As a Cornellian, I'm so happy yet not surprised that Cornell is making far better use of its endowment monies and ivy credentials than Princeton, Columbia, Yale and Harvard, Penn, etc. Go Big Red!
A million bucks? That'll be swallowed up in the proverbial New York minute.
1
The most current, solid science indicates that the most accurate indicator of a college applicant's ability to do excellent college-level work is GPA, not SAT or ACT. That's why many institutions of higher education are moving away from the use of standardized tests as an admissions criterion. We can be thankful for enlightened foundations like Jack Ken Cooke and ethically-motivated college/university administrations like President Hill for beginning to challenge the admissions biases of the "old boys" tradition.
Such efforts are rare in an era when most public universities are becoming increasingly privatized.
" anonymous quotes about life
" anonymous quotes about life
There are two models to promoting economic diversity in higher education: one model charges exorbitant tuition and then offers large discounts on the "sticker price" to students with fewer financial resources. The other model charges all students low tuition, believing that education is a public good. The former model predominates, particularly at private schools, while a few public universities still keep the latter model intact.
Next year, it would be nice to see the foundation recognize UNC Chapel Hill, which came in #3 in the Upshot's analysis (46 places higher than the next highest public school). UNC has promoted economic diversity by keeping tuition low, aggressively reaching out to low income students in the state of North Carolina, meeting 100% of demonstrated need, and allowing all students whose families make up to 2x the federal poverty line to graduate debt-free, all while maintaining a top-tier academic ranking.
Such efforts are rare in an era when most public universities are becoming increasingly privatized.
Next year, it would be nice to see the foundation recognize UNC Chapel Hill, which came in #3 in the Upshot's analysis (46 places higher than the next highest public school). UNC has promoted economic diversity by keeping tuition low, aggressively reaching out to low income students in the state of North Carolina, meeting 100% of demonstrated need, and allowing all students whose families make up to 2x the federal poverty line to graduate debt-free, all while maintaining a top-tier academic ranking.
Such efforts are rare in an era when most public universities are becoming increasingly privatized.
2
I went to Vassar from a rural community in WA . Vassar has an undergraduate population of under 3K while the University of Washington is closer to 30K, and there are no other elite public universities in this state. When I was a teenager and applying to college, I wanted to go to one with a progressive culture and reputable departments (and no fraternities or sororities), but I was also intimidated by the size of a large university and thought this might negatively impact the classroom experience. I agree that we should support strong university systems, like that of CA, UNC, CUNY, etc., but don't discount how supportive an environment a small college can be, or how instrumental it is in getting lower income students to graduate school...
3
Was any reporting done on why the prize is categorized as "no-strings-attached"? It seems contradictory to award an institution this prize without requiring the money to go toward some sort of scholarship fund for the low-income students that the universities are admitting. Also, how long is the Jack Cooke Foundation monitoring these schools? They could be admitting and enrolling low-income students for the sole purpose of winning the prize.
1
The award essentially recognizes that the institution has already taken responsibility for doing the right thing. If you will note - the foundation also looks at graduation rates in making its decision. It's not telling the schools how to do it - it's rewarding them for what they've accomplished,which is evidence of values in action.
As an alumna of VC, I am proud of this news and congratulate my alma mater for winning this award. However, I have heard that while admission of impoverished students had increased over the years since Catharine B. Hill became president of the college, the admission of middle class students had been steadily decreasing for years. Meanwhile, the enrollment of full paying students rose steadily after the initial decline in their numbers following the implementation of need-blind admissions about ten years ago. Until last year, when the trend was finally reversed, progressively fewer freshman at Vassar each year were on financial aid, despite the increased enrollment of students like Turner Hutt. The student body, more and more, was composed of students who were either poor enough to qualify for Pell Grants or were full paying. I hope that when I receive an email message from the college this summer with summary statistics about the entering freshman class, I will see that the number of middle class students has increased for the second year in a row. Let's not forget that wealthy students still represent a very disproportionate share of the student body at Vassar.
10
ABSOLUTELY!!! In America, it's increasingly the case that the best economic position to benefit the most from what the country has to offer is to either be wealthy or poor. Middle-class families can no more afford Vassar than low-income families.
1
Yeah, those poor folks really have it going for them!
1
Last year I had my niece, who is african-american also apply to Vassar because of these diversity statistics, which I had independently researched. In the end she decided to go to Amherst and she loves it for the same reason. I will continue to recommend Vassar to friends and family.
5
Check out Smith College -- as diverse, as egalitarian, as a school can be.
1
If Turner Hutt is a white male, why is he counted in the diversity stats?
Because the stats address economic diversity.
2
The article suggests that Mr. Hitt's scholarship is based on economic need.
He is diversity because he is smart, motivated and qualifies for financial aid. BRAVO Vassar
What is needed is money for college advising starting in middle school when early algebra is a make or break necessity for anyone interested in STEM fields. Many kids do not realize this nore are they told that a math choice in middle school can affect their adult career path.
