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Is College Really “Out Of Reach” For Students?

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At Wednesday night’s Democratic presidential debate, progressive candidates informed us that college has become out of reach for many Americans. Bernie Sanders claimed that “hundreds of thousands of bright young kids can’t afford to go to college,” while Elizabeth Warren promised “to fight for students who have been cut out of opportunity over and over because of the rising cost of an education.”

It’s true that college costs have risen at an unsustainable clip. But have these rising costs, as the progressives claim, taken away the ability of “bright young kids” to attend college at all? Not quite.

Among students who graduated from high school in 2013, 72% enrolled in a college or trade school within three years. These numbers have trended upward over time: despite rising tuition, more and more students are pursuing higher education.

For “bright young kids”—those with strong high school grades—the numbers are even better. Ninety-seven percent of high school graduates with an “A” average in their high school classes go on to college within three years. These numbers are high across all socioeconomic classes. Ninety-one percent of “A” students whose families earn less than $35,000 annually go on to college shortly after graduation.

The socioeconomic gaps are slightly wider for students with a “B” average in high school. Ninety-two percent of “B” students from wealthy families attend college shortly after high school, compared to 77% of “B” students from poor families. But college is hardly out of reach for this group if more than three in four students are able to attend.

Previous research has found that academic qualifications are also a strong predictor of college completion, in addition to college enrollment. A student with a strong SAT score but a low family income is far more likely to finish college than a student with a weak SAT score and a high family income.

Of course, this analysis does not prove that the education system is fair to students of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Students from rich families are much more likely to earn “A” and “B” grades than their lower-income peers, perhaps because K-12 schools that serve lower-income communities don’t provide as many opportunities for bright students to develop their talents. The best way to remedy these gaps is a discussion worth having.

But it is not the case that college is out of reach for low- and middle-income students who do have strong academic qualifications. A poor “A” student is much more likely to attend college than a rich “C” student.

One reason that socioeconomic gaps in college enrollment are so low for students with similar academic qualifications is the fact that lower-income students tend to pay very low tuition. A combination of need-based grants from governments and financial aid from schools yield heavy discounts off “sticker prices” for students with financial need. More than half of low-income students who attend public four-year colleges pay no tuition at all after financial aid is applied.

Higher education has more than its fair share of problems. Financial aid for low-income students helps bring down tuition, but underlying college costs are still too high. Completion rates are disappointing, and too many people default on their student loans. But college is not out of reach for students with promising academic qualifications. Too expensive? Probably. But not unattainable.

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