The first college established in the United States was founded in 1636, Harvard College. The institution was founded by New England settlers on the belief that education was an essential part of life. This belief still permeates throughout higher education today, with the idea that education is an essential aspect of an individual’s growth as well as the growth within a community. One main difference between higher education in modern times compared with the early colonization and post-Revolution era, is that education is viewed as essential for all, instead of just those that could afford the opportunity.
From the growth of elite institutions grew a term “elitist”. This view is such that these institutions believe that education is only available to the best and brightest students instead of believing that education should be accessible to everyone. For a majority of elite institution’s existence, “best”, also meant “wealthy”. Indeed, the argument can still be made that in order to develop the best academic student, significant resources and support may be necessary and may only be available to the wealthiest families, further separating the opportunity to be the best student.
With the growth of financial aid, federal and state funds, and a number of initiatives in place to ensure that low income students have access to higher education as well, is elite education still only for those wealthiest families? In order to analyze this question further, we reviewed data from 1,352 institutions that enrolled at least 100 first-time undergraduate students in 2020-21 (most recent year available). We further examined the percentage of the incoming class that was Pell eligible (a federal calculation to determine financial eligibility for federal funds, available only to those with the greatest financial need), the percentage of students in the highest income level ($110,001 or more), the percentage of students that are international, as well as the institution’s admit rate.
For purposes of this analysis, elite institutions were determined to be those with an admit rate below 25%. This yielded 56 total institutions. Of all of the institutions analyzed, 74.5% enrolled more than 25% of first-time students that were determined to be Pell eligible. For the 56 “elite” institutions, only four (7.1%) enrolled more than 25% of its first-time students as Pell eligible students. Three of these institutions enrolled fewer than 200 students in this time period. Stanbridge University stands as the lone outlier in this population with 642 first-time students, 55% of which are Pell eligible, only one had an income of $110,001 or more, no international students were enrolled, and the institution reported a 20% admit rate. Additionally, Stanbridge University is the only private for-profit institution within this elite list of institutions.
Figure 1: Undergraduate Institutions by Admit Rate and % of first-time awarded Pell
Part of the explanation for the low percentage of Pell eligible students at “elite” institutions is due to a higher percentage of international students. These institutions carry stronger reputations outside of the United States, which attracts more international students, a population which is typically awarded little financial aid, a financial benefit for the institution. In fact, only 10.1% of all institutions enrolled more than 10% of first-time students as international students. For the “elite” institutions identified here, 60.7% enrolled 10% or more international students.
Figure 2: Undergraduate Institutions by Admit Rate and % of first-time International
Additionally, these “elite” institutions also typically enroll a higher percentage of students with incomes of $100,001 or more than their competitors. Of the 56 “elite” institutions, 66.1% enrolled 30% or more of their first-time students with an income of $110,001 or more. This compares to 38.8% of institutions with an acceptance rate greater than 25%.
Figure 3: Undergraduate Institutions by Admit Rate and % of first-time income of $100,001 or more
This data is a reflection of the business models implemented at elite universities. International students and students with the highest income levels represent a larger portion of the total cost of attendance to be paid as less financial aid is awarded to these populations of students. This does allow these institutions to further distribute more sizable financial aid packages to families that need the funds. The intended point of these population distributions is to be able to provide elite education to all that may be academically eligible. However, the data still does indicate that there is room to grow. A larger percentage of college enrolled students are Pell eligible than what is seen on a typical elite campus.
Primary data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS Data Center
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