thoughts after reading ‘no point in applying’

The nature of social reproduction can be defined as the processes by which social classes tend to perpetuate and continue to remain in this class for generations to come. In addition to this, social institutions such as politics, education and the economy continue to perpetuate these notions of unbudging social classes, maintaining the notion of collective identity. In addition to this, social mobility (the movement of an individual through the social hierarchy) seems to halt through social reproduction, making sure the individual remains in the same social class. In a similar way, Radford’s research elaborates on the manner in which one social institution, education, is often the cause for either social mobility in a student’s life (allowing for them to be open to more opportunities and a brighter future), or social reproduction (restricting them to the social confines of their family’s social beliefs and financial restraints). In Karen's example, we can see that she fell victim to the nature of social reproduction, for the simple reason that her family said, ““It’s a school. You’ll get a degree.””. This meant that Karen not only perpetuated a mindset that put her at a disadvantage despite her academic and extracurricular achievements, but this meant that she couldn’t even attempt to raise her family’s social class by being the only one to attend college. In a stark contrast, we can see that the nature of social reproduction is seen from the alternate viewpoint - the student that is financially stable and has good enough grades to attend an Ivy League college as an example. This student’s family may already know some alumni, have relatives that have already gone to this college, and “were more comfortable with the idea of attending a college farther from home”. I believe that the nature of social reproduction and the lack of social mobility possible is only putting poorer valedictorians at a disadvantage. Quoting the rock band, Queen, it would only be harder for them to “break free”.

In the similar way that the lack of social mobility poses a problem, predictors of wealth attainment such as income, age, family size and occupation (here, socioeconomic status) also provide a disadvantage for the less financially advantaged students. With the example of Karen’s family observing the “sticker prices” of universities, and basing their decision on the fact that the price was higher than the income the family received, Karen’s application experience to other higher ranking colleges was simply considered, ““no point in applying”''.  Here, the socioeconomic status of income influenced Karen’s education decision, making her choose a university that was lower ranked, and not to her high-achieving academic standard. Similarly another factor that played a role in influencing her decision was the manner in which her family had never attended college (the factor here being education). When asked why she didn’t look into or apply to more selective universities that appealed more to her credentials, she replied, ““Maybe just because no one told me to consider anything else. I don’t know. That’s what I knew.”” . This quote was probably the one that stuck out to me the most, mainly because of how unfortunate it was for her to not be able to receive support from her guidance counsellor, or her family in helping her choose the correct step for her future. The way in which lower income families receive information about universities ought to be altered, as mentioned through the ways listed in the article.

Meritocracy is defined as a society where individuals are able to progress through the social hierarchy, purely based on class, wealth and privilege. Rutherford’s research supports multiple ways in which the United States could be considered a meritocracy, and they are summarised with the following quote, “America’s social hierarchy is perpetuated rather than restructured based on the achievements of the new generation.”. Put simply, I believe that this represents the fact that the hierarchy in the United States today continues to value old achievements from old faces as opposed to new achievements from new faces. This system appears to be afraid of change, simply not allowing for newer generations to make their mark on social institutions, in this case, the education sector. If poorer valedictorians had a society that encouraged them to enroll and apply to a highly selective university, despite their financial situation, I believe that the whole stigma surrounding financial situations being a limitation would come to an end. I feel as though the only required factor that ought to play a role in determining a large part of someone’s future, ought to be the passion in which they show within their fields and the success rate to which they participate in their passions. Karen was passionate about the academic teams in her school. As well as her band - but she also showed time for supporting the eldely as well as creating some income for herself through a side job. This could show to a university that Karen is driven and hard-working in all of her choices of activities. I believe that new achievements should be more important than old ones, and that the hierarchy and society currently built in the United States should change with the times...

In summary of the main themes examined so far, Radford’s research truly highlights the manner in which inequalities are reproduced in society against lower-income families, as well as the barriers of social mobility, putting students from these families at a disadvantage to be limited by meritocracy. All of these respective themes can link to the concept of social networks, and how within a wealthy, privileged network as an example, the ties made between members of the network are linked by stories of old business partners, Ivy-League alumni and wealthy relatives. Though it may sound stereotypical, the article did cite the fact that “poorer valedictorians were less likely to know someone from a top college.” This further reinforces the manner in which actually going to an Ivy League school (as opposed to the concept of merely attending a college of any kind), is further embedded into the paths of a highschool student in this wealthier social network. One other quote that furthers the notion that the information, knowledge and ideas spread throughout a network such as one of a lower-income family would need to remain within their social class and thus not attend a highly selective university, “ The current de facto system—which leaves college guidance to families—enables social class to have an unnecessarily strong influence on where top students apply and thus where they ultimately enroll.” This develops the reliance on the socioeconomic status of family income as well as the overall educational experience that the family has (which in a lower income family is generally none). It deeply saddens and disappoints me to learn about the way in which students that have high achievements and a perfect record still remain at the mercy of such a system that simply favors wealth over anything else.

When it came to my own experience with learning about the universities I wanted to apply to, I found the similar circumstances as Karen’s school. From the difficulty in getting an appointment with my counsellor to the way in which I received, “impersonal guidance about colleges”. I found that my college counsellor, though willing to talk about universities that I had researched (mainly universities in the US), would often compare my choices to the ones the majority of my peers were making (universities in the UK and Canada). Though this didn’t disturb me at the beginning of 11th grade when I hadn’t started applying as yet, I grew to find this comparison increasingly difficult to deal with, mainly because after a while I felt as though the choices I had made were inadequate. Though I understand that incredibly detailed personal feedback for each student that asks it would be hard on a singular person dealing with a large portion of students, I was simply shocked about the fact that I had to ‘fight’ for my thoughts in applying to the colleges I picked. All in all, though I went to a private high school, I feel like the standard in counselling worldwide may need more room for student feedback, similar to Karen’s experience.