<p>I am the parent of a recent graduate and while she had a great experience at Elon, I was very concerned about the lack of economic diversity. Now I see that my perception was correct. I would love to see a response by the administration to this article:
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/upshot/top-colleges-that-enroll-rich-middle-class-and-poor.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%221%22%3A%22RI%3A10%22%7D&_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0">http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/upshot/top-colleges-that-enroll-rich-middle-class-and-poor.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7B%221%22%3A%22RI%3A10%22%7D&_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0</a></p>
<p>Most people do not come from economically diverse environments and do not end up living in them. It’s a deliberate decision on the part of their family. I guarantee you that the families paying the megabucks to live in Scarsdale, for example, are not concerned about the lack of diversity there. They are paying for that lack. They’ve gone through all kinds of trouble and expense to keep low income housing out of their area and such kids in their school. You really think that they are suddenly going to want to send their kids to economically diverse colleges at a quarter of a million dollars? They want their kids to be with those like them economically or better. </p>
<p>A problem with getting economic diversity in academia is that there is a very strong direct relationship between academic achievement and family economics. So trying to get that diversity becomes difficult at certain levels. Most of the top schools give some quarter in consideration for those kids who come from challenging situations including a low income household. SO a number of those higher achieving kids get scooped up that way. It would take a concerted effort for a school like ELon to ge diversify economically, and when it comes to getting kids from low income situations, it flat out means paying for them They aren’t going to be able to come to the school themselves in many cases. </p>
<p>Consider the endowments of the various schools, as well as the ages of them. Look at where the funding may come from. Older, more elite colleges have large endowments, and alumni funds may be larger. </p>
<p>Consider the tuition costs of some of these colleges. Many of them cost much more than Elon. One of Elon’s commitments is to keeping costs lower. Colleges may admit some lower income students, but they can not make their ends meet without also having students pay the full cost. This would include admitting students from very high income families. </p>
<p>Some colleges are able to meet full need and others can not. This will affect economic diversity. </p>
<p>Elon’s student body becoming larger and more diverse is a fairly recent initiative on the part of the college. At one point, Elon was a small church affiliated college, and now it is a mid size university with students from all over the US and all backgrounds. Consider that the college made a conscious effort to be accessible to more students by charging less tuition than other private colleges. Eventually as the alumni base grows, it may one day be able to have a larger endowment for scholarships. </p>
<p>I’m not associated with Elon, but I am aware of the college’s growth over the past few years. One fallacy of this article is that the colleges and the endowments are not of equal age and size and the tuition charge is different. Elon could also choose to award more financial aid and raise tuition on par with the other private colleges in time. </p>
<p>Not every college above Elon in the diversity rankings has a larger endowment and/or higher tuition. And assuming that you have to be able to pay full tuition to be a good student as cptofthehouse does is insulting and ridiculous. Many parents have written on this board that their student was accepted but couldn’t attend because financial aid was so limited. One way Elon could change the situation is by changing their ED acceptance policy. ED applicants are pretty much by definition able to pay full freight. Elon accepts nearly every student who applies ED. I know Elon is a growing and changing school. I would like that growing to include a commitment to diversity at least equal to their commitment to gorgeous new dorms.</p>
<p>This list is a small sample of all the colleges in the US. It is a list of the most economically diverse colleges, and although Elon is at the bottom of the list, it still made the list. The Pell change is a +3 which, I believe, indicates a rising number of students attending who qualified for Pell grants. </p>
<p>However, a list like this doesn’t say much about a college. Economic diversity is one measure. There are colleges that are more economically diverse than the ones on this list, but they don’t have the other qualification necessary to make this list which is at least a 75% graduation rate. Admitting lower income students is a good ideal, but if a college is also investing resources to support students graduating, that is good too. </p>
<p>Again, I don’t have a connection to Elon, but perhaps they can be more specific about answering your concern. </p>
<p>Honestly I’m not sure this list even shows much about economic diversity. My college is in the top 10 and I would never consider it an economically diverse college. Even if it has become radically more economically diverse since I graduated just a few years ago… its’ student body remains very homogenous. It is religiously non-diverse (Catholic school and majority of students continue to be predominantly Catholic), student body predominantly from the midwest, and all women. Not much diversity there! No school is going to be perfect so you need to find the one that most meet your preferences and your child’s preferences. What’s most important to you; economic diversity? religious diversity? cultural diversity?, etc., etc.</p>
<p>I’d like to correct your comments on ED - while the ED acceptance rate is quite high (in the low 80% range) - that is not the same as stating that “Elon accepts nearly every student who applies ED”. And we are an ED family who does receive generous FA - so you are incorrect that ED families are full freight.</p>
<p>Full pay families subsidize those who receive FA. Elon could raise their cost from $40,000 to $50,000 and award more FA - but I hope they do not do so. There are plenty of in-state, lower cost alternatives for families with lower income. A private college education is not an entitlement. I have no interest in squeezing more out of my budget to subsidize someone else.</p>
<p>Thank you Rockvillemom and cptofthehouse for your comments. Elon is ranked in the top 10 of many college categories; including #1 fpr student success and top 25% best value. I certainly wouldn’t be concerned about its economic diversity rankings; I am much more concerned with the professors and the education they are providing. We are a middle class family and D went to a public high school that was 40% free and reduced lunch so she is well aware of economic diversity. D has found all sorts of diversity at Elon and has friends from one end of the economic scale to the other. D made Elon affordable for herself b/c she Earned two academic scholarships and has an on-campus job. I believe she is getting an excellent education through engaged learning, travel abroad and the professors she learns from daily. She couldn’t be happier. I agree with Rockvillemom, I have no interest in subsidizing anyone else’s education and I applaud Elon for continuing to keep their tuition bill on the lower end for private schools. </p>
<p>Consider this…attaining a university education is just as consumer driven as the purchase of a home or automobile. I presume that this is the reason why the student population at Elon, to a large extent, hails from the northeast/Atlantic Coast. Comparable schools located in the northeast and west coast can generally cost upwards to 8-10K more than Elon. If the schools are truly comparable to the consumer, than Elon reflects value. Ten thousand applicants for approximately 1500 positions speaks to value. Until the endowment reaches some philanthropic critical mass, value to consumers will trump economic diversity. Hopefully as the endowment grows so too will the diversity ~both economic and racial.</p>
<p>Exactly. And as the alumni base grows in size and accumulates wealth - donations will increase - some of which can be used to increase financial aid. </p>
<p>hopefully you have donated money specifically geared towards helping underfunded students to attend elon. </p>