5
As many commenters have pointed out. most of these students would be better served by less exalted schools. It is very difficult indeed to jump from low-income to the top of society, and many of those who try, fail.
It is much more realistic, and a lot easier, to go from low-income to upper-middle-class, and there are many of very good non-elite colleges that can help low-income students do this. They will find the other students, the classes, and general atmosphere more congenial. They will be able to major in math or science without having to compete with the most brilliant guys in the country. They will be more likely to graduate on time, and have successful careers making a good income.
It is much more realistic, and a lot easier, to go from low-income to upper-middle-class, and there are many of very good non-elite colleges that can help low-income students do this. They will find the other students, the classes, and general atmosphere more congenial. They will be able to major in math or science without having to compete with the most brilliant guys in the country. They will be more likely to graduate on time, and have successful careers making a good income.
3
You must have missed the link here: "Research has found that lower-income students — who often otherwise lack professional connections and a family safety net — benefit from attending selective colleges more than other students do." Small, elite schools have a more tightly woven safety net for students of all backgrounds than large state schools.
6
Your research is averages. Vassar is dealing with individuals.
Vassar has been doing this for decades now. Vassar has shown that this opportunity benefits the low-income students greatly. Think about it: But for their poverty, they'd been in such a school as Vassar. Most schools don't consider them because of: Their poverty. Vassar overlooks their poverty and sees: Their innate and demostrated talent. Vassar gives them opportunity that other schools DENY to them. It's not that they aren't talented and smart. It's that they are poor and so hard on the other school's pockets. Vassar gets them out of the Catch 22 that other schools place them in.
Vassar has been doing this for decades now. Vassar has shown that this opportunity benefits the low-income students greatly. Think about it: But for their poverty, they'd been in such a school as Vassar. Most schools don't consider them because of: Their poverty. Vassar overlooks their poverty and sees: Their innate and demostrated talent. Vassar gives them opportunity that other schools DENY to them. It's not that they aren't talented and smart. It's that they are poor and so hard on the other school's pockets. Vassar gets them out of the Catch 22 that other schools place them in.
3
I went to Vassar in the nineties -- and qualified for most scholarships -- and I can attest that the education was made more relevant by the diversity of the student body. There were lots of upper middle class kids from the tri-state area, but there were also lower class kids (white and people of color), international students, and 'non-traditional students' ( including two middle aged students, one a white mother, and the other an African Aamerican Vietnam Vet who frequently attended classes together). Political history was a lot less abstract with all of those people present.
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1
What a great program! I think it is especially smart to make this a competitive award to schools, which gives much needed recognition as well as funds to schools that make economic diversity a priority. Many collages, including the one I went to, are struggling to retain need-blind admissions policies and need encouragement. Economic diversity is important for campus diversity as well as for the advancement of our society. Students should get the opportunities they earn through academic achievement, not their parents' salaries.
And, to all those criticizing the profiled student's dance internship, once student get on campus, they should have the opportunity to use their unique talents to contribute to society, not necessarily just get rich enough to enter the upper class. If society gave you the opportunity to go to college and you use that chance only to make yourself rich, that would be kind of selfish, wouldn't it? And, it would minimize the impact that such programs have of making us all richer by giving our most talented members a chance to thrive.
And, to all those criticizing the profiled student's dance internship, once student get on campus, they should have the opportunity to use their unique talents to contribute to society, not necessarily just get rich enough to enter the upper class. If society gave you the opportunity to go to college and you use that chance only to make yourself rich, that would be kind of selfish, wouldn't it? And, it would minimize the impact that such programs have of making us all richer by giving our most talented members a chance to thrive.
3
"Although many of the students have stellar grades, they often have somewhat lower SAT scores than affluent students, which can hurt a university’s ranking." How did the tale end-up wagging the dog? These elite colleges are so preoccupied with their rankings int the US News Best Colleges Report? A student from a lower income family, who scores "somewhat lower" than their wealthy counterparts, obviously has outperformed those students because they did not have the benefit of expensive tutoring, summer college-prep camps, and all the other benefits affluent parents can give their children.
5
I have always believed financial aid money should be awarded to the brightest students who have the greatest need. Your race, religious beliefs, sex, etc should not be considered. If you are intelligent, have the grades and the ability to prosper at a university but cannot afford the tuition/expenses, you should be at the front of the line for a scholarship.
Vassar is a leader. They are setting an excellent example for other universities. I hope other schools follow their lead. It is the right thing to do, and think of the benefits people will reap!
Vassar is a leader. They are setting an excellent example for other universities. I hope other schools follow their lead. It is the right thing to do, and think of the benefits people will reap!
