Number of low-income students at U. has increased since 2008

While the proportion of low-income high school graduates enrolling in two- and four-year institutions has experienced a significant drop since the economic downturn of 2008, the University’s low-income student enrollment has increased over the past seven years.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the percentage of students from low-income families enrolling in higher education immediately after graduating from high school has declined from 56 percent of graduates to just 46 percent since 2008. The report added that this data signifies that, in short, low-income students today are much less likely to enroll in college immediately following high school than they were seven years ago.

In a report called “Where Have All the Low-Income Students Gone?”, The American Council on Education said that the national findings are indeed surprising given increased national and institutional efforts to increase low-income post-secondary school participation since 2008. The American Council on Education has also indicated that the dramatic decline in enrollment among low-income students in two- and four-year colleges and universities transpired despite massive increases in federal and institutional financial aid.

Grant aid from federal, state, private and institutional sources increased by roughly 50 percent after adjusting for inflation, from $82 billion in the 2008-09 academic year to $123 billion in the 2013-14 academic year, as detailed in the College Board’s 2014 “Trends in Student Aid” report.

The net price of college since 2008 has fallen significantly at two-year institutions and increased only by 21 percent at four-year institutions, the report said. These figures do not seem to correlate with the demonstrated decline in low-income undergraduate enrollment.

The American Council on Education proposed several theories to explain this issue, including the ideas that the rapid price increases in college tuition may have led low-income students to think that college is out of reach financially. Other theories were that students may believe that the economic value of higher education has declined and that low-income students have begun to enter the workforce at a higher overall rate than those from higher-income families due to the economic recovery.

The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduates and certain post-baccalaureate students with the goal of promoting access to post-secondary education, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Low-income undergraduate student enrollment has increased over the past seven years at the University according to data provided by University spokesman Martin Mbugua showing that the percentage of Pell Grant recipients per class year rose from 7.2 percent for the Class of 2008 to 18 percent for the Class of 2018. According to the Undergraduate Admissions website, approximately 60 percent of enrolled students receive financial aid.

Director of Undergraduate Financial Aid Robin Moscato said that it is the University’s stated mission to increase the overall economic diversity in its student body and to increase its percentage of Pell Grant recipients in the enrollment each year. She added that the Financial Aid Office engages in a variety of low-income outreach programs through travel, internet resources, mailings and numerous other initiatives.

According to Moscato, Undergraduate Admissions works with community based organizations such as Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America and QuestBridge to increase the University’s enrollment of low-income undergraduates.

“Our financial aid program is one of the best in the country, and it is available to current undergraduate students for all four years,” Moscato said. “We are actively involved in helping to support low-income students all throughout their time here at Princeton.”

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However, Melana Hammel ’18, a low-income student from Barnegat, N.J. who serves as the social chair of Princeton's Hidden Minority Council, said that many low-income high school students are not fully aware of the resources provided by upper-level institutions like Princeton.

“There is definitely a lack of information to underprivileged students everywhere regarding the financial aid resources at these top institutions,” she said.

As a low-income student, Hammel also described the false suppositions many people have made about her when they learn that she is an undergraduate at Princeton. Because many people seem to associate the University with wealth, she said, those who do not know her often assume that Hammel comes from a well-to-do family.

“There is definitely an assumption of privilege,” Hammel said. “People won’t know that I am low-income or that I am first generation unless I decide to bring attention to it."

Sophie Wheeler ’19, who is from West Hartford, Conn. and who applied to the University through QuestBridge, said that she chose the University over other schools because of all the schools she got into, the University gave her the most generous financial aid. She added that she thinks low-income students perceive the Ivy League as being “out of their league,” and that if more people knew about the University’s financial aid package there would be more of an incentive to apply.

Wheeler said that she has had a positive experience with the Financial Aid Office, noting that they have been responsive in getting back to her and have increased her scholarship several times. She also said that she has not categorized herself as “low-income” during her time at the University, but added that she does face concerns her peers do not face such as not exceeding her budget at late meal.

Hammel said that throughout high school, she was reluctant to share her low-income student identity with her peers, the majority of whom came from middle-class families. While she had similar concerns upon enrolling in the University, she said she no longer feels the same pressure to conceal her identity as a low-income student.

However, this pressure to hide her low-income status has been replaced by an increased pressure for academic success, she said. Hammel said that unlike many of her peers, she feels a responsibility to succeed in her studies that is rooted in providing for the future well-being of her mother and father.

“After all of the sacrifices my parents have made for me, I want to be able to repay them with a happy retirement,” she said.

News editor Paul Phillips contributed reporting.