Making the Case

Key Messages and Data • Making the Case Resources • Media Activity • Speeches and Addresses • Books and Reports •

Fact 1 - Enrollment by Family Income Levels
Independent colleges and universities enroll students from all income levels in similar proportions to public institutions, with two notable exceptions at either end of the income scale. At the lower end, smaller (non-doctoral) independent colleges enroll a greater proportion of low-income students—those with parental incomes less than $20,000—than do the large public research (doctoral) universities (12 percent versus 10 percent). At the upper end, the larger publics enroll a greater proportion of higher income students—whose parents earn $100,000 or more (25 percent versus 22 percent).

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 2003-04 (NPSAS:04). Analysis by the Council of Independent Colleges.