3
I think this is the way to go frankly. It's better than the racial and even geographic preferences. I never understood why the children of affluent Blacks should receive an admission boost over poor whites for examples.
I guess the only problem I have is this obsession that some have for diversity of any kind. Anything that has stringent standards is going to generate some disparities. We are all created equally but that doesn't mean we are all of equal abilities for whatever reasons.
I guess the only problem I have is this obsession that some have for diversity of any kind. Anything that has stringent standards is going to generate some disparities. We are all created equally but that doesn't mean we are all of equal abilities for whatever reasons.
7
Where did you get the idea that affluent blacks get an admissions boost over poor whites?
3
@Ed
You're comparing the wrong issues. Compare wealthy whites with wealthy blacks, poor whites with poor blacks. Then you will have a better sense of why racial diversity is also an important consideration. Will a wealthy white kid or a wealthy black kid have an easier time navigating Exeter? Will a poor white kid or a poor black kid be encouraged or discouraged more by his/her teachers?
You're comparing the wrong issues. Compare wealthy whites with wealthy blacks, poor whites with poor blacks. Then you will have a better sense of why racial diversity is also an important consideration. Will a wealthy white kid or a wealthy black kid have an easier time navigating Exeter? Will a poor white kid or a poor black kid be encouraged or discouraged more by his/her teachers?
1
Also, you assume that higher economic status for African Americans means equality, when the statistics say no.
1
I wish I had $100 million to give to this fabulous foundation! And bravo to Vassar and the other universities who have been making this effort even before there was prize money attached.
Also, I can't help but notice that few, if any, of these schools have a football or men's basketball team of any real note. It's wonderful to see that some universities are able to see through the pervasive myth that having a famous sports team somehow contributes to educational quality.
Also, I can't help but notice that few, if any, of these schools have a football or men's basketball team of any real note. It's wonderful to see that some universities are able to see through the pervasive myth that having a famous sports team somehow contributes to educational quality.
20
If you click on the link in the article, you will see that the #3 college in the Upshot's analysis (after Vassar and Grinnell) is UNC Chapel Hill. Their rival may have just won the men's basketball national championship, but UNC is no slouch athletically.
A cynical fact remains that tuition-paying students are very important point-sources of income to universities. In some private universities it used to be that the tuition fees covered the faculty salaries, I do not know whether this still holds. As to Vassar, I wonder if it were not better for it to stay a women's college.
2
Like Sweet Briar?
1
The single best decision anyone at Vassar ever made, other than Matthew Vassar's decision to set up a college for women, was to go co-educational. Vassar would not be the competitive school it is today if it had remained all women. The most successful women's colleges today are places like Wellesley, Barnard, and Scripps that have many other co-ed colleges nearby. Most young women do not want to attend an all-women's college today.
1
I went to Vassar when it was all women, and although my two sons went there when it was co-ed, I cannot help but regret the change.
It was a place where young women could explore and bond and express themselves without the distraction (and competition) of men. It was definitely a "successful" women's college, however you care to define "success".
It was a place where young women could explore and bond and express themselves without the distraction (and competition) of men. It was definitely a "successful" women's college, however you care to define "success".
1
What about the many studies that show that low income students do better at schools not labeled *elite*?
And how is an internship at a *dance company* going to move this young man up the socio economic ladder?
I totally support the posting from the Mr Lieberman that the *prize* money is better directed to student scholarships which wind up at the colleges anyway and directly benefit students than prizes that get eaten up by administrators.
And how is an internship at a *dance company* going to move this young man up the socio economic ladder?
I totally support the posting from the Mr Lieberman that the *prize* money is better directed to student scholarships which wind up at the colleges anyway and directly benefit students than prizes that get eaten up by administrators.
5
No one suggests that the goal for college is to "move up the socio economic ladder," and if this young man were from an affluent family, no one would question his choice to move in this direction. Vassar's proximity to Manhattan as well matriculating in an academic environment that supports his interests, surely offers many advantages that he would not find in a public college in southern Georgia.
1
Give the money instead to the state universities such as Rutgers Engineering which is more diverse and graduates many students who work really really hard for their degrees.
8
Give the money to Rutgers and they might spend it on their Big 10 football financial black hole
1
Better the $1 million went directly to student scholarships than a "prize". First of all, even though $1 million sounds like a lo to an individual, it's chicken feed to any large organization like a college. It's not nearly enough to act as an incentive to change their behavior, though it has some publicity value. Then the money will disappear into the administrators' general fund. If you're a wealthy donor, give directly to scholarships or faculty chairs where 100% of your money will benefit students. Times, celebrate the many donors who already do this, rather than this publicity stunt.
Henry Lieberman
MIT
Henry Lieberman
MIT
14
I love your advice for donors to give directly to scholarships or faculty chairs. Money meant to help students should be spent on the students. I tip my hat to you!
2
1M may be worth more to a college like Vassar given its assets, than it would be to the Institute. Consider the historical implications...
