In response to the suggestion that lack of money removes bright students from the college pool Jane Shevtsov wrote:
> I don't think this would be a very strong influence. Bright students > with little money get financial aid, sometimes to the point of a free > ride. It may be harder for middle-class students than for those who > are poor, but still, schools compete to get the really good students. Schools compete for students with good grades, extracurricular accomplishments, and high exam scores. They do not compete directly for bright students. Students with low socioeconomic status (SES) do not get in (or stay in) four-year colleges and universities at the same rates as those with higher SES. On one hand there's bright. On the other hand there is well-prepared, well-tutored, and/or culturally adapted to the academic and bureaucratic environment of academia. The second set is less accessible to poor and middle class students. It certainly helps to be either, but being both works nicely. A central source for data on the topic: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/SurveyGroups.asp?group=2 Best, Krzysztof ----------------------------------------------- Krzysztof Sakrejda-Leavitt Organismic and Evolutionary Biology University of Massachusetts, Amherst 319 Morrill Science Center South 611 N. Pleasant Street Amherst, MA 01003 work #: 413-325-6555 email: sakre...@cns.umass.edu -----------------------------------------------
