Dive Brief:
- While a new Gallup poll found that 61% of adults in the United States think higher education is available to anyone who needs it, only 21% believe it’s affordable for everyone.
- The polling data finds Latinos are more optimistic on both counts, and Gallup reports more than twice as many Latinos — 51% — think higher education is affordable, as compared to their black and white counterparts, 19% and 17% of whom agree, respectively.
- The portion of respondents saying college is available to anyone dropped 6% from 2013 to 2014, according to the Gallup-Lumina Foundation.
Dive Insight:
College is becoming increasingly necessary for quality, living-wage jobs in the United States. The perception that it is not available to everyone or affordable is troubling. Already, low-income students are found to “under-match,” choosing less-selective schools that have more affordable sticker prices. This, too, is a consequence of perception because many private institutions end up costing low-income students less when financial aid is factored in. Gallup’s latest poll shows a downward trend in the portion of people who think college is available to anyone who needs it, surprising given the increasing number of online and alternative options for prospective students.