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/09/upshot/09up-college-access...
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/09/upshot/09up-college-access...
2
Fantastic decision and wow, what a great college president. This is EXACTLY what all higher ed institutions should be doing. Nice acknowledgement of the fine work of "The Upshot" too.
9
Nice gesture, but perhaps even more dynamic if the amount of the award was matched by alumni, an indication that diversity is embraced by the overall college community.
6
Why are we heaping more benefits on high acheivers and ivy league schools? Most low income students, like most middle income students, aren't equipped to be successful at ivy leagues. And ivy leagues do not need more money! What about prioritizing the middle rung schools who offer a good education, but don't have the endowment to offer the financial support low income? So many low income students bail out because the grants they receive don't cover really necessary expenses - transportation, books, room and board. For ivy league schools low income kids are like hot house plants -- their presense soothes the guilt of the ruling elite. We won't be successful in expanding college opportunities to low income students until we are more flexible about how grant and scholarship monies can be used.
15
some schools - like Vassar - are better at covering the true cost of attendance.
Congratulations Vassar and President Hill! I couldn't be more proud to be a Vassar grad. Not a day goes by when I don't shout about Vassar's wonderful programs from rooftops. Hurray!! This is showing the world how it's done. Why yes I will write another check this year to Vassar.
10
Here's the thing: you can't simultaneously tell colleges to enroll more struggling low income students and then punish them for completion rates, when it is the low income students who have the lowest completion rates.
You can't simultaneously push poor students to go to private colleges and then talking punishingly about students who leave with "too much debt" and "unrealistic expectations" -- and then mock young people with loan debt who live with their parents for "returning to the nest."
I like the idea of social mobility, but an easier solution would be to raise the minimum wage.
You can't simultaneously push poor students to go to private colleges and then talking punishingly about students who leave with "too much debt" and "unrealistic expectations" -- and then mock young people with loan debt who live with their parents for "returning to the nest."
I like the idea of social mobility, but an easier solution would be to raise the minimum wage.
5
One problem with this concept is that it seems destined to further enrich well endowed institutions like Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Grinnell —and Vassar. They're the only ones that can afford to be truly need-blind in admissions.
12
Accord to the Times, Vassar (and similar thriving small liberal arts colleges) still have endowments that are a fraction of those at the formerly male-only universities... http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/09/upshot/09up-college-access...
1
Serious silliness! As if Vassar needs money or a prize! And what is academic diversity these days? Different folks of several races and genders who all believe the same and think the same.
What happened to the Equal Opportunity, the American Dream, and the vision of the founding fathers? Has money become The New God in US education?
1
I'm black, was born poor, scored in the 97th percentile on 'the test', went to the best schools for free, and have still been discriminated against all of my life on campus and in the work world. I feel lucky to be trained well enough to fight back, and for the opportunities to have glorious fields of battle. But let there be no doubt; it's tough out there if you are of color, 'programs' notwithstanding.
27
And if this is true for you, someone who is a high academic performer and the product of an exclusive education, what is it like for the average performing minority student, or one who attends an "average school?" I shutter to think what it's like for those not fortunate enough to go to college or complete high school... reading the headlines these days, I think we can see the truth - it's not pretty.
1
Unfortunately this sounds like a one off pilot program that is unlikely to survive this president's tenure. In this issue of the NYT there is an article indicating that the mayor of NYC is eligible for financial aid. Educating talent people , independent of family background, is an investment in the future. Making scarce educational resources available based on the ability to pay is a waste of resources far too much of the time.
2
A private-school red herring, which once again is a blue whale in the eyes of the NYT, which is obsessed with signs of status (see today's article on which Ivy League school the NY mayor's son will attend, Mahlia's tour of Brown, and Hilary's gawking). You don't need to look far to locate where most Pell-eligible students are: state universities. There are legions of fine students out there who don't have money or social connections or good high school guidance. They are the future middle class whose ranks are so much in peril. They are the 99%. Yet the NYT continues to focus on relatively small problems in US higher ed. What we need in this country is vastly more assistance for kids who will never get a shot at an Ivy of a selective liberal arts school, where seats are few to guarantee exclusivity. Vastly declining state budgets for higher ed is a far more important problem than this program, high minded as it is.
21
It would help this discussion by admitting that 'low-income students' really means 'black and Hispanic students.'
2
For God's sake, man, look at the picture in this article. There are plenty of poor or nearly poor whites, and if you don't believe me, I invite you to come to my town, where you will meet the kids of loggers and mill workers. Colleges already struggle mightily to find and admit talented students of color, regardless of income. What they haven't done is define "diversity," that sacred value, in such a way as to include differences in how much money your parents have. At least we are starting to see a little discussion of how morally myopic this is.
