From Education Equity and the Transfer Student by Joshua Wyner, The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 10, 2006, p B6
Joshua Wyner Vice President of Programs, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
3% of students at the most select colleges are from the lowest socioeconomic quartile from 2003 labor economists Anthony P. Carnevale and Stephen J. Rose
In the most selective colleges and universities….only 10 percent come from the bottom half of the income scale. Lawrence Summers, President of Harvard University
The numbers of transfer students from 1984 to 2002 to the two most selective tiers of private colleges have decreased by 53% according to John Cheslock, assistant professor, Center for the Study of Higher Education, University of Arizona and Alicia C. Dowd, assistant professor, Graduate College of Education, University of Massachusetts at Boston.
The junior class of the most selective private colleges averages 645 total students. Transfers from two year and four year colleges average 19 students with only 1 of those transfers from a community college. Less than 1 out of 1000 started at a two year college.
The most selective public universities according to Barron’s classification include less than 4% that were community college transfers.
Community Colleges cost about $2,000 a year compared to $20,000 and up.
University of California data - 86% of transfers started at a California community college and they graduated at rates comparable to those that started the four year colleges as freshmen.
Transfer student ACT and SAT scores do not suppress US News and World Report ratings