Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle On-The-Road
    • Professional Development
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    An AI-Driven Work Force
    University Transformation
Sign In
Students

Foundation Urges Admissions Offices to Create a ‘Poverty Preference’

By Eric Hoover January 11, 2016

To increase the socioeconomic diversity of their campuses, selective colleges should create a “poverty preference” for high-achieving low-income applicants, a new report says.

The report, released on Monday by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, urges institutions to make the admissions process more equitable. The authors describe the current system as “a classic case of interest-group politics gone awry,” in which poor students lack champions and face long odds of being admitted. According to this pointed critique, today’s admissions outcomes boil down to a series of “preferences” — for athletes, legacies, wealthy students, and so on — that stack the deck against the underprivileged.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

To increase the socioeconomic diversity of their campuses, selective colleges should create a “poverty preference” for high-achieving low-income applicants, a new report says.

The report, released on Monday by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, urges institutions to make the admissions process more equitable. The authors describe the current system as “a classic case of interest-group politics gone awry,” in which poor students lack champions and face long odds of being admitted. According to this pointed critique, today’s admissions outcomes boil down to a series of “preferences” — for athletes, legacies, wealthy students, and so on — that stack the deck against the underprivileged.

Jennifer Giancola, the foundation’s director of research, wrote the report with Richard D. Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation and proponent of so-called class-based affirmative action. By creating a preference for promising low-income applicants, they argue, colleges could better recognize the accomplishments of high-achieving students who have displayed persistence in overcoming obstacles.

A report says colleges should better recognize the accomplishments of high-achieving students who have displayed persistence in overcoming obstacles.

They also describe the need for a “viable alternative strategy to promote racial diversity on campus,” especially if the U.S. Supreme Court were to bar or limit race-conscious admissions programs. Mr. Kahlenberg has argued that the latter don’t do enough to enhance socioeconomic diversity at selective colleges.

The report cites examples of existing race-neutral policies that can help low-income students. Those include giving weight to socioeconomic factors during admissions evaluations, “holistic” reviews that assess applicants’ achievements in the context of their family and educational backgrounds, and percentage plans through which top students from each high school earn spots at state flagships.

As higher education waits for the Supreme Court’s ruling in the latest affirmative-action case, the report provides a detailed snapshot of the underrepresentation of low-income students at big-name colleges.

It also reprises some prevalent critiques of how the admissions process disproportionately benefits wealthy students. For instance, the authors take aim at colleges’ reliance on ACT and SAT scores: “The increasing reliance [on] standardized-test scores in compiling an Academic Index to screen applications — so as not to overwhelm admissions officers with otherwise having to read thousands of applications — may unfairly eliminate disproportionate numbers of low-income students on the basis of small score differences.”

As the title suggests — “True Merit: Ensuring Our Brightest Students Have Access to Our Best Colleges and Universities” — the report is concerned with a relatively small segment of postsecondary institutions that deny great hordes of applicants. Some readers surely will question the definition of “best” colleges here, just as they might bristle at the prevalent use of the word “preferences.” And admissions officials, especially those already employing various strategies for enrolling and supporting low-income students, might find this rendering of their work unfair.

Still, the report offers an important reminder: Who ends up attending the nation’s most selective colleges is no accident. The number of poor students on a given campus reflects, at least in part, institutional goals and priorities — and choices made to achieve them.

ADVERTISEMENT

Eric Hoover writes about admissions trends, enrollment-management challenges, and the meaning of Animal House, among other issues. He’s on Twitter @erichoov, and his email address is eric.hoover@chronicle.com.


Questions or concerns about this article? Email us or submit a letter to the editor.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
Eric Hoover
About the Author
Eric Hoover
Eric Hoover writes about the challenges of getting to, and through, college. Follow him on Twitter @erichoov, or email him, at eric.hoover@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Illustration showing the logos of Instragram, X, and TikTok being watch by a large digital eyeball
Race against the clock
Could New Social-Media Screening Create a Student-Visa Bottleneck?
Mangan-Censorship-0610.jpg
Academic Freedom
‘A Banner Year for Censorship’: More States Are Restricting Classroom Discussions on Race and Gender
On the day of his retirement party, Bob Morse poses for a portrait in the Washington, D.C., offices of U.S. News and World Report in June 2025. Morse led the magazine's influential and controversial college rankings efforts since its inception in 1988. Michael Theis, The Chronicle.
List Legacy
‘U.S. News’ Rankings Guru, Soon to Retire, Reflects on the Role He’s Played in Higher Ed
Black and white photo of the Morrill Hall building on the University of Minnesota campus with red covering one side.
Finance & operations
U. of Minnesota Tries to Soften the Blow of Tuition Hikes, Budget Cuts With Faculty Benefits

From The Review

A stack of coins falling over. Motion blur. Falling economy concept. Isolated on white.
The Review | Opinion
Will We Get a More Moderate Endowment Tax?
By Phillip Levine
Photo illustration of a classical column built of paper, with colored wires overtaking it like vines of ivy
The Review | Essay
The Latest Awful Ed-Tech Buzzword: “Learnings”
By Kit Nicholls
William F. Buckley, Jr.
The Review | Interview
William F. Buckley Jr. and the Origins of the Battle Against ‘Woke’
By Evan Goldstein

Upcoming Events

07-16-Advising-InsideTrack - forum assets v1_Plain.png
The Evolving Work of College Advising
Plain_Acuity_DurableSkills_VF.png
Why Employers Value ‘Durable’ Skills
Lead With Insight
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin