverty line.

The differences are stark. So stark that seeing one of your peers wasting other people's hard-earned money can be downright stupefying. It can also seem highly immoral for some to have so much and not appreciate it when others are struggling to get by.

College is also a time when people begin to learn about income inequality and why it exists.

college students, income, inequality, socioeconomic status, richIncome inequality becomes more obvious in college. Image via Canva.

In the summer of 2020, freelance journalist Jake Bittle started a fun conversation on Twitter where people shared stories of some of the insanely rich kids they knew in college. Many of the responses came from people who went to the University of Chicago.

Bittle's story started with seeing a girl open her laptop to reveal a ton of money in her bank account while they were taking a class on Marxism. The tweet inspired people to share stories of the insanely rich kids they met in college and how some of them were terribly wasteful with their money.

(Jake has since deleted his original tweet.)


shock, rich kids, college, students, socioeconomic spectrumDonald Glover Reaction GIFGiphy


facepalm, insanely rich kids, rich, college studentsJudge Judy No GIF by Agent M Loves GifsGiphy


One thing really becomes apparent when reading all of these Tweets: the severe lack of financial literacy among the college students in these anecdotes. According to EBSCO, over 40% of college students are "still not equipped with adequate financial literacy knowledge and skills." This also touches on the correlation between student debt and financial literacy. A 2024 study from Auburn University published by the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) notes that students with more than $100,000 in student debt especially lack "adequate financial understanding," exacerbating the student debt crisis.

student debt, student, finances, financial literary, rich, poorThe student debt crisis affects millions.

No matter what side of the socioeconomic spectrum these students hail from, it's well known that schools do not take the time to educate students on real-life skills like taxes, banking, budgeting, etc. before they head out into the world. Even if a student's affluent family hasn't wised them up to how money works in the real world, imagine how much better off everyone would be if we were required to take financial literacy courses before we hit adulthood?

This article originally appeared five years ago.

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I escaped generational poverty by  amassing college debt. Loan forgiveness will change lives.

My own children have never experienced coming home to no lights or running water. They will never have to escape from poverty because they don't come from it and I don't know that I'd be able to say the same if I didn't make the choice to accept student loans.

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I escaped poverty by going into debt.

I don't come from money. In fact, I come from the stark opposite. My mother was one of nine children who grew up in an abusive household that was well below the poverty line and her mother grew up poorer than she did. This cycle of poverty goes back as far as I can trace, so it's no surprise that I also grew up poor. There were days when the only thing we had to eat was peanut butter on a spoon during the day to keep us satiated until dinner because it was the only meal that day.

That's not for lack of trying on my parent's part. My stepdad worked a full-time job and lived the hustle life before it became coined by millennials and slapped on a mug. The one thing that was consistently impressed upon me by my parents was the importance of going to college so I could do better than the generation before me. But there wasn't a roadmap for me to follow. Neither of my parents had gone to college at the time and really didn't know the requirements to get in nor the process of applying for financial aid. Since this was before Google, there was no information readily available at my fingertips. There was no financial literacy to pass down to their children when their only goal was survival.

The Biden Administration has done something unprecedented in the history of the United States by forgiving $10,000 of student loan debt for Americans making less than $125,000 a year (less than $250,000 if married or head of household). If you received Pell Grant assistance while in college, you qualify for up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness. To qualify for the Pell Grant you have to be in great financial need, which means I also received this money to assist with college expenses. But contrary to what some believe, the Pell Grant isn't a large sum of money, so loans are still necessary, even for people like me who worked while in school. Escaping poverty is expensive and exhausting and a program like this will help others break the cycle.

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While most are focused on the loans being forgiven, there's a piece of information being overlooked that could make a big impact on people's lives. Under the new debt relief plan, people who are on an income-based repayment plan can now cap their monthly payments at 5% of their income. Previously the repayment amount was capped at 10% of a person's income.

Obviously such a big move has set off a firestorm of conversation around who should and shouldn't get it, or if it should be done at all. But the conversations around student loan forgiveness don't account for the fact that not everyone starts from the same place at the starting line. It's easy to say people should know what they're getting into when signing up for student loans if you grew up with a different set of circumstances.

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For people like me, student loans were the only way out of poverty and I'd do it again. Because I took out debt to pay for a college education, my children won't have to do the same. They will now have a financially literate parent to walk them through the process, explain complicated forms and help them find more cost-effective alternatives. My own children have never experienced coming home to no lights or running water. They will never have to escape from poverty because they don't come from it and I don't know that I'd be able to say the same if I didn't make the choice to accept student loans.

While forgiving $10,000 to $20,000 worth of student debt for a select group of people isn't ideal, this could open up the door to future borrowers. The awareness around predatory lending to students, the continuously growing cost of college and the stagnation of wages could lead to real policy change that would impact everyone. No student should be saddled with insurmountable debt just for getting an education and this is hopefully the first step toward ending this practice.

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Free college is becoming a reality across America as 30th state is set to pass funding bill

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Graduation is easier to celebrate when you're debt-free.

Taking on college-related debt is something that most Americans now expect when graduating high school, especially if their parents are middle class or working poor. There are only so many scholarships to go around and so much you can earn from work study. In fact, the average millennial has just under $40,000 in student loan debt and Americans owe around $1.7 trillion in student loans. Taking on large amounts of debt fresh out of high school has become the norm, but that may be changing soon.

