Top Public Universities Are Shutting out Poor Students, Report Says

Findings from the report Moving on Up? were covered in the Washington Post:

Graduating from a selective college can help low-income students climbthe economic ladder, but many of the nation’s top public universities are turning their backs on the group.

Since the late 1990s, almost two-thirds of selective public universities have reduced the share of students they enroll who come from families earning less than $37,000 a year, according to a report released Thursday by New America. Policy analysts at the think tank found that a near-identical share of these schools have increased the percentage of students they enroll who come from families earning at least $110,000.

“As states have been cutting higher education budgets and with the ever-growing emphasis on prestige and rankings, these schools are becoming much more likely to go after wealthy students,” said Stephen Burd, co-author of the report and a senior policy analyst at New America.