Hear Us Out: Students Talk About Going to College

Posted by on January 10, 2011

A rocky path

In the spring of 2010, a group of 12 high school students in Hamilton County, Tenn., and another 13 high school students in Seattle asked their peers questions as part of a What Kids Can Do (WKCD) project called Hear Us Out, a collaboration with two local education funds, Chattanooga’s Public Education Foundation and Seattle’s Alliance for Education. The results showed that too often, students lack supports and resources on their path to college. Almost a third of students said they had never spoken with a school counselor on the topic, and though 86 percent said the idea of college had been planted starting in elementary school and peaking in grades 6-9, they wished these early conversations had been followed up with concrete advice and help as soon as they entered high school, instead of junior or senior year. Sixty-eight percent indicated they planned to attend college right after graduation, but more than two-thirds said the cost of college was their biggest hurdle, and 40 percent knew little about financial aid. On almost every measure, lower-income students faced more obstacles and less support than higher-income students, beginning at the planning stage, when 78 percent of higher-income students say they expect to attend college right after graduation, compared with 64 percent of lower-income students. Comparable gaps show up when responses of white and Asian students are placed beside African-American and Hispanic students. For example, 79 percent of Asian students expect to attend college right after graduation, but only 56 percent of Hispanics do.

See the report: http://www.centerforyouthvoice.org/Center_for_Youth_Voice/Hear_Us_Out.html