Telling Poor, Smart Kids That All It Takes Is Hard Work to Be as Successful as Their Wealthy Peers Is a Blatant Lie
… A vast majority of these low-income students did move beyond the high school halls to college campuses, but what happens after that is a often a disheartening tale.
“The problem is that most don’t finish, or settle for less than a bachelor’s degree, which of course limits their earning power later in life,” Slate’s Jordan Weissmann reported. “Sometimes they try to save money on tuition by attending community college, even though most two-year schools have a spotty track record when it comes to helping students graduate. Sometimes they get lost or overwhelmed in a college’s bureaucracy, because they don’t have educated parents who can help guide them along. Sometimes they try to work through school and simply can’t balance the demands of a job with their academics.”