Abstract:

While institutions of elite higher education have made progressive steps toward admitting more low income students, notable socioeconomic disparities still remain. At Ivy Leagues, in particular, affluent and upper-class students significantly outnumber their lower income peers. Multiple factors contribute to these inequities, including the fact that few low income students apply, but the rise of the private, for profit college counseling industry has given wealthier students an advantage in an increasingly competitive application process. This study seeks to investigate the other side of the college counseling industry: non-profit “access” organizations that specifically target high-achieving, low income students and provide pathways to selective colleges. While several studies address counseling and mentoring programs, no literature currently explores student perceptions of a national nonprofit like QuestBridge. Through my own research, I investigate student experiences with QuestBridge, as well as collect qualitative data on the perceived value, community, and impacts of outreach programs geared toward high-achieving, low income students. Although I do not draw conclusive statements, I do identify several key commonalities across my interviews. My findings reveal that participants came into contact with QuestBridge through chance encounters or individual mentors, found its services valuable (for various reasons that include money and community), and, contrary to most existing literature, did not generally feel that QuestBridge drastically impacted the selectivity of the institutions they chose to apply to.