JFF Study of Financial Insecurity in College
A new report, Unveiling Disparities: Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Gaps in Student Financial Insecurity and Proposed Solutions by Jobs for the Future, surveyed 30,000 students from 89 schools in 23 states about their financial well being. They found that Black and Latine students and women of all racial backgrounds were much more likely to experience financial insecurity in college than other students. Coming from backgrounds in which they and their families more likely experienced economic inequalities in the labor market and in educational opportunities, they struggled to pay for basic needs like housing and food and to cover emergencies. The lowest income students were, unsurprisingly, the most financially insecure in spite of financial aid:
Students who relied on grants and scholarships faced the most financial precariousness compared with students who did not. Students relying on grants or scholarships (including Pell grants) were more than two times more likely than those not relying on this method of tuition payment to need food, housing, utility, and medical assistance. In addition, students who relied on student loans to pay tuition were more than 2.5 times more likely than other students to be unable to cover a $500 emergency and also more likely than students who did not rely on loans to face more financial insecurity across all the measures.
The report recommends that colleges establish basic needs centers, make federal and state financial aid more accessible, and more closely track data on financial insecurity.
The economic fragility of these students is but one way in which social class inequalities shape access to and success in college, with too many students struggling to keep their head above water even as they strive for economic stability through success in school. Their circumstances are policy decisions.
UC San Diego Weights First-generation Status and Pell Grant Eligibility in New Point System for Admissions to Competitive Majors
Like many campuses, UC San Diego students face fierce competition for admissions to select majors in STEM and related fields – majors that also lead to some of the higher paying jobs for college graduates. On many campuses, admission goes to students with the highest GPAs, highest SATs, or other factors that can advantage students from the best-resourced high schools when families can afford personal tutoring and coaching or when students don't have to work and have more time to study.
UC San Diego has announced that they'll now be taking a different approach: in part to counter national trends of enrolling high numbers of international students (who pay higher tuition) in these majors, admission will now be offered based on a point system prioritizing qualified California residents who are first-generation students and eligible for Pell Grants.
Continuing students who apply to switch to a selective major must have completed the required screening courses for that major and be in good academic standing. They will then be considered for the major using a point system that awards one point each for having a 3.0 GPA or higher in the major screening courses; California residency; Pell Grant eligibility; and first-generation college status (as determined by information received at the time of initial admission to UC San Diego).
Students with the highest number of points will be admitted until all available spaces within the major have been filled. Ties will be broken using random selection.
Given enough support to overcome the limitations if graduation from under-resourced high schools, this seems a rare and noteworthy gesture toward opportunity.
