Dive Brief:
- Elite colleges and universities have failed to boost enrollment of financially under-privileged students from the 1990s to 2012.
- The percentage of poor high school seniors with top grades is twice as high in the general population as at elite higher education institutions, according to the New York Times.
- One counter-argument from the elite schools: Prospective students who are poor with top grades and test scores tend not to apply to their schools, sometimes because of incorrect perceptions that they can’t afford the net cost.
Dive Insight:
The Times quotes sources blaming the financial burden of enrolling a poor student. One example is a student who requires $45,000 in aid, which translates to $1 million in endowment. The U.S. News & World Report rankings are also blamed, because they don’t value financial aid and diversity. Surveys show that the enrollment of poor students by selective colleges hasn’t increased since the 1990s — as low as 15% — even though the number of poor students attending college has increased significantly.