Relative Disadvantage: Financial Concerns and College Selectivity among High-Achieving, Low-Income College Students

In a sequential, explanatory mixed method design, we studied 1,126 students matched by high-achieving ability, income level, race, gender, and cohort at four-year college entry to determine whether the financial concerns of program students and a matched sample varied by selectivity of their freshman institution. Results indicate low-income students continue to struggle with financial issues at the most elite colleges, but students are most worried about finances at less selective institutions. We are still far from the ideal of "free college" for low-income students that actually represents equal opportunity.