The College Gap

Why integrating high school with higher education makes sense—and how to do it.

By Nancy Hoffman & Joel Vargas

A life-changing fall ritual is under way for many high school seniors. It’s college-application time. Hopes are high. Get a college degree, and a middle-class lifestyle is in your future. This is the way to pursue the American dream.

In higher-income families, students began making campus visits a year ago. Their rooms are piled high with catalogs, their essays honed, their SAT tutors hired. It is a given that they will go to college. The fall ritual ends with that joyous shout—“Mom and Dad, I got in!”—and the fat envelope with the acceptance letter popularized in the media.

Then there is the other half: young people with the aspirations, dreams, and motivation to get a college degree, but for whom barriers outweigh opportunities. They may graduate from high school ready for college, but because they are poor, the odds are low that they will apply, show up in the fall with their bills paid, and then persist through the critical freshman year....