13
Not necessarily, Max. The young man featured in this article is a white kid from Albany, Georgia, raised solely by his mother (according to the article). If I'm not mistaken, universities are feeling the pressure to add economic diversity to the mix, not just racial and ethnic diversity.
11
This is wonderful news! Any system that rewards merit benefits us all. "Diversity" may be the current rage, but leveling "the playing field" for unfortunate but high-achieving students is what truly counts.
Also, one hopes that any snobbery by the typical privileged undergrad at a top, private, university, will be minimal. Or is such a wish just being unrealistic?
Also, one hopes that any snobbery by the typical privileged undergrad at a top, private, university, will be minimal. Or is such a wish just being unrealistic?
5
If only colleges tried so hard to encourage and achieve some diversity of thought, in addition to diversity of race, ethnicity and family income and wealth, we might actually have diverse colleges.
8
This prize is a great start, but it will only reward elite schools because the graduation threshold is 75 percent. Far more meaningful prizes would be ones that awarded substantial sums to the school that attracts large shares or large numbers of low-income students but consistently show far better than expected graduation rates given their student bodies. Those types of competitions would include the schools that enroll the bulk of low-income students, rewarding those that do the best job. They need both greater recognition and the money.
5
It should not be surprising that most colleges prefer paying customers. Leonhardt wants colleges to enroll more free riders, but that raises the price for others.
3
The idea of economic diversity on college campuses is a good thing. Socio-economic diversity is much more important than the color of one's skin. However, the fact thiat money is being used to send people who are in this country illegally to a prestigious college is disgraceful. Those people may be called "dreamers" all you want be amnesty backers, but they are still illegal aliens who should be deported. Tuition is way too high for legal American citizens, and that money should be going towards them, and not towards illegals. Respect for the law is a primary responsibility of citizenship.
7
Like all efforts in a capitalistic system to overturn the rules of supply and demand, this will fail. America has a class system based on wealth, get use to it. 'Financial Aid' is nothing more then a system of discounts for the poor, at the expense of the wealthy. It is a system of transfer payments, just like food stamps. Believe me, the people who pay full, list price resent the fact they are paying for others Ms. Hillary intends to go national wide with her system of transfer payments, including housing, transportation etc. Hey, who doe snot like free.
3
I guess you did not read the article about the rather well to do Mayor de Blasio will likely qualify for student loan aid for his kids. The problem is not "transfer payments" for the poor; it's that the rich are getting "transfer payments" in the form of tax breaks and subsidies you never hear about.
9
Yes, of course financial aid is a discount for the poor, paid by the wealthy. That's a good thing. What a sad and selfish world you must live in.
I'm one of those people paying 'full, list price' at Vassar, and I don't resent it one bit. I needed and received a lot of financial aid when I went there 35 years ago, and I couldn't be happier that my college (and my kid's college) is a leader in creating opportunity for others.
Some of these kids getting financial aid now, including the 'dreamers,' will be paying full freight for their kids some day, and smart kids whose parents can't afford to pay full tuition will be subsidized by them.
I'm one of those people paying 'full, list price' at Vassar, and I don't resent it one bit. I needed and received a lot of financial aid when I went there 35 years ago, and I couldn't be happier that my college (and my kid's college) is a leader in creating opportunity for others.
Some of these kids getting financial aid now, including the 'dreamers,' will be paying full freight for their kids some day, and smart kids whose parents can't afford to pay full tuition will be subsidized by them.
1
It's about time. Children of wealthy blacks and hispanics are usually given preference to provide "diversity". That is diversity on paper; if those kids grew up in affluent suburbs and attended great schools, often elite private schools, how is that actually diversity.
6
Income inequality and scholarships for competitive students should have always been the emphasis towards admissions. I hope this approach rids the nation of affirmative action which created a two tier system. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his autobiography that his Yale Law degree was never taken seriously as he was looked upon as an affirmative action graduate. Diversity is ideal but merit based admissions is most deserving. With more scholarships that can hopefully be attained.
4
heck who cares if anybody is take my degree or education serious if I'm a recipient of affirmative action? statements like that are inferences in making a person fill less than. in a society of white dominance, you have to have code phrases, words, symbols and signs that indicate your elite status: it's an old strategy and technique of belittlement that even those of the dominant culture no longer believe.
1
It is great that colleges are being rewarded for improving their diversity. There should, however, also be recognition for colleges that have been doing a fine job of it all along, such as my alma mater, Smith College. It has for years led the nation in Pell Grant students, providing significant financial aid for talented people whose financial situation would otherwise prevent them from attending a prestigious, excellent liberal arts college. I hope that the Cooke Foundation and others will reward colleges like Smith for having been leaders, not laggards, in economic diversity.
6
The reason why Vassar is being recognized and not Smith or some of the other schools that also deserve recognition is because Catharine B. Hill is a successful politician when it comes to the subject of economic diversity on campus. It seems that every NYT article on the subject mentions her, but not the president of Smith, Amherst, or any of the other colleges that have been doing similar work. CBH promotes herself and her work a little too much for my tastes.
