Strategies to Empower Low-Income and Minority Students in Gaining Admission to and Paying for College

For low-income and minority students, access to college is not just about affordability. It’s also about figuring out college admission requirements, accessing courses that will prepare them well for college, and reducing the debilitating fear generated by perceptions of college costs and loans. This report identifies four types of barriers created by federal, state and local policies that pose a particular challenge for aspiring first-generation college students in the college and financial aid application process.