In January of 2017, the new semester at Michigan rang in with some major news from the New York Times- the University of Michigan was ranked the lowest elite academic institution in the nation for socioeconomic diversity. Surprised? I wasn’t really either.

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Compared to universities such as the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP), Michigan ranked lowly not only in terms of financial diversity, but also the number of student workers present on campus (Leonhardt, 2017). If you’ve ever set foot on Michigan’s campus, it’s not too hard to see the presence of money. From pricey eateries across the city to large, pillared, sorority houses, a sea of Patagonia fleeces and Timberlands is only spotted by students in old Meijer rain jackets and shoes from sophomore year of high school. Yes, money is present here, but at the front desk of the library, kitchen of the dining halls, and counters at the bank, working students from lower income backgrounds are making names for themselves. Working, taking classes, and adjusting to Ann Arbor’s environment isn't always easy.

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But money isn’t the only thing at play when transitioning from high school to a college campus. In an article written by Barker and Gump, socioeconomic status is analyzed side-by-side with school size, and then those factors are compared in regards to the students’ academic success. Barker and Gump found that, across the board, students who came from middle- to high-income areas had greater academic success than students from low-income areas due to access to resources, newness of learning materials, and so fourth (1964). In terms of school size and finances, low-income students from smaller and larger schools had average testing scores, while high-income students from small schools scored higher than high-income students from larger schools (Barker and Gump, 1964).

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Overall, income was the kicker when it came to academic success. Smaller schools, which ultimately resulted in smaller class sizes, thus a smaller student to educator ratio, had the highest of scores. Beyond middle and high school, few studies have been done to correlate low-income students from small high schools and academic success in college…and the truth of it all is—many of those students don’t often have the money, resources, or opportunities to pursue education beyond that provided by the state.

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Stigmas surrounding low-income, and sometimes low-academic success, students creating harmful environments for learning and growth. Low-income students are synonymously linked to being first generation students, which isn’t always the case (Young, 2016)! Low-income students, as well as students from small hometowns, at the University of Michigan come from a wide variety of backgrounds: rural to urban, Texas to Ohio, Women’s Studies to Engineering.

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But regardless of hometown, high school size, or socioeconomic status, students coming to the University of Michigan often have a hard time transitioning to the level of academics, booming social scene, and Midwest-meets-Long Island culture. Luckily, the university provides several programs to promote success among students who might struggle upon entering Michigan. The Summer Bridge Scholars program invites admitted U-M students to take classes during the Summer Term before they enter college to get students into a routine of class, social activities, and being away from home.

The Bridge Scholars Summer Program has provided countless success stories and added them to Michigan’s thriving alumni network, but our main focus within this project is the Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP), which provides students, upon admission, with the opportunity to take longer classes, receive specialized advising, participate in one-on-one tutoring sessions, and partake in coursework that challenges students to take theories further into practice. Friends, classmates, and even my own sister have taken part and utilized the resources that CSP offers students who need help ensuring that their academic transition to college will be smooth. The success and graduation rates of Bridge and CSP Scholars are through the roof, allowing for more low-income, small-hometown, and first generation college students to receive diplomas than ever before.

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The downside? These programs are small; admissions committees only allow for a certain number of students to take part in the programs each year. And with acceptance rates more than doubling since 2013, Michigan needs to advertise, expand, and fun these programs more so than they were pre-2012 (Slagter, 2016). In addition to receiving more applications than ever before and accepting more students each year, the University of Michigan has the lowest rates of success for Pell Grant Recipients among any elite public or private academic institution (Butrymowicz, 2015).

 

So...why are these programs necessary? Today, over 2,700 undergraduate students are thriving within CSP classes of 22 or less. Today, the Summer Bridge Program has grown to 250 students per summer, putting the graduation rate (within four years) within this program at above 80%. Today, CSP has expanded to accommodate first and second year students at the University of Michigan.

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With barriers set up for students of color, low-socioeconomic status, and low-achieving high schools, CSP aims to break stigmas around the difficulty of transitioning to college for learners of every background. Not convinced? Check out the student testimonies within the “Project” section of this ePortfolio.

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Overview of Research

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1. Meer, J. (2017, January 19). University ranks last in economic mobility and diversity among elite public colleges. In The Michigan Daily. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from https://www.michigandaily.com/section/news/new-york-times-ranks-university-among-worst-socioeconomic-diversity.

   1. This article, while not scholarly, is a huge help to me when talking about the disadvantages of coming from a small town to a big university, as usually small towns/high schools are generally linked to lower incomes. In addition, low income households, often exist in low income areas, which in turn produces low-achieving students. This puts an interesting criticism upon the university for its admissions criteria and standards of acceptance.

 

1. Economic diversity and student outcomes at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. (2017). In The New York Times: The Upshot. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/university-of-michigan-ann-arbor.

   1. In this New York Times interactive data set, The University of Michigan was named as one of the lowest ranking public universities in the nation for economic diversity within its student body. These interactive statistics from The Equality Project, and various other sources, gives an inside look into how economic diversity can drastically affect the racial and gender makeup of a university’s population, which directly correlates to achievement and behavior.

 

1. Leonhardt, D. (2017, January 18). America’s Great Working-Class Colleges. In The New York Times: Sunday Review. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/opinion/sunday/americas-great-working-class-colleges.html?referer=https://www.google.com/.

   1. Again in the NYT, the University of Michigan is mentioned as one of the lowest ranking in socioeconomic status diversity, as well as other forms of diversity, within their student body. In addition to explore SES and income among students and their families, Leonhardt also explains the importance of the “non-traditional” student. Different ages, languages, and economic classes create for a more diverse subset of opinions and political views. This will be important to me when looking at the intersectionality of SES, race, and gender.

 

1. Barker, R. G., & Gump, P. V. (1964). Big School, Small School: High School Size and Student Behavior (pp. 154-172). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

   1. This may seem irrelevant, but I think this gives me a new perspective and new questions to ask when interviewing my participants. Behaviors were something I thought about less, rather than emotions. I think behavioral responses to this big transition will be interesting to look as, especially in self-reflection. For example, I went from being very social in high school with all-A grades to being very shy with C-grades during my first two semesters freshman year.

 

1. Rogers, M. (2012, July 11). Social sustainability and the art of engagement—the small towns: big picture experience [Electronic version]. The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, 10(2), 109-124.

   1. I think that this article is important to my work because it analyzes how people work together and how their values can come together (or drive division) in communal settings. I’m interested to ask my interviewees about how institutions and opportunities within their communities, such as churches, community programming, or the absence of these, has affected their ability to adjust to a larger university where so many opportunities and communities are present.

2. Young, Melissa Scholes. "The Cost of Being First." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 16 Oct. 2016. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.

   1. In Melissa Scholes Young’s article about first generation college students, she highlights the importance of not assuming the socioeconomic status of first generation college students. This opinion piece published last year in The Atlantic highlights the presumptions made about the circumstances of first generation college students, graduates, and their families.

3. Mslagter@mlive.com, Martin Slagter |. "U-M Sets Record with 55,500 Freshman Applications; See Admission Rates." MLive.com. MLive, 27 June 2016. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.

   1. Martin Slagter’s article on MLive’s website hihglights the growing number of freshman applicants at the University of Michigan, as well as the expansion of the freshman class as each year passes. Since 2013, the number of acceptances has almost doubled, according the University Admissions.

4. Report, Sarah Butrymowicz The Hechinger. "Billions in Pell Grants Go to Students Who Never Graduate." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.