Low-income urban students complete college-application steps at far lower rates than suburban peers with similar aspirations¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2009 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2014: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Among Boston seniors planning four-year college, slightly more than half had obtained an application by fall of senior year versus 91 percent of suburban peers, and 18 percent versus 41 percent had applied. → Melissa Roderick 2009 q2 i? In Chicago, only 41 percent of seniors aspiring to a four-year degree actually applied to and enrolled in a four-year college. → Melissa Roderick 2009 (2)

Evidence¶

Melissa Roderick 2009¶

Melissa Roderick, Jenny Nagaoka, and Vanessa Coca. (2009). College Readiness for All: The Challenge for Urban High Schools. The Future of Children. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/college-readiness-all-challenge-urban-high-schools doi:10.1353/foc.0.0024

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports, citing economists Christopher Avery and Thomas Kane, that Boston Public Schools seniors with similar aspirations lagged suburban peers on concrete application steps: obtaining applications (the quoted contrast) and applying to a four-year college by fall (18 percent versus 41 percent). Descriptive percentages only.

"only slightly more than half of the Boston sample, compared with 91 percent of the suburban sample, had obtained an application from the college they were interested in attending by the fall of their senior year"

Melissa Roderick 2009 (2)¶

Melissa Roderick, Jenny Nagaoka, and Vanessa Coca. (2009). College Readiness for All: The Challenge for Urban High Schools. The Future of Children. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/college-readiness-all-challenge-urban-high-schools

q2 · i? · review · r2

The authors' own study, From High School to the Future: Potholes on the Road to College, identified three obstacle points: downshifting plans to two-year or delayed enrollment, not applying by spring of senior year (only 60 percent of aspirants reported applying), and failure to enroll after acceptance. Students with higher qualifications were also at risk.

"We found that only 41 percent of Chicago seniors who stated that they aspired to complete a four-year degree actually applied to and enrolled in a four-year college."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Application, not acceptance, is the primary barrier preventing CPS students from enrolling in four-year colleges — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Only 41 percent of CPS seniors who aspired to a four-year degree enrolled in a four-year college the fall after graduation — related
• College aspirations doubled between 1980 and 2002 while readiness and completion gaps by race, ethnicity, and income persisted or widened — related
• Twelfth graders report high rates of college-preparation actions, with 80 percent at Sample School reporting they applied for financial aid versus 68 percent across CPS — related
• Information barriers disadvantage low-income students in the college transition: bright low-income students miss selective colleges, and mailed information packages raise application and enrollment — related
• College Track completers were more likely than similar students to apply to multiple colleges — related
• Latino CPS graduates who aspire to a four-year degree are least likely to plan to attend a four-year college after graduation — related
• College enrollment gaps by race, gender, and socioeconomic background among CPS graduates were driven primarily by differences in four-year enrollment — related
• Teacher assessment of college-going climate is positively associated with students taking each step toward four-year college enrollment — related