[HPforGrownups] Hogwarts Tuition

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 73375

On 26 Jul 2003 at 9:08, Lark Austin-Black wrote:

> If I remember correctly, isn't there a passage in the
> first book that says something about Harry having been
> "accepted" to Hogwarts since he was a baby? (or is
> that movie taintedness)...I can't remember
> exactly...anyway, both of Harry's parents went to
> Hogwarts and obviously would want Harry to go there as
> well, maybe they had set money aside for his school
> besides the money that was in Gringotts.  As the books
> are written from Harry's POV, he then wouldn't even
> mention tuition because it is not something he really
> has to worry about/pay attention to.

It's possible, yes. But I don't think it's likely.

James and Lily were rich - the size of Harry's inheritance shows us 
this. I can see parents with limited resources setting up a special fund 
or account to pay their child's school fees, just to ensure they save to 
that goal, but wealthy parents are less likely to do so, simply knowing 
that the money will be there when they need it. It's not impossible - 
but if James and Lily had thought that far ahead, then, really I would 
have expected them to do a lot more - like set up an account that would 
take care of Harry's needs if he was ever orphaned. From what we see in 
the books, Harry's money simply sits in a vault for a decade between the 
time he was orphaned and the time Hagrid takes him to Gringotts. To me, 
it doesn't seem like James and Lily planned ahead. I can't know for 
sure, of course. This is speculation. I can come up with plenty of 
scenarios in which they might have planned ahead and the plans were 
derailed (for example, expecting Harry's godfather to take over control 
of his financial affairs in the event of their deaths - we know Sirius 
was appointed his guardian in the event that happened), but that would 
be speculation as well.

But to go further with my speculations. If Lily and James had seriously 
and actively planned for Harry's future, I'd be stunned at the amount of 
control he has over his money. The kid gained control of a fortune at 11 
years old, with no sign of anybody around to help him deal with that. 
>From Order of the Phoenix, we have clear signs that James was an 
irresponsible kid who apparently grew out of it - if he'd done any 
planning at all, I would have expected him to consider the possibility 
of a son, just as irresponsible as himself, gaining the money. And to 
have planned for that.

Is it possible that James and Lily made detailed plans for Harry's 
future - like setting up a special fund specifically to pay his school 
fees. Sure. It's possible.

But if they had, I'd have expected to have seen more signs of this 
planning.

Personally, I think James and Lily didn't plan for Harry's future in any 
special way - because they fully expected to be there with him, and 
should have been. And, who knows, they might have even felt that 
planning for a future where they wouldn't be around, was tempting fate, 
or might even have seen it as disloyalty to the anti-Voldemort cause - a 
sign of a lack of faith in victory.

They put his name down for Hogwarts when he was born. That's a practice, 
I'm familiar with - I will do the same for any sons I have with regards 
to my old school. The thing is - most schools require, at most, a 
relatively small deposit if you do that - you don't generally 
immediately stick the fees in a vault (-8 

But if such a fund does exist... well, frankly, Harry would have to be 
*incredibly* dense, IMHO, not to think about fees if they exist. I went 
to an expensive private school. Everybody knew about the fees - even the 
kids from families who could pay them on the strength of a single days 
investment dividends. You might not *worry* about them. But you'd know 
about them. Even if all Harry ever wondered was 'Why don't I have to pay 
the fees?', I'd be pretty sure it'd figure in his thinking.

The thing is - the type of education system a society has, and pays for, 
is determined by a whole range of factors.

One of the major reasons most industrialised nations have universal, 
free access to childhood education (albeit, with an option to pay for an 
alternative) is precisely because they are *industrialised* nations. The 
industries required a population with a basic standard of education. 
That wasn't the only reason - but it was a major part of it.

The Wizarding World has a different history, and a different society. In 
many ways, it is a much more old-fashioned society. Basic education - 
basic literacy and numeracy - is apparently not taught in schools, but 
is learned prior to students coming to Hogwarts. Hogwarts is a place 
where people learn more than just the basic skills.

Just because our society decided it was to our benefit to fund universal 
education, doesn't mean the Wizarding World made the same decision. If 
the Wizarding World only requires a certain number of people to have a 
Hogwarts level education, it may have decided to only fund that many 
students. And if it's only funding a smaller proportion of students than 
our systems do, but with the same relative expenditure, then it would be 
able to spend a great deal more money on those students - so the fact 
that Hogwarts seems like an expensive school, doesn't prohibit it being 
funded.

The Wizarding World does not appear to be a particular 'egalitarian' 
society (consider the House Elves), so there's no reason to suppose that 
concerns about equality of access for all have guided its educational 
policy.

Indeed, we know that Neville's family was concerned he wouldn't get into 
Hogwarts. Hagrid describes Dumbledore as different from other heads, 
because he will accept anyone into the school if they've got the talent. 
We know that historically, three of the founders only wanted to take 
certain students. 

Hogwarts doesn't seem to be a place of universal education. It seems to 
take only some students. And if the Wizarding World has decided only to 
spend money educating a relative few, it's not unreasonable to suppose 
that the amount of money available per student is higher.

Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia