Our nation is facing a crisis in access to education and opportunity.  Too many low-income, first-generation-college, underrepresented students are not receiving the advice and support they need to identify and enroll in colleges where they stand a good chance of graduation.  This has lasting consequences not only for these students, but also for our nation.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 90% of the fastest-growing jobs today require a post-secondary education, yet the U.S. lags behind other nations in young adults enrolled in higher education.  This is disproportionately true for low-income students.  Nearly 25% of low-income students who score in the top quartile on standardized tests never go to college, and many of those who do attend college never obtain a Bachelor’s degree.  The decision to attend a four-year institution can have a profound impact on the life of a young person and the lives of their future children.  On average, Bachelor’s degree holders earn approximately $1 million more over a lifetime than high school graduates.  They are less likely to become unemployed and live in poverty.

Of those students who do go on to college, in a study by the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago entitled “From High School to the Future: Potholes on the Road to College”, many are often “under-matching”: attending schools that are less selective and less challenging than those they are qualified to attend.  Approximately 62% of underprivileged students enrolled in a college that was below their presumptive abilities: of the highest-achieving students who presumably would have qualified for a very selective college, only 27% applied and enrolled, while another 29% enrolled in a two-year college or did not enroll at all.

NCAC meets a critical need.  With guidance counselor caseloads reaching 500 students per counselor nationwide, our advisers are able to work one-to-one with the students who need them – helping each student search for an appropriate two-year or four-year college, complete admissions and financial aid applications and take the final steps needed to complete his or her enrollment.

Although they are well-qualified, disadvantaged students are less likely to attend college than their more affluent peers. Too many low-income, first-generation-college, and underrepresented students are not receiving the advice and support they need to identify and enroll in colleges where they stand a good chance of graduating—with lasting consequences not only for these students, but also for our nation.  College counselors are critical to ensuring that students are encouraged and supported during the college application and matriculation process; however, the national student-to-guidance counselor ratio of 467:1 means that the average student spends 20 minutes per year talking to his or her counselor.  Moreover, low-income and first-generation students are particularly underserved, with many never seeing a college adviser.

This assistance is critical for students at underserved high schools who are less likely to have friends or family members who have already navigated the complicated world of admissions and financial aid and can thus be called upon for advice and guidance.  Because our advisers are close in age and circumstance to the students they serve, they connect in ways that others often cannot.

A number of high-profile initiatives have focused on closing the education achievement gap between low-income, first-generation college, and underrepresented groups and their more advantaged peers.  Yet, the gap in college-going and college-completion rates is unlikely to be closed unless the gap in college advising is first closed. 

By placing well-trained, talented recent college graduates as full-time advisers in the nation’s persistently lowest-performing schools, the Advising Corps provides the support that high-need students need to navigate the college admissions, financial aid, and matriculation processes and ensures that students find institutions that will serve them well. The Advising Corps also works to foster a college-going culture in our low performing schools through innovative interventions and support.

We are helping to solve the nation’s problem: by fostering the spirit of community and public service in young adults throughout the country, the Advising Corps aims to improve college-going and graduation rates, thus creating a more productive work force for future generations.

Education News Parents Can Use - Final Segment from Lumina Foundation for Education on Vimeo.