The Rich Get Richer—and More Educated
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/02/the-rich-get-richer-and-more-educated/385166/
The gap between America’s richest and poorest families has a well-known phenomenon – the rich get richer. Such impact also creates long-lasting and detrimental consequences on the ability to achieve educational goals. As for the college-enrollment rate, the gap between the groups has actually gotten slightly smaller. But when it comes to actually graduating, the gulf between rich college students and poorer college students is wider than it was in 1970.
A 2008 report from the Pell Institute looked into the decreased likelihood of graduation for low-income students and provided some insights on such “the rich get richer” phenomenon in college graduation. Students from low-income families are more likely to be older and live at home. Many are more likely to attend two-year colleges, and not transfer or attend another school in order to complete their bachelor’s. They often have competing commitments, including family and job obligations that can take them away from school activities, making them more likely to drop out. They’re also less likely to have financial support from their families.
As a result, those from poorer families are facing increasing financial burden of education and increasing family commitments. In relation to what we have learned from class, we can better understand why the rich get richer phenomenon occurs. Those from poorer families—who are most in need of the boost that college can provide—continue flounder when it comes to educational attainment, while those from more privileged families are able to advance more rapidly.
