Economic Inequality and Higher Education: Access, Persistence, and Success

6. Access to Elites

128 Chapter 6 Access to Elites AMANDA PALLAIS AND SARAH E. TURNER S TUDENTS FROM relatively low-income families are persistently underrepresented in the most selective institutions of higher education (see, for example, Bowen, Kurzweil, and Tobin 2005). This is true among the most expensive private colleges and universities as well as many selective public universities with more modest tuition charges. Because selective colleges and universities are perceived to be important stepping-stones to professional and leadership positions, the representation of students from a broad range of socioeconomic backgrounds at these institutions is a significant demonstration of commitment to opportunity and intergenerational mobility.1 With increased public attention to the underrepresentation of low-income students at selective colleges and universities, a number of leading universities have responded with aggressive initiatives intended to increase opportunities for low-income students. The direct costs of college have risen substantially over the past decade, particularly at selective colleges and universities, and there is little indication that this trend will abate. This reality has increased the degree of concern about the capacity of elite colleges and universities to provide opportunities for students from low- and moderate-income families. Although the direct charges at selective public universities remain well below those at private universities, the combination of decreased state support, rising costs, and the need to raise tuition prices to maintain the quality of program offerings contributes to a sense that costs may exacerbate the difficulty in enrolling low-income students at state flagship universities (see Schwartz, in chapter 7, for more on college costs). At issue is whether aggressive recruiting and generous financial aid can counteract the effects of high tuition at selective universities to increase the representation of students from the most economically disadvantaged families. Researchers and the press have shone a brighter spotlight on the underrepresentation of low-income students at the most selective institutions. One indication of the prominence of the issue is that the most recent U.S. News and World Report college rankings includes a section highlighting the colleges with a particularly high representation of low-income students . Colleges and universities have responded proactively, with the most selective at the forefront of initiatives to increase the enrollment of low-income students. A number of colleges and universities are making aggressive and visible efforts to increase the availability of need-based financial aid to increase the representation of low-income students in their entering classes. In the fall of 2005, we identified ten such efforts, many with catchy titles such as AccessUVa, Illinois Promise, and Carolina Covenant. In the course of a year, a significant number of universities announced new programs and others announced expanded offerings. Among the private universities, Harvard, Yale, Brown, and—more recently—MIT have each announced programs. There is a common theme among these efforts. In all cases, the universities are making a direct and public case that a college education is affordable to low- and moderate-income students.2 Because these programs are so new, however, it is far too early to evaluate their effects on outcomes such as college completion. Stating the Problem Overall, there is clear evidence that low-income students are underrepresented in the post-secondary pipeline. Table 6.1 shows the college enrollment rates of dependent students between age eighteen and twentyfour from national data in 2003. Although the overall difference between the enrollment rate of the top two income groups (69 to 71 percent) and the bottom two (37 to 44 percent) is significant, the large difference between students from different economic circumstances in enrollment at fouryear institutions is even more striking. Among college students, those in the higher income groups are appreciably more likely to enroll in fouryear colleges and universities, which often provide the most direct path to gaining a degree. Overall, the gap in college enrollment between students in the highest and the bottom income quartiles narrows to about 15 percentage points when high school achievement is taken into consideration (Ellwood and Kane 2000). Beyond aggregate gaps in college enrollment rates, students from lowincome families are particularly underrepresented in the most selective colleges and universities, both private and public. Table 6.2 shows data on applications, admission, and matriculation in relation to economic circumstances of those entering college in 1995 for the nineteen selective colleges and universities in the Expanded College & Beyond database Access to Elites 129 130 Economic Inequality and...