Low-Income Parents and the Pursuit of Higher Education

About five million parents are currently enrolled as undergraduates at colleges and universities. About 61% have low incomes and about 42% are single parents. Although higher education is presented as an opportunity for upward mobility, these parents have difficulty finding their way to and through higher education. Sociologists Amanda Freeman and Autumn Green will present an account of this journey and its obstacles, as well as experiences of support and success. They will study how low-income parents gain access to higher education, how they leverage their college access toward upward mobility, and what factors correlate to either succeeding and dropping out. They will also examine the extent to which institutions and policymakers can improve supports for low-income parents seeking higher education.