Increasing College Opportunity for Low-Income Students - Promising Models and a Call to Action

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Connor

Increasing College Opportunity for Low-Income Students outlines why higher education is essential for economic mobility as demands for postsecondary skills grow. It describes persistent barriers faced by low-income students in guidance, application, financial aid, enrollment, persistence, and graduation. The executive summary presents the Administration’s actions to improve affordability and reform student finance while identifying four priority areas for expanding evidence-based commitments to help more students apply, enroll, and succeed.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages47

Reading Time1 h 58 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

College education and the middle class

Barriers to access and success

Evidence and key disparities

Policy actions and commitments

Increasing College Opportunity for Low-Income Students Promising Models and a Call to Action The Executive Office of the President January 2014 Executive Summary With the growing demand for college-educated workers, a college education is one of the surest ways into the middle class. To help more students afford and graduate from college, the Administration has taken steps to address these challenges – doubling Federal investments in Pell Grants and college tax credits, reforming student loans, and taking new steps to reduce college costs and improve value. But while the President continues to push for changes that keep college affordable for all students and families, we can and must be doing more to get more low-income students prepared for college, enrolled in quality institutions, and graduating. Each year hundreds of thousands of low-income students face barriers to college access and success. Low-income students often lack the guidance and support they need to prepare for college, apply to the best-fit schools, apply for financial aid, enroll and persist in their studies, and ultimately graduate. As a result, large gaps remain in educational achievement between students from low-income families and their high-income peers. Increasing college opportunity is not just an economic imperative, but a reflection of our values. We need to reach, inspire, and empower every student, regardless of background, to make sure that our country is a place where if you work hard, you have a chance to get ahead. Under the President and First Lady’s leadership, the Administration and the Department of Education engaged with leading experts to identify the barriers to increasing college opportunity. Some of the most promising actions are to help and encourage low-income students to apply, enroll, and succeed in college. Based on the existing evidence, we identified four key areas where we could be doing more to promote college opportunity. On January 16th, the Administration is announcing new commitments from colleges and university presidents, nonprofits, leaders of philanthropy and the private sector in these four key areas. These efforts mark the beginning of an ongoing mobilization that will work to promote evidence-based techniques, continue to understand what works, and expand successful efforts. Educational attainment is more important to our economic success than ever before. As more jobs require more education, workers with only a high school diploma are finding it increasingly difficult to enter the middle class. 􀁸 The share of jobs that require postsecondary education has doubled over the last 40 years, as jobs require more skills. 1 􀁸 In 1970, roughly three-fourths of the middle class had a high school diploma or less; by 2007, this share had declined to just 39 percent.2 1 Anthony P. Carnevale, Nicole Smith, and Jeff Strohl,“Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements through 2018,” Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, June 2010. Meanwhile, overall gains in U.S. college attainment have stalled while other countries have continued to increase their share of citizens that complete college. 􀁸 In 1990, the U.S. ranked first in the world in four-year degree attainment among 25-34 year olds; today, the U.S. ranks 12th.3 􀁸 Increasing college access and success is critical to meeting President Obama’s goal of once again being first in the world in college attainment by 2020. Yet college access and attainment remains unequal. Given the growing need for an educated work force, increasing college opportunity will be critical to promoting social mobility for future generations. 􀁸 While half of all people from high-income families have a bachelor’s degree by age 25, just 1 in 10 people from low-income families do.4 􀁸 When children born into the bottom fifth of the income distribution get a college degree, their chances of making it to the top nearly quadruple, and thei

FAQs

Why is college education presented as important for low-income students?

Because college education is described as one of the surest paths into the middle class and a driver of social mobility through improved economic outcomes.

What barriers do low-income students face in reaching and completing college?

They often lack guidance and support for preparing, applying to the right schools, securing financial aid, enrolling, persisting, and ultimately graduating.

What actions does the Administration highlight to improve affordability and opportunity?

It cites steps including doubling federal investments in Pell Grants and college tax credits, reforming student loans, increasing maximum Pell Grant awards, expanding access, and introducing the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Connor