Low-income students are half as likely to enroll in selective colleges as compared with high-income students with similar grades and test scores. This is called undermatching.
These students are often academically talented and likely to be admitted.¹ ² Still, many end up at less-selective colleges, such as lower-cost public colleges and community colleges. Some don’t enroll in any college at all.
Public policy advocates have claimed that very selective colleges are more affordable for low-income students, despite the higher cost of attendance. For example, Matthew M. Chingos wrote in a Brookings Institution article, “For low-income students, these colleges will generally cost them and their families less than a less-selective institution with a lower sticker price but fewer resources for financial aid.”
But is this true? Does generous financial aid really make selective colleges more affordable than lower-cost colleges? Or are selective colleges just trying to shift blame for their failure to enroll more low-income students? Below, we take a deep dive into the data to answer those questions.