Remember the old  saying,  “the rich get richer and the  poor get poorer?” That axiom  began to change in the last few decades, because college became more affordable and appealing to poor kids. But now,  enrollment from that demographic has started to drop.  In the town where I live,   University enrollment has dwindled by 30% of what it was just a few years ago.   Instead of roughly 12,000 students, it’s down to 8,000.  Wowza!  Conversely, enrollment at private colleges has greatly increased.  Higher tuition and housing costs don’t seem to bother rich kids.  Which means that college dropouts will widen the wealth  gap for future generations.

Why do certain colleges and universities appeal to first generation students?  Obviously, it’s all about money.  Lower tuition and housing costs for sure, but also, lower academic standards.  Kids who attend high schools in poor inner city neighborhoods don’t have the same advantages as children in ritzy suburbs.  They don’t do nearly as well on achievement tests as their upper  middle class counterparts.  For obvious reasons.  If you’ve ever taught school in a poor neighborhood,  you know that some  of the children can barely stay awake in class, and others are disadvantaged in ways that affect their academic achievement.

The Higher Education Act of 1965 changed the scenario  for  high school graduates raised in poverty . Pell grants and college loans  were more readily available.   Conventional wisdom was that a college graduate’s loans could be quickly repaid because of higher paying jobs after graduation.  That worked out for students in certain fields like medicine, law, engineering, and other degrees.  But for the C student who majored in English Lit, or became an elementary school teacher, that promise of a high paying career turned out to be a heartbreaking myth.  And yet, a college degree was still seen as the key to upward mobility, higher social status, and a better life.

In the past few years,  high school graduates have  started to make pretty good money. Labor shortages and  increased demand has resulted in higher wages for skilled workers. Now they can afford to buy a house or new car at a young age.  A plumber or laboratory technician  might make  as much as  a marketing manager. Truck drivers may  earn more in the short run than English teachers.   And they don’t have student loans hanging over their heads.

However, higher education still pays off in the long run. Over a lifetime, a person with a college degree will have more job security, occupational mobility, and greater earnings.  Compare the job satisfaction of a 50 year old accountant  to a  top earning construction worker of the same age.  Their incomes may have been similar. However,  the construction worker’s  legs and back could  be giving out,  while  the accountant  has no such worries.  The accountant  also has a good pension coming when he finally  retires at age 65.

College enrollment is dwindling because a college education seems to have lost it’s appeal for kids from low income families..  Consequently,  the wealth gap between rich and poor is likely to widen in the coming years.