Prompt 8: Wealth, class, and lifespan

    I think people have a longer life with a college degree due more to the opportunities they have versus the actual knowledge they gained while at university. For example, suppose a student is studying engineering. In that case, I doubt their thermodynamics class will provide much vital information that directly impacts their health. But on the flip side, they now have to knowledge to be an engineer, work at a high-paying job, afford insurance and health care, eat a well-balanced/nutritional diet, save for retirement, and have a less stressful life compared to people with financial instability. I believe that a student's financial income before college increases the likelihood of completing a four-year education, but it does not inherently mean that they will or will not succeed in school. Plenty of students from high-income families fail out, and some first-generation students succeed while at school.

  There may be class differences that persist in our cohorts after higher education.  For example, the first-generation students may not experience the exponential wealth increase through generations as students who had parents with a college degree. Students who were the first to complete higher education may be expected to support their parents, siblings, and other family members after college since they are making the most money in the family. Compared to a student who does not have to support their family because of financials, this would be very draining for the first-gen student. There are also other socio-economic influences of a society that are not erased due to completing a degree. Institutionalized racism in health care systems still disproportionately affects people of color, especially black women. For example, black women are not appropriately screened for heart attacks as their symptoms present differently from white populations.