Why do many high achieving minority students not apply to selective schools?
*They are afraid of the unknown. This is a totally rational state of mind, not to be confused with adults refusing to try sushi but more akin to those who believe that somebody with a different style of clothing or speech or set of beliefs is automatically to be either feared or shunned. One response on many campuses is the formation of First Generation clubs, which, among other attributes, can offer the prospective collegian a welcoming hug. This approach, in a way, is also pertinent to the “I can’t be what I can’t see” dilemma.
But wait, the issue here is not applying in the first place. Back to square one.
*Perhaps there is an implicit recognition by the student that his high school achievements are not to be construed as adequate academic preparation for truly selective colleges. This of course leads to the issue of education quality in the nation’s schools in general, with special emphasis on urban high schools. Handling this live grenade requires a series of long essays, not a few words in a blog.
*They are simply unaware that they could be accepted by a selective college. Incredible as it may seem, it is not unusual for an Hispanic graduating from a predominantly Hispanic high school to hear a message that suggests he only can go to the local two-year school or to the world of work. Even a graduate of the community college may not have been apprised of the different four-year alternatives. (Note that if he or she is a skilled athlete or musician or a star participant in important school clubs, they probably have a greater degree of awareness brought to them by those who value their specific non-academic talent.)
*Inadequate documentation to make the student eligible for conventional (government-based, federal or state) financial aid is right up there with cost per se in dissuading a young person from applying to that expensive selective school. The rebuttal which points out that said school can offer a direct scholarship of substantial size is relevant, but the amount, even when really generous, may not be sufficient in the absence of any other aid. Left for another day is the philosophical debate between “a lot for a few versus a little for many” in terms of societal resources intended to support individual students and their college aspirations. Even within the minority community, there are those who advocate financing the equivalent of “free rides” to college for a defined number of projected leaders, as opposed to spreading those dollars over as many students as possible.
*The short bungee cord of a tight-knit family may be restricting the college search to a maximum of perhaps 100 miles from home, if that. Probably the only way this impediment (which many students would not even think of as a true negative) is solved is if the offspring of friends of the family have gone outside the mileage boundary and lived to tell their story of academic and career success.
*Diversity, ah yes, the magical word, not ever to be construed in a negative way. The automatic interpretation in the Latino world is the proportion of Latino students to those of other ethnicities. However, half of Hispanic students (yes, I am using the terms interchangeably) go to local two-year colleges, where they can easily stay connected to their high school friends. Diversity of the total enrollment is misleading at best.
Another large percentage are attending an HSI, an Hispanic Serving Institution, which by definition must have at least a 25% Latino student body. In reality, the percentage is usually much higher. Again, a type of diversity which is open to interpretation. None of this commentary should in any way imply that students are doing anything wrong in gravitating to their comfort zone, but the issue of applying to selective colleges typically circles back to whether those seeking diversity can envision themselves in classes where they are a small minority.
Collectively, the descriptors above cry out for the availability of better prepared, trained, empathetic, readily accessible (for free) guidance counselors, which ideally would be located at high schools, but could be found elsewhere. The issues pertinent to applying to college are all addressable, capability of being put in a framework that is understandable by the prospective college student, who can then choose to apply based on a fuller appreciation of all the factors involved.