Some states are already offering two free years of college for graduating high school students, and now the 30th state is ready to sign on to do the same. Some states are taking it further than two years of free college and extending it to four years with the option to use the program for trade and technical schools as well. In New Mexico, the Opportunity Scholarship provides free college to its residents and expands that even further to include adult learners, returning students and immigrants regardless of immigration status. That last provision is unheard of, because, contrary to popular belief, undocumented immigrants are not typically able to participate in any sort of government funding or programs due to their lack of social security number and other documentation needed for participation.

The long-term effects of free college could be massive for the average American. It would open up the door for other opportunities that may have otherwise been hindered by holding so much college debt. Homeownership would be easier to come by for graduates due to an inherently lower debt-to-income ratio. It could also allow college graduates to save more money for retirement, a down payment on a house or to open their own business because they wouldn’t have to spend a large portion of their earnings on student loan payments. This could help bridge some of the wealth gap between higher earners and people that went into a lower paying profession such as teaching or social work.

Thirty states signing on to this type of initiative would bring us much closer to having universal college. And this would help give a fighting chance to those who may feel like they started life on the lowest rung. New Mexico’s Higher Education Department Secretary Stephanie Rodriguez told CNBC, “We want to be the national example of how you create a higher education ecosystem system that’s inclusive and accessible, so nobody is turned away from the opportunity to go to college.”

Maine would be state number 30 to allow for free college if the bill passes. Governor Janet Mills has proposed a plan that would make two years of community college free. When speaking to CNBC, Morley Winograd, president and CEO of the Campaign for Free College Tuition, said "If we get to 50, it's mission accomplished." Most are “last dollar” scholarships, which essentially means that any federal aid and private scholarships would be applied first, and the state-funded scholarships would cover the remaining balance.

If all 50 states signed bills similar to the ones in the other 29 states, it would make free college a reality and many families struggling with how to afford to send their children to college would rejoice.

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There are frustrating reasons LGBTQ students are more in debt than their peers.

From legalizing marriage equality to advocating for society to better understand the fluidity of gender and sexuality, activists have made incredible strides for queer and trans rights and success in the U.S.

But there's a group of LGBTQ individuals that's struggling, and it's clear that changes need to be made.

LGBTQ college graduates have, on average, $16,000 more in student loan debt than the general population, according to Student Loan Hero.

Through a survey, they found that 60% of LGBTQ students regret taking out student loans, and more than a quarter of respondents feel that their debt is not manageable. Queer students face an uphill battle against student loan debt, falling even further in the debt hole than their peers.

So, why is this happening?

Miranda Marquit, the report's lead author, says there's a chance that a lack of strong familial support may be behind it.

"Only 39% [of those surveyed] feel completely accepted by their families," Marquit writes in an email to Upworthy. "Some of these borrowers might not receive the same level of support that other students receive, including the ability to live at home (33% report being kicked out) or direct financial support, leaving [them] with little option but to borrow more."

Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images.

In addition to lacking family support and housing, Marquit found that many borrowers often feel the need to "prove themselves" at more prestigious — and often more expensive — schools.

"Anecdotal evidence from people we've talked to indicates that there is some added pressure to show that they are super-successful and can 'make it' at more prestigious schools, which can also lead to higher debt," Marquit writes.

Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images.

LGBTQ students also face discrimination when applying for more affordable loans and jobs, leading to long-term debt challenges.

Queer financial expert John Schneider corroborates Marquit's findings, adding via email that "many respondents to the survey said they've been discriminated against when applying for loans because they're LGBTQ. Consequently, these students may have assumed loans with less ideal, less competitive terms."

Discrimination against marginalized groups is nothing new in in this country.

Landlords frequently refused to give black Americans home loans before the Fair Housing Act in 1968, limiting black mobility and financial well-being; banks have discriminated against black and Latinx homebuyers for decades; and Asian business owners have reported discrimination in regards to health inspections for years.

The reality is that discrimination has had a persistent, pervasive impact on marginalized groups. And its effects go beyond student debt.

LGBTQ borrowers are 53% more likely than the general population to make under $50,000 per year, and less than half reported having a retirement savings account, according to the report. With limited financial stability, not only are LGBTQ graduates in debt, they're struggling just to make a dent in it.

A lot of this, according to Schneider, has to do with how we treat LGBTQ people in the first place. "We need to start truly valuing LGBTQ people and people of all diversity and backgrounds," Schneider writes. "Kicking your son or daughter out of your home or making them run away for their safety makes you an unfit parent, and society should hold you accountable. Not treating someone equal because they're LGBTQ, black, female, etc., makes you unfit for your job, and your company should let you go."

Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images.

While the statistics are frustrating, Marquit and Schneider believe that there's room for progress.

Marquit points out that schools could more effectively focus on better student loan education efforts to inform LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ students alike of debt realities.

Schneider says to make sure that Pride isn't just reflected on a banner but also in hiring and financial practices.

"Depending on your LGBTQ status, we can still be denied housing, employment, and services in 28-30 states in this country," Schneider writes. "So, while we appreciate the Fortune 500 companies attending and sponsoring Pride this month and putting rainbows in the logos for June, how about they push for the equality of their employees, past, present, and future, in those 28–30 states for the next 11 months?"

Our LGBTQ students deserve more, and our schools, financial institutions, and the general public can help ensure they have the financial health they deserve.

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