Postsecondary Education for First-Generation and Low-Income Students in the Ivy League : Navigating Policy and Practice

This book examines how previously excluded high-achieving, low-income students are faring socially and academically at an Ivy League college in New England. In the past, research conducted on low-income students in elite schools focused mainly on the admissions process. As a result, there is a dearth of research on what happens to low-income students once they are admitted and attend classes. This book chronicles an ethnographic study of twenty low-income men and women in their senior year at Dartmouth College and follows up with them four and twelve years post-graduation. By helping to bring visibility and self-awareness to low-income students and expose class issues and struggles, the author hopes to encourage elite institutions to change their policies and practices to address the needs of these students. Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 1-6 How Low-Income Students Became Invisible at Elite Colleges (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 7-14 How Alex Got to Dartmouth and Obstacles that Prevent Other Low-Income Students from Attending Elite Schools (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 15-25 Home Environment to Culture Shock (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 27-39 Passing (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 41-60 The Unmoneyed Experience (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 61-79 Hidden Rules (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 81-88 Dis-“Orientation” (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 89-109 True Grit (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 111-137 Relationships That Matter (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 139-155 Great Expectations (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 157-173 Beyond the Ivory Tower (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 175-195 Low-Income Students Speak Out on Elite Campuses (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 197-210 Challenging Our Elite Schools to Do Better (Kerry H. Landers)....Pages 211-227 Back Matter ....Pages 229-257 Annotation This work examines how previously excluded high-achieving, low-income students are faring socially and academically at an Ivy League college in New England