April 1, 2025 Volume 8, Issue 5 @thenuevacurrent
The Student Newspaper of The Nueva School San Mateo, California
ART BY ANWEN C.
The Hidden Costs of Fitting In Privilege, or a lack of it, is not always visible. Yet, it can be keenly felt in social interactions. How do Nueva students approach socioeconomic differences they encounter amongst peers? By Ellie L. Culture Editor
Part I: Traversing wealth in and out of the classroom
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Inside this Issue:
he annual Book Fair was in full swing, and Brenna A. M.’25 was excited. She rushed to a friend and told her about the $30 they each had in their Nueva accounts for purchasing books—a benefit for students who receive financial assistance. Her friend was resistant. “I told [my friend] we should go over and use the money and she said no, because it was too embarrassing for her,” Brenna said. “She said, ‘I don’t want to tell them I have the money because I’m on financial aid.’” While students do not need to actually
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reveal their financial assistance status to use the money during the Book Fair, the real discomfort with using those funds still remains, a pervasive feeling that goes beyond this one experience. Nueva’s financial assistance program goes beyond tuition; the school covers the cost of additional programs and services, generally at the same percentage of the financial assistance families receive. This can range from transportation, athletics gear, opt-in electives and activities, senior prom and senior yearbook pages—to spending money for overnight trips, college application fees, and standardized tests taken at Nueva. The goal is that “every Nueva student can take part in the full Nueva experience.”
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Yet, students who are entitled to these benefits can experience discomfort around using them. Students appreciate that they’re available, but may also feel sensitivity, shame, or embarrassment. These moments are shaped by class consciousness, the self-understanding and various beliefs around personal socioeconomic status—on its own and in regards to others. It can materialize as embarrassment around receiving financial assistance, or, conversely, self-consciousness around having privilege. It is shaped by how wealth is generally discussed—or not discussed—as well as the overall distribution of wealth and privilege present. Nueva is located in the Bay Area, one of the most expensive areas to live in the
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country, where the gap between affluence and economic vulnerability is wide. The student experience at Nueva includes two beautiful campuses and facilities, state-ofthe-art labs and maker spaces, yearly trips, and modern technology and software; these benefits are reflected by both a significant tuition ($59,720 for the Upper School in 2024–25) and a generous community that supports the school through annual fund giving. In the Upper School, students come from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds, zip codes, and middle schools.
Continued on Page 10
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How Nueva athletics is managing without a full time athletic trainer.
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