Best Colleges For Social Mobility

[EconPop]

@ucbalumnus

@EconPop

Maybe, just as colleges have Honors Colleges to cater to mostly upper income high stats students, public universities (including flagships) can roll out Horatio Alger Living Learning Communities for the population segments currently underrepresented in those colleges. Instead of a 4-year program, put these students on a pre-planned 5-year or 6-year plan that includes more prep classes so they won’t be set up for failure – and ensure that the financial aid stretches for those 5-6 years.

Explicitly telling students up front that they will probably need 5-6 years for a nominally 4-year degree program may be a tough sell, even though lots of college students actually do take 5-6 years to complete a nominally 4-year degree (even though they may have thought that they were going to take 4 years when they started).

The college telling the admitted high school senior from a weak K-12 district that s/he will probably need more than 4 years may be being honest about it, but the high school senior may see that as more of an insult and choose a different college that does not say that – even though that same student at the other college is similarly likely to need more than 4 years.

I agree it would be a tough sell for some students. Maybe many students. And I know that some students go into college thinking 4 more years of education is all they want, not 5 or 6.

There will be students who appreciate the design of a 5 or 6 year plan that includes more resources specially designed for students whom the state has not educated properly in k-12. Just as there are students who eagerly flock to community colleges, knowing they will benefit, at that point in their lives/education, more from what a CC offers than from 4-yr college without the resources and specially planned programs to help students like them.

Realistically, this won’t be immediately embraced and offered to hundreds of students per college per year. At best, a state would do it and offer it 20-40 students at a couple of colleges in its system. And it could grow from there as its success dictated, quickly or slowly.