Listen, this problem is HUGE. Our #1 student, with a 32 ACT, a 4.0 with all IB and Engineering classes, a fantastic writer, from a low income family was turned down by Yale and by Brown. Seriously? A 4.0 female student who wrote some of the best essays I have read in a nearly twenty year career, who is one of the Captains of the Robotics team, who will most likely test out of Japanese at the college level, who aced her ACT is STILL not good enough for Yale or Brown. Why? I know why. Because she is from a very low income family. She can't add to Yale or Brown's racial mix as she is white, (and lack of support for diverse students is another separate piece of this inequity puzzle), so Yale and Brown get to be as selective as they wish...ridiculously so if you ask me. How is having primarily white, affluent kids in our top colleges helping our country as a whole? How many wealthy kids with lower ACT's and less impressive resumes were accepted? The good news: U Cal at Berkeley said yes. As indicated in this article, the California state system is aware that economic diversity makes for a better balance in the student body. Why should low income kids, inner city kids (like the 92% of the student body at my school in north Minneapolis, 85% of whom are also students of color) work so hard and strive so diligently if the top institutions in the nation still tell them they are not good enough?
39
Your 4.0 32 ACT student sounds like the "less able" younger sibling of our 4.7 35 ACT student, also in a full IB schedule, with Chinese instead of Japanese and in a sport to boot. Waitlisted at UChicago and some other top schools. Luckily got a full ride (academic scholarship) at a very good school, but not one of the top schools. Lucky because her parents had been unemployed through the recession and although their savings had been depleted, had just found jobs in time for their FAFSA to look great. :-(
WHile I gripe, I also realize that most students who come from disadvantaged families are not really ready for the hard-core experience of learning that college is. I see so many students who TRY HARD and WANT TO DO WELL, but their life experience to that point don't mesh up with what is expected in a top ivy type environment. Haven't read all the classics and traveled and etc...you're going to find it tough to compete. SO MANY drop out or change majors to something more "fluff" (unemployable) once they get to U because they can't measure up to kids who have been having meaningful political, economic and literary conversations around the dinner table all their life. Face it, if your family is super-blue-collar or not too bright and mostly too exhausted from their 2 or 3 jobs to have a family conversation time and discuss world issues...how are these kids going to suddenly acquire those skills in the summer after their senior year?
WHile I gripe, I also realize that most students who come from disadvantaged families are not really ready for the hard-core experience of learning that college is. I see so many students who TRY HARD and WANT TO DO WELL, but their life experience to that point don't mesh up with what is expected in a top ivy type environment. Haven't read all the classics and traveled and etc...you're going to find it tough to compete. SO MANY drop out or change majors to something more "fluff" (unemployable) once they get to U because they can't measure up to kids who have been having meaningful political, economic and literary conversations around the dinner table all their life. Face it, if your family is super-blue-collar or not too bright and mostly too exhausted from their 2 or 3 jobs to have a family conversation time and discuss world issues...how are these kids going to suddenly acquire those skills in the summer after their senior year?
3
Cloud Peak Project helps outstanding low-income students apply to selective colleges, and we help students from all backgrounds.
Yes, Brown and Yale admit fewer low-income students than Columbia, UPenn or Harvard, which has recently expanded the proportion of low-income students it will accept. Yes, Yale and Brown would accept more candidates from economically diverse backgrounds in an ideal world based on merit. I hope Yale and Brown hear what you have to say and admit more outstanding students based on merit, and reduce their focus on wealth and legacy candidates. There are far more legacy students offered admission to elite colleges and universities than other preferential admissions.
There's also a world of great colleges outside of the Ivy League that outstanding low-income students should consider, and where they will receive excellent financial aid so they can attend. For example, a nearly fluent Japanese speaker might consider Middlebury College, which offers perhaps the best language training in the country. There's a Cloud Peak Fellow from Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn studying Japanese there as a freshman (she speaks three other languages fluently). Of course, as Captain of the Robotics Club, your student might also consider applying to MIT, which might be a better match than Yale or Brown for a serious engineering student.
Yes, Brown and Yale admit fewer low-income students than Columbia, UPenn or Harvard, which has recently expanded the proportion of low-income students it will accept. Yes, Yale and Brown would accept more candidates from economically diverse backgrounds in an ideal world based on merit. I hope Yale and Brown hear what you have to say and admit more outstanding students based on merit, and reduce their focus on wealth and legacy candidates. There are far more legacy students offered admission to elite colleges and universities than other preferential admissions.
