Recently around the Behrend campus there have been a number of tour groups. This is the time of year when high school seniors are trying to make their final decision or when younger students are figuring out where they would like to apply. Undoubtedly, this same process is occurring at other universities around the country. With this in mind, it is important to address the gap between rich and poor college students especially as the cost for a college education continues to grow and the need for education past high school also becomes increasingly mandatory.

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CollegeSimply.com reports that the average Penn State Behrend student’s family income is $63,381 per year. For comparison, the average household income for Pennsylvania residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau as of September of 2017, is between $50,000 and $59,999 per year. Using a tuition calculator provided by Penn State, it would cost an in-state first-year Penn State Behrend commuter student for the 2017-2018 school year a little over $14,000 for a year of school tuition, which does not include books, food expenses, and possible transportation expenses. For students who cannot commute, this does not include the cost of rent, whether that be on or off campus.

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If a student is lucky enough to be born into a wealthier family and have financial help from their family, these costs are less likely to be an issue. There is also the option of loans, both public and private, for students who are not able to receive as much help from their family. Some merit-based or need-based scholarships are available to students, but often these are hard to come by, partially because of the proportion of scholarships to students and the time and attention that is required to apply.

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Students who must take on most, if not all, of their expenses are often put into a tough situation juggling their academics and finances. Many people are not even able to go to college in the first place because of the financial burden.

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Compared to many other institutions, Penn State is considered a less expensive option. There is a large population of commuter students at Behrend, which helps dramatically with affordability. Many students from my high school, Harbor Creek High School, attend Behrend. Like many of my classmates from high school who also attend Behrend, I did not apply to any other schools because Behrend had my program and I knew it was one of the best prices I could get. Unlike some of my other high school classmates, I never even considered applying to a more prestigious institution, regardless of whether I would have gotten in because of my academics, because I knew I could not afford to go without entering into an extreme amount of debt.

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The cost of higher education and difficulty of obtaining significant financial support is helping preserve and increase the wealth gap in the U.S. The Trump administration has done more to preserve this gap instead of trying to lessen it by making payments to private academic institutions at any level of education tax-deductible, which helps wealthier individuals who are able to afford private schools in the first place. Although eliminating student loan tax deductions was up for debate, this did not make it into the final version.

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So why is the cost of college important? There are many known benefits of a college education, including less unemployment, higher wages and general higher life satisfaction, according to the New York Times. It is also important to creating a more diverse and accepting society. The Pew Research Center reported that white households are about 13 times as wealthy as black households. Considering the cost of higher education, it is even more difficult for black students in the U.S. to attend college, and therefore reap the benefits of more education.

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How can this be improved? There are a number of things institutions are already doing and can do to help this gap. Princeton, having been referred to as “the pleasantest country club in America” in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” has taken special attention to increase the number of first-generation, low-income students enrolled over the past 10 years. Other universities, such as Yale, are also working to increase the diversity of their students, including on an economic basis. At the same time, many institutions are not actively working to include more low-income students, which has accounted for the overall economic diversity of top colleges to stay about the same, according to the New York Times.

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Communities also need to continue to invest in education options, such as technical schools and community colleges. In Erie, there is currently a push for a community college, although there has also been significant opposition to this. Currently a board is evaluating the application for the community college, according to the website of Erie County Executive, Kathy Dahlkemper.

Through careful attention and purposeful adoption of initiatives to increase enrollment and graduation success among lower-income students, those individuals are likely to see an increase in their quality of life. Additionally, education has proven to transform communities for the better. Increased access to education will truly help make America a better place, especially for lower-income individuals and communities.