For millions of middle-class students, the American dream of higher education is slipping away. Not because of a lack of ambition or effort, but because of a financial aid system that limits those whose families earn just a little too much.

Higher-income students often refrain from worrying about the financial aspect of college. Many of them have college investment accounts that were set up at a young age to cover most essential expenses.

Lower-income students often qualify for federal financial aid, institutional grants and scholarships that are need-based.

These two sides of the spectrum don’t find themselves in as much trouble during the college application process. But unfortunately, there is an in-between that generally goes unaccounted for.

The class that falls between – the middle class – finds itself in the periphery. In reality, the problems facing both middle and lower-class families are not that unique to each other regarding higher education.

A common presumption in higher education communities is that middle-class students do not need financial assistance. Being above the poverty line, in many cases, seems to be the deciding factor in whether a student is categorized as “in need.”

I come from an upper middle class family. While I’ve been very fortunate throughout my entire life, I’m at a crossroad when it comes to college.

The college I would like to attend, Georgetown University, has a tuition of around $60,000 per year. This fails to include room and board, books and other expenses.

I have put hour after hour into applying for scholarships to help pay for my education. But since I don’t qualify for the “need-based” scholarships, my options are limited as to which ones I can receive.

As my number one supporters, my parents have always wanted to help. Unfortunately, their help can only go so far when higher education comes at such expense.

In an article written by Caitlyn Zaloom, an anthropologist and professor at New York University, she spoke about the moral obligation for families to pay for their children’s education.

“Indeed, shouldering the weight of paying for college is sometimes seen by parents as part of their children’s moral education,” Zaloom said. “By draining their savings to pay for college, parents affirm their commitment to education as a value, proving that higher education is integral to the kind of family they are.”

It gets to the point where the parents reach a difficult dilemma: do they save money for themselves– or other children if they have them, or do they pay half of their yearly income for an education that they cannot afford? 

The “golden years” of parenthood are being compromised, mainly due to financial concerns. In 2025, 70% of parents over 50 indicated they are rethinking or delaying their planned retirement date, according to a recent survey from F&G, a life insurance and annuity provider.

The problem here is that the middle class gets screwed. And according to the Pew Research Center, over 50% of Americans fall into this category.

There are a lot of students, however, who refuse their parents’ help because they don’t want to financially burden them.

In these cases, the next best option is loans. Average student loan debt is $30,000. While the standard loan repayment period is 10 years, it typically takes 20 years for the average person to fully repay. 

A portion of American families also fall into a “no aid” category, where they qualify for minimum federal loans. Because of this, they’re forced to take out private loans in which the interest rate can be exponentially higher.

Why should knowledge cost an arm and a leg? Why should students have to take out thousands of dollars in student loans and end up in extreme debt after college just to receive an education?

“It’s also no wonder that as so many of my interviews ended, parents joked about their financial predicament by saying they might win the lottery,” Zaloom said when asked about the interviews she conducted with middle-class families.

People have come to outlandish luck as their best chance at dealing with the college crisis. And in the absence of real changes to the current system of paying for college, what other hopes do they have?

Such wishful thinking may seem irrational, especially to the upper-class families who have no problem dropping $100,000 on the chance for their children to learn at prestigious universities. But until we reform how a college education is financed, that is how countless middle-class families are holding onto the American dream.