The higher grade universities keep on raising their tuition costs, so what in the world are we going to expect??

When in the world will people see their own failings as their own responsibility. It is always something or someone else's fault.

They are doomed to failure as long as they continue to blame their failings on something or someone else.

What in the world are you talking about?

Read your article again. Who is failing and why? What is being blamed? Surely not the people failing.

None of my family went to college. In fact neither finished high school. I am a college graduate and my brother is a PHD Nuclear Physicist. Oh, and he is also a rocket scientist. We both worked our way through school. I am so glad someone did not come along when we were kids and told us we would be handicapped because of "gender, race, and parental education."

Or that "We're (the system) not doing as good a job as we should of creating genuine opportunity."

The problem is not a new one..but it's getting worse.

There is universal evidence to show that poverty is related to underachievement...that people with better health care, diets, housing and access to educational toys, books and private coaching have better outcomes than those who don't. Poverty is not an excuse for underachievement; it is a factor that contributes towards it. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/feb/03/mortimore-class-system)

jay8h - you might want to further your education and read the Guardian article above. Yes, some people who are less well off buck the trend but statistics show that they are in the minority.

As someone with an education I would hope that statistics are more important to your understanding of issues than your own subjective experience?

I am not condoning poverty as a means to success. I am saying that it should not be an excuse for one's failures. By today's standards, 50-60 years ago, almost everyone was impoverished. If that was used as an excuse for failure, we would all still be in that state.