The United States is a country of vast differences in wealth. This considerable economic diversity can be either a positive or a negative aspect of college life. On the positive side, you will be exposed to, and can learn from, students from a wide range of economic differences. Meeting others who have grown up with either more or fewer opportunities than you did is part of learning how to live in a democracy.

Try to avoid developing exaggerated feelings of superiority or inferiority. What matters now is not what you had or didn’t have before you came to college; what matters is what you do in college. You have more in common with other students than you think. Now your individual efforts, dreams, courage, determination, and ability to stay focused can be your success factors.