I began the interview by asking Julia how her public school experience was and if it prepared her for college. Julia started her answer by stating that she really loved her high school and her high school experience. Julia attended Roosevelt High school, the largest high school in the Seattle Public school district. She had a wonderful experience there socially however academically she was less prepared than her peers who attended private institutions. Julia felt as though she had a harder time adjusting to Middlebury academically particularly when it came to studying. Students that attended private schools had taken classes dedicated to study skills and time management. " I felt like Ok I'm capable of this but I lack the skills. Oh my God what am I going to do?" this is how Julia felt for the majority of her first semester at Middlebury. Her one saving grace was that she attended a private middle school. " Some of the skills I learned in middle school, for example how to organize a planner really helped me". Julia also felt completely alone during her college application process. " I shared my counselor with 200 seniors. This meant that I had to schedule a meeting with her months in advance". Julia's counselor also didn't even tell her how to apply to college, she figured that out all on her own. The Northwest school( a private high school in Seattle) provides their students with ample resources for college applications. Students are required to write an essay two months before the application is due and review it with a counselor. It's acts like these that put public school students at an immediate disadvantage. " I applied to Yale and Harvard by myself, I had no administrative help whatsoever".
Julia told me that when she attended her interview for Harvard she felt completely out of place. " I felt like I didn't belong, all the other applicants were these extremely wealthy and intelligent kids that went to amazing private schools." This trend continued when Julia toured Yale. " The student that gave the tour basically told all of us that we weren't going to get in but we should still apply". This created a sense of hopelessness in Julia. " It made me think if I even get in I'll never catch up, it's hopeless". I then asked Julia about the Ivory tower and whether or nor she believes that college has become an accommodation only the elite can afford? Julia stated that she totally believes in the Ivory tower concept. Even at Middlebury she sometimes feels out of place. " Middlebury is not an Ivy League but it's still a lot of money. I'm here on financial aid without it I couldn't attend Middlebury. Sometimes people here forget that not everyone is wealthy." Julia told me about one instance where she was invited to skiing with friends. " I can't afford to go skiing, my family can't afford that. I tried to just say that I was busy but it kept coming up, Eventually I told my friends that it's too expensive." Julia told me that the idea of not affording something was a foreign concept to her friends. One even said " What skiing isn't expensive!" Julia stated " They don't understand, sometimes it feels like even if you're included you won't belong". I then asked Julia how she felt about the fact that people don't even pursue higher education anymore because of the cost. She stated " It makes me very sad and it makes me feel hopeless. There are people who don't even apply because they know they can't afford it. But now a college degree seems just like a high school diploma. You need higher degrees to be successful, to make your education " worth while" ". Julia and I both believe that the United States seems to have taken a step backwards when it comes to education equality. During the twentieth century we preached about education for all. But now only the elite can afford the best education. Our interview ended with Julia's response to my statement that the United States has taken a step backwards with higher education. "Our next president needs to fix this issue it’s ridiculous that this is happening. We want to be a country that’s progressing and innovating but if we’re not educationing our citizens that won’t happen. Especially when we have a huge portion of our population is left out."