ABSTRACT
As discussed in previous chapters, low-income students are less likely to obtain their Bachelor’s degrees, in part, because they disproportionately attend community colleges and less selective four-year institutions, attend part time, and delay their entry aft er high school. Many educators believe that enrolling more low-income students in four-year colleges, particularly more selective colleges, encouraging them to attend directly from high school, and encouraging them to attend full time, oft en by improving fi nancial aid availability, would substantially increase their Bachelor degree attainment rates. Educators believe this because fouryear colleges, particularly selective four-year institutions, have higher graduation rates than community colleges and the less selective fouryears. Th ese selective, and particularly highly selective, colleges not only have high graduation rates, they are uniquely structured to facilitate high-status employment positions and graduate school admissions for their students. Th ese institutions off er signifi cant structural support to facilitate students’ success, and although they are less likely to enroll lowSES (socioeconomic status) students, when those students do enroll, they should benefi t from structures that facilitate success as well. One would assume that low-SES students who attend such institutions should be in a position to fulfi ll the ideal of upward mobility.