There's also a world of great colleges outside of the Ivy League that outstanding low-income students should consider, and where they will receive excellent financial aid so they can attend. For example, a nearly fluent Japanese speaker might consider Middlebury College, which offers perhaps the best language training in the country. There's a Cloud Peak Fellow from Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn studying Japanese there as a freshman (she speaks three other languages fluently). Of course, as Captain of the Robotics Club, your student might also consider applying to MIT, which might be a better match than Yale or Brown for a serious engineering student.
2
@eva lockhart
As an Ivy league alum and a person of color who came from deep poverty and someone who does interviews for applicants to my alma mater, I can tell you that the admissions committee does not seek any information about student wealth. The only way to have it considered is to mention it somewhere in the application process. Also, there are a million kids with great grades and high ACT/SAT scores. That will never be a guarantee of admission to these kinds of colleges. I was also turned down by Brown and Stanford when I applied to college, but accepted at a school that ranked higher than either of them-- you never know what's going to catch the eye of the admissions committee, but there has to be something.
As an Ivy league alum and a person of color who came from deep poverty and someone who does interviews for applicants to my alma mater, I can tell you that the admissions committee does not seek any information about student wealth. The only way to have it considered is to mention it somewhere in the application process. Also, there are a million kids with great grades and high ACT/SAT scores. That will never be a guarantee of admission to these kinds of colleges. I was also turned down by Brown and Stanford when I applied to college, but accepted at a school that ranked higher than either of them-- you never know what's going to catch the eye of the admissions committee, but there has to be something.
3
We're very pleased to see Vassar receive this award from JKCF. Cloud Peak Project helps outstanding low-income students apply and attend selective colleges, and one of our Fellows from Cape Coral, Florida is now a junior at Vassar, where she is successfully completing her junior year and is on track to enter medical school. She is very happy at Vassar, and immediately made friends there. She said "I found people who are interested in the same kind of things I'm interested in. I found my people here."
In addition to Amherst and Pomona, you should also give accolades to Grinnell College among the elite liberal arts colleges, and Columbia University among universities for accepting higher percentages of low income students. M.I.T., which has accepted four Cloud Peak Fellows, also seems to be a complete meritocracy.
Cloud Peak Fellows have an average family income below $30,000 per year, and they have been highly successful academically and socially in attending elite private colleges.
In addition to Amherst and Pomona, you should also give accolades to Grinnell College among the elite liberal arts colleges, and Columbia University among universities for accepting higher percentages of low income students. M.I.T., which has accepted four Cloud Peak Fellows, also seems to be a complete meritocracy.
Cloud Peak Fellows have an average family income below $30,000 per year, and they have been highly successful academically and socially in attending elite private colleges.
12
Ms. Hill, president of Vassar, noted that: "low income students pay little or nothing at all". In addition, Vassar is making more scholarship money available to illegal immigrants. i.e. "so-called Dreamers". Meanwhile, parents in the middle are supposed to take out loans on their homes or businesses, and their kids are supposed to leave school with tens of thousands of dollars of debt to pay Vassar's $63,280 tuition and fees for 2015-2016. What sense does it make to crush the middle while elevating a few from the bottom?
21
@Marigrow,
I am not certain how you define middle-class, but as a retired university faculty member I suspect I fit.
We have indeed taken out very substantial loans in order to pay half the price of our son attending Vassar. Vassar pretty much pays the other half. We do not feel we are being "crushed," and are happy to see Vassar spending more of its money on a substantial number of Pell-eligible students.
Our son could have attended Minnesota on an almost free ride. We CHOSE to incur the expense of a Vassar education because we believed the experience would be worth the cost, as it has proven to be. Why in the world should people in our circumstances expect even more aid?
I am not certain how you define middle-class, but as a retired university faculty member I suspect I fit.
We have indeed taken out very substantial loans in order to pay half the price of our son attending Vassar. Vassar pretty much pays the other half. We do not feel we are being "crushed," and are happy to see Vassar spending more of its money on a substantial number of Pell-eligible students.
Our son could have attended Minnesota on an almost free ride. We CHOSE to incur the expense of a Vassar education because we believed the experience would be worth the cost, as it has proven to be. Why in the world should people in our circumstances expect even more aid?
8
Agree with Marigrow. Tired of the social and political engineering attempts by the Elite colleges at the expense of the middle class. Forced racial/ethnic/class diversity is very different from extending financial aid to those who fit in well with other classes. As to Eva Lockhart's reply, I suspect that the rejected, high-achieving students you mention were not "colorful" enough, if you get my drift. That said, there is much too narrow an understanding in this country of what constitutes a fine, and elite, education. Blame that on USNWR, their marketers, and all the misinformation about the supposed "handful" of colleges that flows from that propaganda.
1
If you have chosen to be retired, why are they giving you any aid at all? ..... while they are charging still-working people that aren't in the 1% $63,280/year.
Perhaps legacy admissions will be the next grossly unfair barrier to true economic diversity on college campuses to fall. It's certainly past time.
