PAWS: Program Rationale
We have found many people living in low-income government housing complexes have high potential to succeed in the college realm but do not have support needed to begin the admissions process. The extra attention this program provides for these individuals can break the cycle of poverty for these members of our community.
The below information has been provided to demonstrate the need and importance of the PAWS program.
- There is a great need for this program in our community.
- The percent of college graduates in Altoona is dramatically lower than the national average.
- 24.4% of the United State's population age 25 has a bachelor's degree or higher in 2006. (2005)
- 12.1% of Altoona's population age 25 has a bachelor's degree or higher in 2006. (2005)
- A college education is the most promising path out of poverty.
- The U.S. Department of Labor reports that employment for those with bachelor's degrees grew by 1.8 million during the past 10 years compared to a loss of nearly 700,000 jobs for those with a high school diploma. (2004)
- Low levels of education perpetuate the cycle of poverty regardless of fulltime employment.
- 45% of children whose parents have a high school diploma, but no college education, and work full-time year round live in low-income families. (Douglass-Hall, 2006)
- High achieving students living in low-income families are less likely to go to school than low achieving students from moderate to high-income families. (Kahlenberg, 2003)
- Of the nation's wealthiest 25% of students 67% enroll in a four-year college within two years of graduating from high school, but just 20% from the poorest 25% do so. (Kahlenberg, 2003)
- Low-income students are virtually shut out of the nation's most selective colleges. (Kahlenberg, 2003)
- Of the nation’s top 146 colleges,
- 74% of students come from the richest economic quartile (Kahlenberg, 2003)
- Just 3% from the poorest economic quartile
- You are 25 times more likely to run into a rich kid as a poor kid on America's elite campuses. (Kahlenberg, 2003)
- Lifetime financial consequences of obtaining a college degree.
- College graduates have a 57% higher average of lifetime earnings. (Day, 2002)
- A high school graduate earns an average of 1.2 million dollars over their working life. (Day, 2002)
- A college graduate earns an average of 2.1 million dollars over their working life. (Day, 2002)
- There are many programs available to help low-income college applicants enter post secondary education but there are many barriers between them and the resources:
- The high cost of college tuition.
- The lack of understanding of the financial aid process makes college seem unattainable so many do not try.
- Most parents of low-income children inadvertently discourage college because of the fear of financing an education.
- Most are first generation college students and their parents lack the knowledge necessary to complete financial aid forms.
- High school guidance counselors have about 500 students per counselor, which makes individual attention difficult.
References
(2004) The 10 fastest growing occupations 2004-2014. Retrieved March 12, 2007 from United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site: http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.t06.htm
(2008, June). Strategic Plan. Retrieved August 7, 2008 from Penn State Altoona Web site: http://www.altoona.psu.edu/opa/docs/Penn_State_Altoona_Strategic_Plan2008-2013.pdf
Day, J.C., Newburger, E.C. (2002). The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings. Retrieved February 6, 2007, from Current Population Reports, Special Studies Web site: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23210.pdf
Douglass-Hall, A (2006, March). Parents' low education leads to low income, despite full time employment. Retrieved March 12, 2007, from National Center for Children in Poverty Web site: http://www.nccp.org/pubpei06b.html
Kahlenberg, R.D. (2003). America's untapped resource: Low-income students in higher education. The Century Foundation Press.
