Finances Strain Enrollment

College prospects for working class students may appear grimmer than previously anticipated.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance predicted in its September 2006 report that between 1.4 and 2.4 million bachelor’s degree candidates would be dissuaded from pursuing their degree by financial strains.

But in an addendum this week, the Committee said that their estimation was based on a predicted college enrollment rate and patterns that were incorrect.

“Between 1992 and 2004, a major shift in enrollment away from four-year colleges occurred among college-qualified high school students from low- and moderate-income families,” the update said.

According to the Committee, increasing college costs, coupled with student aid, made many students choose to attend community college instead of pursuing bachelor’s degrees.

“An inability to start at a four-year college decreases considerably the likelihood of earning a bachelor’s degree,” the report stated.

Harvard Director of Financial Aid Sally C. Donahue said that Harvard has recognized this challenge.

“We’re doing a lot,” she said. “It’s an issue about which we’ve been concerned for quite some time.”

Donahue noted that financial constraints provide an educational disincentive for poorer students.

“Not only are mostly lower-income students falling out of the educational pipeline,” Donahue said, “but many are not even graduating from high school.”

Accordingly, Harvard said it recognizes its role in reversing the trend.

“Our own effort in that regard is the Crimson Summer Academy,” she said.

The Academy is a program for high school students from public and parochial schools in Boston and Cambridge to better understand the opportunities offered by attending college.

Donahue also recognized the University’s active approach to recruitment and outreach policies.

Such measures aim to portray education as an attainable goal regardless of one’s income.

“As somebody who cares deeply about access and affordability, and believes in young people getting a college education,” Donahuse said, “I really believe there is hope in the future.”

—Staff writer Elliot Ikheloa can be reached at eikheloa@fas.harvard.edu.