How accurate are these stories and how do they shape the way Americans look at student aid?
Accurate, yes, but the influence changed. In the 1890s, Harvard’s President Charles William Eliot said he knew “scores” of students who relied entirely on work to get through college. And as late as the 1930s, college and government reports commonly referred to needy students as “self-supporting” students, though the students themselves did not always enjoy the experience. Until the mid-20th century, though, many college and public leaders used the idea of “working through college” to oppose big extensions of grant aid on the grounds that it would foster dependency. The 1940s GI Bill weakened this resistance by giving full tuition plus maintenance to veterans who in turn earned a reputation for hard work and subsequent success. Rising tuition fees, anyway, have made it impossible to get through an expensive college on work alone. Student employment remains an important part of financial aid packages, and the old idea of working through college helps justify it within limits, but pullin
