Underprivileged Students: When To Start College And Where To Go Summary

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In the article “2 Keys to Success for Underprivileged Students: When to Start College, and Where to Go” by Karin Fischer she touches on the subject of how important the timing of college and where to go is more important to graduation rates than we think, especially when it comes to the underprivileged. A study of former Philadelphia public-school students by researchers at Drexel University found that only one in five high-school graduates earned a college certificate or degree six years after their expected graduation. They went on even further stating that students who started college within a semester of graduation the success rate is even higher at 46%. In comparison only 15% of students who postponed pursuing their college degree earned …show more content…
“Where and when students go to college were not the only variables that influenced their success. A variety of demographic factors, such as race and ethnicity, can play a role as well… Latino and black students...were significantly less likely than their white or Asian peers to earn a degree”. This is because students from underrepresented groups are more likely to end up at an institution that already has a lower graduation rate. These enrollment trends are contributing to economic inequality that many already face, these trends assist this because these students are enrolling in poorer colleges, not completing their degree and they are dropping out with thousands of dollars in debt. Many students are under the influence that public or private four year institutions will not be financially realistic, when in reality they give out more funding than community colleges. Students need to be getting more support from their high-schools and they need to start being encouraged to look at different options sooner with the hopes of a higher chance of