Many low-income students live in poorer areas, and accordingly often attend high schools with limited resources. These schools often lack technology, such as computers and new computer programs, and have bigger class sizes, which leaves the average student with less individual attention from teachers. Furthermore, bigger schools without proper funding often leave students behind academically in terms of preparation for college. With this in mind, it is not surprising that the demands of college life can be extraordinarily stressful for students who come from a low-income background. Not only can the difficulty of academic work at college can be a shock to students coming from a low-income high school and family, but financial challenges such as debt and making money during the year are also constant stressors. The culture of a primarily white and wealthy campus can also be very unfamiliar and uncomfortable for students who grew up in high schools where white was the numerical minority.

 

However, one college which has taken these challenges into consideration and has made the commitment to create a more “economically diverse student body” is Franklin and Marshall. Franklin and Marshall, a liberal arts college, is located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 2008, only a mere five  percent of the freshman class was eligible for a Pell grant, and a whopping 62.3 percent  of freshman came from families who could pay the full cost of tuition. For the past three years, 17 percent of the freshman classes have been low-income and have about the same G.P.A. and retention rate as their more affluent peers. This change hasn’t come easily, and the journey there involved taking financial and image risks, as well as convincing wealthy alumnae to help chip in to support low-income students. In order to do this, the school needed to ensure that the low-income students who did receive the hefty financial aid from the school would be incredibly successful; this meant a great deal of searching and recruiting.

 

The college’s president Daniel Porterfield noted in regards to Franklin and Marshall’s increasing number of low-income students,“We have enhanced our reputation as a national institution. We have deepened the bench of academically strong students and at the same time, we are more diverse than ever before.” There are a multitude of reasons, however, why their program was successful. Students from low-income families met with professors in groups of ten, had a student mentor assigned to them, and attended a newly opened math center. The college paid close attention to the difficulties of students and actively tried to find ways to make the college experience more meaningful and useful for these students. One example of this is, the college found that seniors on campus were getting the jobs that low-income freshman needed to have money to socialize with others, and changed the policies so that low-income students had jobs in place as soon as they arrived on campus. Breaks in the academic calendar, when dorms and cafeterias were closed were problematic for low-income students; many did not have the money for travel home, and the break spelled out periods without food or shelter to rely on. The college arranged for students to stay on campus during these breaks and arranged transportation to and from grocery stores. President Porterfield noted,“We want our students to understand that they are not the outliers, they are important assets on our campus and as such, the campus culture will meet their needs to ensure their ongoing success.”

 

Being mindful of the struggles of low-income students and providing opportunities for them accordingly is extremely important in rising current graduation rates of low-income students, and an education free of the stress of debt allows one to focus on their education and truly surpass the class they were brought up in. Thus, one could say that models such as Franklin and Marshall help to even out the wealth inequality of the future of the United States, even if only a little. Furthermore, covering the extra costs and ridding low-income students of some of their stressors allow them to use their Pell grant and actually graduate. If more colleges had programs like this in place, one could assume that many more of Pell grant recipients would graduate.