Sydnie Rogers

UWRT -1102-40
Professor Ropko
23 February 2016
College: An Equal Opportunity?
College. A word that means so much to myself and many Americans. The value of college
has increased rapidly over the last 20 years. At one time, college was only for the privileged.
Now, anyone can apply to attend an institution of higher learning. Although everyone is able to
apply for college, there are barriers that make it difficult for some to attend an institution. Some
of these conflicts include: gender, race, ethnicity, income, and expense. When I think of college,
I like to think everyone has an equal opportunity, but after pondering the question: Is college an
equal opportunity for everyone?
I am interested in this issue because I feel like there are barriers that make college an
unequal opportunity for some people, giving reason to why so many people are unable to attend
four year institutions. I am also interested in this topic because I want to see exactly what barriers
are brought up to discourage people from going to college. I want to know what exactly goes into
the decision making process on who will and who will not be accepted into college and why
people feel college is not of an importance to them. I want to find out why certain institutions
have such a high acceptance rate and why others have such a lower acceptance rate. Those with
low acceptance rates, I want to know if they feel like they are creating an equal opportunity for
those who are interested in attending their college.

I know for a fact that expense plays a major role in making college unequal for Americans.
A major reason why so many people attend a community college before transferring to a four
year university is solely because of the cost. The cost of college is extremely expensive, and
depending on your income, it effects how much financial aid you are awarded by FAFSA. If you
are in a middle class family such as I am in, and currently have a sibling already in school, and
your parents make a good amount of money, you are barely granted any financial aid. Eventually
my parents will have to take out loans to pay for my brother and I to finish college. I hate the
thought that college is so expensive and so many people spend their life in debt trying to pay
back student debts.
In order for this essay to be effective, I will need to consider how various universities
around the world go about their admissions process and if their higher education is considered an
equal opportunity. I need to research information about the similarities and differences of other
institutions around the world. I also need to find statistics about the past for the number of people
who attended college 20 years ago and what the admissions process consisted of back then. I also
need to look at statistics about each of the working class: poor, middle, and rich, and see the
correlation between their socioeconomic status and the number of people who are going to
college.
I learned during my period of inquiry, that when people think of all people they tend to
forget about those with physical and mental disabilities, but mainly just focus on race and gender.
I also learned that although people with disabilities are accepted into college, they do not fully
get to experience everything a person without a disability gets to. For example, sports. The
intramural or club sports are not solely designed for those with disabilities, and therefore, they do
not get an equal opportunity. It is important that everyone is included in the college experience.