The working class is the lowest social class in the United States, making around $35,000 a year according to William Thompson and Joseph Hickey, two sociologists. That type of income allows for little to no comfortable living scenarios, families using every cent of their income to pay bills and stay afloat. This creates difficulties for students born into the working class who wish to attend a university in this country in hopes to ascend to a higher social class. Luckily, there are plenty of schools in the United States who are willing to offer aid to students in this situation, taking pressure of their parents as long as their children get into these colleges. According to a recent study, about 67% of students in the working class are able to receive at least some financial aid to be able to attend college. Middle class families, however, are not as fortunate, receiving only a fraction of that at 30%. With the large disparity between these two percentages, but little difference between the two's incomes, it becomes difficult to understand why those who cannot afford college for their children are granted the ability to gain higher education, while those who aren't able to afford college but are in a better situation than those in the working class based on income, are forced to find other options for their children in order to give them an equivalent life to their own.
Working Class:
the people employed for wages, especially in manual-labour occupations and in skilled-labour, industrial work.