Ranking the Performance of Flagship State Universities in Enrolling Low-Income Students

JBHE  research shows that the nation’s most prestigious universities are doing a poor job in educating low-income students of all races. On average the flagship state universities have higher percentages of low-income students than the high-ranking institutions.

The University of New Mexico has the largest percentage of low-income students. At the University of New Mexico more than 42 percent of all students come from low-income families. Most of these families are Hispanic or American Indian. At flagship state universities in California, Idaho, and Montana, more than 30 percent of all enrollees are from low-income families.

At the University of Virginia and the University of Delaware only 7.3 percent of all students come from low-income families. Both of these states have large numbers of low-income blacks. But they also have state-operated universities that are predominantly black.

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