Social environment is influenced by one’s power and wealth. This, in turn, determines success or failure in peoples’ lives. If one were born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he would easily be able to attend a fancy school no matter how intelligent he is or have any luxury he wants just because of power and wealth. On the flip side, if one were born to a poor family in a bad neighbourhood infested with violence and drugs, he would have a much smaller chance of succeeding in life, more especially, going to an upper-class school. It is hard for many poor to go to college because of such high tuition costs. Scholarships are available; but, even though one shows financial need, one still has to have a high grade point average and test scores. Even if one has a good mind, trying to study in a gang- ridden neighbourhood with constant gunfire isn’t easy. With both parents working two jobs, there isn’t any parental guidance. Whereas, the affluent, even if busy or working, have the means to insure that their children are supervised and well taken care of. The rich also have the luxury of affording special tutors to help their children while other children are on their own. For example, there are three students, one from a clean, upper-class community, another from a small, middle-class suburb and the other from a graffiti-ridden slum. All three of these students have exceptional GPA’s and scored very well on standardised testing. The student from the upper-class community will have the best chance of succeeding. Tuition will never be a problem and chances are that those parents 156 Top School Essays have some pull because of who they are. The middle-class student won’t have a great problem but there is still the fact of paying tuition, which would limit the options quite a bit. One may be smart enough to get grants but the family makes too much money. Also, if he sought admission into a prestigious school and it came down to the student or someone richer, the middle-class student would probably lose out.