In order to increase socioeconomic diversity, universities also need to deal with the admissions component, researchers said.
“Financial aid by itself is not enough. If you have financial aid but don’t admit low-income students it doesn’t do them much good,” said Kahlenberg. “Most colleges don’t consider socioeconomic status in admissions. Being a legacy increases your chances of admissions by 20 percentage points. Being an underrepresented minority increases one’s chances by 28 percentage points. Being poor does not increase one’s position at all at the selective institution.”
As a model for best practices, researchers lauded the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's program Carolina Covenant, which provides financial aid and support to students and families earning below 200 percent of the poverty line.
The program provides both the financial aid and the academic and social support mechanisms such as peer and faculty mentors and rigorous monitoring for low-income students to be successful in college.
