Today in America,
there is an alarming chasm in the college enrollment of
low-income populations relative to their more affluent counterparts.
It’s a grim reality. But the good news is that the
problem is, to a large extent, fixable. And the place to
start is by effectively disseminating information like the
gold nuggets you’ll find in this book.
The first person in a family to go to college ends poverty
in a family line forever. Consider that college graduates
will earn $1 million more than high school graduates over
the course of their career, and their children will be almost
twice as likely to go to college themselves. And the benefits
of attending college extend beyond the family and into the
community: college graduates contribute over $300,000 more
in taxes over the course of their career, and the achievement
of a higher education has been found to be the number one
driver of urban economic growth.
More than any other American institution, it’s undeniable
that college is now the gateway to full participation in
civic life. At the same time, though, low-income young people
enroll in college at less than half the rate of their higher-income
counterparts. Academic preparation surely accounts for part
of this gap—but only part of it: low-income students
in this country who get As enroll in college at the same
rate as high-income students who get Ds . Clearly, many
students in this country must rely on a college transition
system that doesn’t work for them. As a result, we
are losing out on masses of talent each year. In light of
this, Melissa Mellott’s The Little College Handbook
is a valuable resource, packed with useful information that
can help make real headway in putting all of America’s
talent on a path toward success.
And it’s really all about information. The organization
I founded over ten years ago, College Summit, affects systemic
change by pulling together critical players in a community
to provide low-income schools with the tools, resources,
and structure necessary to equip and empower their students
to successfully navigate the college application and transition
process.
Tired of seeing students “graduate” from the
teen center to the street, several colleagues and I designed
a system to help bright, low-income students who, with the
right support and information during the transition from
high school to college, could propel their lives—and
communities—in a positive direction. This important
book has the very same goal.
Melissa Mellott knows this field as well as anyone. A first-generation
college graduate herself, she has grappled first-hand with
the inequities and challenges facing many students today.
I commend her desire to make this information available
in a digestible way for all of America’s talented
young people. This book will indeed help inspire generations
of success.
J.B. Schramm
Founder and CEO
College Summit, Inc. |
