Why good students don't reach college

Support during the complex application process is key, a new Chicago study finds.

By Amanda Paulson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the March 19, 2008 edition

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Chicago - When it comes to attending college – one that's a good match – going to a high school with a collegegoing culture makes a big difference.

So does filling out the often-overwhelming Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), applying to multiple schools, and getting steady support from teachers and counselors throughout the tortuous application process.

The lack of those things explains why so many Chicago Public School students don't get to college, or settle for a lesser education, according to a new study that spent three years examining the "potholes" on the road to college.

Eighty-three percent of CPS students aspire to a four-year degree, but about 40 percent of those don't even apply for one, the study found. Among top-achieving students, only 38 percent enrolled in a school that matched their qualifications.

The study, by the University of Chicago's Consortium on Chicago School Research, focused on CPS students, but it highlights challenges faced by students everywhere – especially those who are the first in their families to apply to college.

"This is a national policy issue, especially for cities and urban areas," says Vanessa Coca, a researcher for the study. "Wherever you have parents who don't have access to the information, you're going to have students who are lost in the process."

A 2006 Consortium study had shown that of every 100 Chicago high school freshmen, just eight will have a college degree by their mid-20s.

The question for Ms. Coca and other researchers was why.

Some of the most illuminating answers emerged from the in-depth studies of individual students. There was Jennie, a bright, hardworking Latina student who planned to go to a four-year college. She thought she needed to decide a career first, though, and worried about burdening her family with loans. Without guidance on how to search or apply for aid, she ultimately settled for a local community college.

Or Sabrina, a top student with a 3.77 GPA, who considered applying to a number of good colleges across the country. After a scholarship fell through, she accepted a full-ride offer from a small Florida liberal arts school she'd never applied to. It was rescinded over the summer, and Sabrina ended up working a retail job in the fall, her college plans put off indefinitely.

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