Actively recruit middle-income students

I'm disappointed in The Chronicle Editorial Board's proposal-Oct. 17, "Time to think outside the socioeconomic box-to increase middle-income applicants at Duke. While the Board goes so far as to acknowledge the weakness of its own proposal-eliminating the $80 application fee will be not only ineffective but expensive (oh, and it's waived all the time, anyway)-they fail to get to the fundamental problem with the initiative: education. Duke spends ample time and money recruiting from top prep schools (educating them), wooing students away from the Ivy League schools with promises of equally top-notch academics and a wildly cooler place. But we're told now that we fall short when it comes to economic diversity. So what should we do to get middle-income students to apply? Well, considering that once on campus and in the classroom, we are essentially equals, why not treat middle-income applicants like we treat all of the others-why not recruit them? Here's an idea: take some "middle-income" students, give them per diems and plane tickets to North Dakota and Alabama and even my home state of Maine and give them presentation materials that explain how financial aid can work here if you play the game right.

Then convince them that a Duke education is worth the 20 years of loan payments after graduation. In this effort, at least, we're being honest and not patronizing this class of students we say we want on campus. Hell, I'll volunteer myself as a case study. If the son of a high school teacher and freelance writer can make Duke affordable, there are a lot of people out there who are Duke material who just need to be told that they are. Just give me the plane ticket and PowerPoint clicker.

Kyle Knight

Trinity '08