There has always been quite the dichotomy between the upper and middle class, and this was only reaffirmed by by the most recent study done by the University of Pennsylvania’s Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy and the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education. The study showed that the difference between the college graduation rates of the rich and the poor is staggering.
In 2013, 77% of students from wealthy families earned bachelor's degrees by age 24, while only 9% of those from poor families achieved degrees. This is an even greater divide than back in 1970, when 40% of wealthy students and only 6% of poor students earned degrees. What’s even more unfortunate is that education is supposed to level the playing field for job applicants of all income levels; yet this ever-growing distance shows that it isn’t helping with that at all.
One such factor that needs to be considered is that students from low income families aren’t being given the resources to enroll, attend, and complete a degree. It is often thought that students from these families are given supplements and financial aid such as Pell grants. And while these grants certainly help, they do not cover the same percentage as they used to. Compared to the 67% of tuition the grants helped cover in 1970, Pell grants can only fund 27% of today’s college tuition.
This study, which was published on Tuesday, sidles up alongside President Obama’s push for free community college and college readiness programs. The President’s initiative calls for a budget of $860 million in addition to $300 million for GEAR UP, a grant program for low-income students.
Source: Wall Street Journal
