Study Suggests Colleges Do More To Reach Under-represented Students Information about college from traditional sources is not as accessible to or easily understood by low-income and first-generation students, who tend to rely on high school counselors – when they’re available – and unsolicited marketing materials when researching colleges, according to new research that suggests the best ways to reach under-represented students.
“Deciding on Postsecondary Education,” a report of the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative, looked at how under-represented students get information about and choose colleges and is based on a review of literature and results from 11 focus groups held in eight states.
College selection for traditional students, particularly those of a high socioeconomic status, is a process, begun years before enrollment with the gathering of formal and informal information. But adult and low-income, first-generation students tend to choose a college at the same time they develop an aspiration to attend college.
