Finance our future

Adaya Head 5/6/19 "can I get an F in this Wendy's tonight?"

College is one of the most expensive escapes for any minority if they want to escape the grasp of poverty. I want to go to college to get an education and experience what I can expect from my future career. As an African American female, it’s going to be difficult. In this article I will bring awareness to the financial hurdles most minority students have to overcome when transitioning to college.

“Minority students receive only 28 percent of all scholarships,” says Mark Kantrowitz, creator of Fastweb.com, a free scholarship matching service and an author of multiple scholarship research papers. This shows that minority students are left behind on a lot of financial aid.

I interviewed Rochelle Nichols Solomon, a co-founder of the Public School Notebook, and she used to work for College Access, a program in Philadelphia that worked to connect public school students with mentors, college information, and financial support for college.

What has your experience been with affirmative action? What stories can you tell about how affirmative action has played a role in equity? Since it is part of the law, have you ever had to push schools to make sure they follow the law?

Hmm. The scholarships my girls received to a mainline private school years ago was likely some form of affirmative action. I'm not sure the school was attempting to address or right the wrongs of previous discriminatory practices--as much as they were attempting to create a more diverse student body that would contribute to an enhanced learning experiences for their privileged predominantly White student body. (I don't think scholarships are motivated by pure altruism.)

So here’s a related story—the other side of this affirmative action coin.

My daughters were in a West philly public elementary school. Because it was part of an handful of the School District's desegregation schools (commonly referred to as "deseg" schools) it received additional resources such as full day kindergarten and mentally gifted (MG) classes in order to attract White families--hence to integrate the school. (Sounds like privilege to me.)

In 3rd grade, students were selected to attend the academically "elite" Masterman. My daughter did not get in--despite higher test score and grades than some of the White students that did get. I was told that because the District wanted to maintain a balanced integrated student body at Masterman--and because there were so few White students in the neighborhood schools in West Philly-- some students (in this case, White males from West Philly) were selected over others (like my daughter). (More privilege.)

I tell this story to add provide a bit more context to the affirmative action discussion. Affirmative action is designed to be a tool to level the playing field (a worthy objective!) but as this little story suggest--it hardly addresses ongoing racial bias and white privileged--which is hard wired into all aspects of our society and systems.

Access around financial aid is vital. I’ve applied for so many private scholarships and this guy: Mark Kantrowitz completely exposed private scholarships for favoring those students who may fish, ride horses, etc. What are some legit scholarships that seek to provide equity and access?

Finding and applying for scholarships is an arduous undertaking, you have to identify your experiences, interests, and assets--and go after every and anything that matches (even remotely) your profile. I'm not familiar with Kantrowitz's research, but what you cite wouldn't surprise me. PLUS, more affluent families hire professionals to do this work. Programs like College Access were designed to provide some support--they need to be better resourced and supported. Students need a college access coach with a deep understanding of how these things work.

One thing that stood out to me was how Solomon describes her experience with affirmative action. Even when her daughter worked hard to gain a great academic transcript, white students were chosen to attend a more elite public elementary school over her. This experience connects to how colleges choose their students as well.

FINANCE OUR FUTURE

While many students need help getting to college, minorities and those from other historically underrepresented groups need the most help when applying to college and having their financial need met to get there.