“You always have some students who say, ‘I don’t want to go to college,’ but they don’t realize whatever it is in life, they need to go to college for it,” said adviser Martin Copeland at Theodore Roosevelt High School in the District of Columbia. “They don’t realize it until May. For those students, these incentives work.”
President Barack Obama’s goal is that, by 2020, America will again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. To reach it, more low-income and first-generation students must earn a degree.
The first hurdle is getting these students to apply.
Even as a larger percentage of students from every income go to college compared to the late 1980s, some don’t even consider it. Cost is a huge factor, as is a lack of understanding about scholarships and student loans.
Even application fees can be financially taxing. And the process gets even harder if there’s no computer at home.
Many low-income students would be the first in their family to go to college. If their parents haven’t gone through the application process, there may be no one at home to help guide them.