27
They are a very small part of the campus, from what I understand. Anyway, so few kids will be going to any of these elite schools it seems hardly worth the effort.
2
It's worth the effort to the child.
2
As long as you can pay for a building or a professorship, your kid will be able to get in. Money is always welcome everywhere.
The data and research do NOT indicate that it is educational attainment at elite schools that primarily explains our mobility and inequality. This will help some kids but the heavy lifting hasn't begun.
9
Somehow I don't think the first commenter was thinking about the white kid from Georgia when he thinks of poor kids. I wouldn't get too excited about library signs either. I think they are all over the place these days, and rich kids aren't immune from shoplifting, in my experience. Thank you Vassar for the one simple choice to augment scholarships and forego fancy buildings.
16
Bravo Vassar! I graduated in class of '89. My single mother, a secretary raising me in the Bronx, managed to get enough aid from Vassar even back then so I could attend. The doors this opened are endless. I'm now able to raise three boys on my own, having received incredible opportunities in the field of education across my career. I learned to read and write, to solve problems and work creatively in a community all while in college. Vassar has aways valued economic diversity and embraced the social mission at its core.
23
I am a current student at Vassar College and am so happy Vassar is getting the recognition it deserves for its efforts to become more economically diverse. However, I feel that something is missing from these conversations about bringing economic diversity to campuses. Creating an economically diverse student body is only half the struggle. The other half is making the campus a safe, comfortable place for students of widely different backgrounds. In this way, Vassar has failed. This failure has manifested in an increase in racial bias incidents, racial profiling, and student feelings of distrust toward the administration. Creating economic diversity can not be the end of the process of transforming higher education. If higher education is really going to afford opportunities to a diversifying student body conversations need to be had about appropriately educating faculty, staff, and the entire student body on how to do so.
I applaud schools that follow Vassar's lead in making efforts to admit economically diverse students however, I hope to see more discussion about the issues at the core of "elite" colleges such as Vassar and how these issues affect the incoming diverse classes.
I applaud schools that follow Vassar's lead in making efforts to admit economically diverse students however, I hope to see more discussion about the issues at the core of "elite" colleges such as Vassar and how these issues affect the incoming diverse classes.
22
There should be be a much greater emphasis on programs to achieve economic diversity in college admissiion, and to provide more help to those in financial need.
What's usually practiced today, of course, is some form of race-based affirmative action. Such programs are patently unfair, and violate the letter and spirit of the non-discrimination provisions in our Constitution and our civil rights laws.
But programs to achieve economic diversity are a different story. These efforrts are usually very worthwhile, and should be strongly encouraged and supported. It's encouraging to see organizations lke the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation giving such programs life.
What's usually practiced today, of course, is some form of race-based affirmative action. Such programs are patently unfair, and violate the letter and spirit of the non-discrimination provisions in our Constitution and our civil rights laws.
But programs to achieve economic diversity are a different story. These efforrts are usually very worthwhile, and should be strongly encouraged and supported. It's encouraging to see organizations lke the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation giving such programs life.
19
Affirmative Action was meant to address illegal racial discrimination against Blacks. This lasted under Jim Crow laws from 1877 til 1965. It is not reverse discrimination, but restitution for past injustices. I would suggest that it be kept in place for a minimum of 100 years. While Jim Crow was de jure in the South, there was also de facto discrimination in the North, in places such as Boston.
What other compensation would the author here suggest to correct this past injustice. In both education and initial hiring, Affirmative Action fits the bill.
What other compensation would the author here suggest to correct this past injustice. In both education and initial hiring, Affirmative Action fits the bill.
1
@Alex
You are wrong. The spirt of the non-discrimination provisions of US law is to prevent whites from abusing blacks (for the most part), as they have historically and in the present. Conservatives twist that around to try to protect the most affluent people in the country. Yes, I support economic diversity in colleges. But people of color are disproportionately poorer than whites, so hopefully it will benefit racial diversity efforts, too.
You are wrong. The spirt of the non-discrimination provisions of US law is to prevent whites from abusing blacks (for the most part), as they have historically and in the present. Conservatives twist that around to try to protect the most affluent people in the country. Yes, I support economic diversity in colleges. But people of color are disproportionately poorer than whites, so hopefully it will benefit racial diversity efforts, too.
Income per student vs % of Pell Grant students.
Endowment per student (2015 Data)
Princeton 2,809,000
U of Penn 473,000
Cornell U 276,000
Percent students on Pell Grants 2016 data
Princeton 13%
U of Penn 17%
Cornell 17%
Relative to endowment income, Princeton has a long way to go.
It has less than 1/10 of its income, and more students on Pell Grants.
Indeed, of the elite colleges I analyzed, it does the best job relative to resources.
The writer, M. Leonhardt, attended Yale
Yale , endowment per student 2,070,000 (2015 data)
Yale, percent of Pell Grant students 12% (2016 data)