Institutional support for low income students at highly selective colleges

Abstract

This article compares efforts by three highly selective colleges, Harvard, Wellesley, and MIT, to support low-income students. The article is based on interviews with administrators and an analysis of secondary sources, program documents, and journalistic accounts. Differences in college cultures contribute to the development of different approaches, with Harvard providing supplemental financial resources and advising while Wellesley and MIT offer programs to help new students adjust academically and socially. However, common lessons can be identified across these varied approaches: these include the importance of developing supplementary rather than remedial academic programs, initiating conversations about class as well as race, enlisting peers to provide leadership and mentoring for low-income students, developing programs that will reach all students but will particularly benefit under-resourced students, and creating a campus culture in which every student feels valued.