- Michigan colleges look to boost low-income enrollment, By Kim Kozlowski, October 28, 2014, Detroit News: “Donna Aguilar’s parents, who couldn’t afford to go to college, always encouraged her to make a better life for herself. So four years ago, Aguilar left her home in Los Angeles to attend Kalamazoo College. She will graduate next year with a biology degree. ‘They thought I would have more choices if I went to college,’ said Aguilar, the daughter of a custodian and a factory worker. ‘I would get a better job than they have and I could live more comfortably than they had.’ Aguilar represents a quiet revolution that has been underway at Kalamazoo College…”
- A new push to get low-income students through college, By David Leonhardt, October 28, 2014, New York Times: “The United States fails to do right by most low-income students who excel in school. They overcome long odds and do well enough in high school to show they can thrive in college. Nevertheless, many never receive a bachelor’s degree. Now, though, the country may be approaching something of a turning point. As data has made clear how many top-performing students from poor and middle-class families fall through the cracks, a range of institutions has set out to change the situation. Dozens of school districts, across 15 states, now help every high school junior take the SAT. Delaware’s governor has started a program to advise every college-qualified student from a modest background on the application process. The president of the College Board, which administers the SAT and has a decidedly mixed record on making college more accessible, says his top priority is college access…”
Tag: College completion
Poor Students, Elite Colleges
Generation later, poor are still rare at elite colleges, By Richard Pérez-Peña, August 25, 2014, New York Times: “As the shaded quadrangles of the nation’s elite campuses stir to life for the start of the academic year, they remain bastions of privilege. Amid promises to admit more poor students, top colleges educate roughly the same percentage of them as they did a generation ago. This is despite the fact that there are many high school seniors from low-income homes with top grades and scores: twice the percentage in the general population as at elite colleges…”
AP Test Support for Low-Income Students
U.S. Helps Bear Costs of Advanced Placement Tests for Low-Income Students, By Caroline Porter, August 12, 2014, Wall Street Journal: “The federal government said Tuesday that it provided $28.4 million in grants to 40 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, to offset the costs of giving advanced placement tests to low-income students. By helping high-school students earn college credits, the program is intended to improve college completion rates and better prepare students. The allotment helped cover more than 769,000 tests nationally in 2014, marking a 6% increase over the previous year, according to the Department of Education…”