Published by Marketplace
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Students whose families can afford to pay for college are feeling more solid, generally, in their plans for next year, according to Craig Goebel, a principal at Art & Science Group.
“The higher income students were making their deposits, and relatively confident in their deposits. But the lower income, more first-generation populations, even students of color, were much less likely to be making deposits, and showing much more concern about what even their possibilities were for the fall,” he said. “We’re seeing a lot of those traditionally disadvantaged students being impacted the most in negative ways here.”
Another indication that the pandemic may be deterring some high school seniors from going to college next year: as of May 1, about 3% fewer students had completed the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid than this time last year. Without it, families are not eligible for federal financial aid, including Pell Grants and student loans.
Lori Chajet, who works with low-income, first generation college students in New York, is worried, too, about what is going to happen over the next few months. In a typical year, she said, “up to a third of low-income students drop those college plans in the summer.”
Now, with students physically separated from their teachers, friends, and other formal support systems, and with many of their families in precarious financial positions, Chajet expects “summer melt” to be much higher.
“If there is not summer support this summer for those seniors, if they are not able to get that support from their homes,” she said, “I think college-going rates are going to tank.”
A lot depends on what happens in the coming weeks and months.
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