If your goal is a decent job and a good life, it's no longer enough to graduate from high school, the report says. It takes some level of higher education. Low-income students are put off by the complexity and paperwork involved in applying for financial aid. They also deal with "sticker shock" over the cost of college; they don't know that the price published by colleges is seldom what students actually pay.
While college enrollment has grown rapidly over the last several decades, poor and low-income students continue to fall behind their wealthier peers in college enrollment and graduation. Eight in 10 children of parents in the top income quintile enroll in college, and 53% eventually graduate. In the bottom quintile, one-third of children attend college, and only 11% graduate. But when they do get a college degree, children of parents in the bottom quintile are four times more likely to move to the top of the income ladder as adults than those who do not complete college.
To enable all students to pursue the American Dream through a college education, the report presents a set of nonpartisan policy recommendations that includes:
— providing effective guidance for students on choosing and paying for college;
— improving students' K-12 academic achievement and preparation so that there is a greater likelihood of success for those who do attend college;
— helping students stay in college until they earn a degree; and
— clarifying the goals of federal post-secondary education policy and research to make college enrollment and graduation for students from low-income families a top priority.
