Edufacts™
February 2005
Family income affects student expectations
Success in getting into college and in completing a college degree consists of five basic steps:
- having educational expectations in middle school or earlier;
- making college plans in high school;
- making steps toward college by testing and applying;
- enrolling; and
- persisting to degree completion.
At each step in this process, the gap between students from high-income and low-income families grows. A study in the late 1990s indicates that, even among high school students who take college-preparatory courses, get good grades, and score well on entrance exams, children from low-income families lag behind their high-income counterparts in enrolling and completing a college education. The gap in expectations may affect not only higher education but K-12 as well, as teens who have little hope of furthering their education beyond high school are unlikely to take more challenging courses while they are in high school.
For tips on how to establish high expectations for students as early as middle school and for assistance in planning for higher education academically and financially, visit www.AIE.org. TG provides this Web site as a public service to help all families and students achieve their educational and career dreams.
About Edufacts™
As a public service, TG provides Edufacts, current information about education issues, on a monthly basis.
About TG
TG is a public, nonprofit corporation that helps create access to higher education for millions of families and students through its role as an administrator of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Edufacts is one of the many ways in which TG promotes awareness of education issues, advising the public on national and state trends in education and student aid, and serving as a premier source of information.
High resolution files suitable for publication are available as a free download from TG’s web site at http://www.tgslc.org/edufacts/index.cfm. For more information, please e-mail or call kristin.boyer@tgslc.org or (512) 219-4990.
