This was my 500 word answer for a recent job application.
Why do you think more
students from low-income communities do not attend college?
Though this question merits an answer that covers a long
history of political and societal limitations placed on minority groups both at
home and abroad, I see three main factors which presently limit students in
low-income communities from attending college.
Firstly, the low expectations that students face limit their
chances of attending college. When a
community is inundated with crime, hunger and poverty, it is seen as a miracle
for students to make it to high school graduation given the multitude of
adversities they suffer from an early age.
For this reason, parents and teachers become trapped in the mindset that
“if they just pass” or “if they can only make it through this year,” that is
enough. And though both groups want the
best for their students, this mindset is harmful to academic progress. If we expect our students to “just pass,”
that is what they will internalize as their top goal. But if we push our
students to explore their many talents and to reach their full potential, they
are likely to do exactly that.
Secondly, a lack of financial stability and literacy prevents
access to higher education. When a family is struggling to put food on the
table or pay rent, trips to prospective colleges or SAT prep classes are far
from their mind. Though these preparatory activities may be small steps on the
path to college, they are ones that greatly increase a student’s chances of
successfully choosing and enrolling in a university. In addition, a lack of knowledge about loans, grants
and scholarship programs may deter students from beginning the application
process in the first place.
Finally, a limited knowledge of the higher education system limits
access to it. When one considers the
amount of paperwork, correspondences and payments that must be submitted in the
years leading up to college admission, it seems that these efforts are no less
than a winding, confusing maze. And for
those who do not have an older family member or academic mentor to guide them
through it, it is certainly less likely that these scholars will reach the reward
waiting for them at the end of this maze.
