These four-year public and private nonprofit colleges enroll over 40% low-income students at the school, and have good outcomes for those students. All of them boast above-average Pell enrollment, an affordable net price, and good graduation rates for their students (including their low-income students). That’s important, because graduating from college has been shown to lead to higher earnings, lower unemployment, and a lower likelihood of defaulting on their loans.
The Department of Education highlighted these schools in its recent report, Fulfilling the Promise, Serving the Need, which identified institutions that were doing well in enrolling and graduating low-income students.
| College | State | Share of Low-Income Students Enrolled | Average Net Price | Graduation Rate | Typical Earnings |
| Agnes Scott College | Georgia | 44% | $18,517 | 73% | $38,800 |
| Blue Mountain College | Mississippi | 56% | $9,284 | 48% | $29,200 |
| California Baptist University | California | 48% | $27,813 | 57% | $40,300 |
| California State University-Stanislaus | California | 60% | $6,759 | 53% | $43,400 |
| Converse College | South Carolina | 44% | $18,163 | 61% | $31,200 |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | New York | 44% | $6,841 | 66% | $54,900 |
| Florida International University | Florida | 56% | $11,845 | 53% | $43,700 |
| Georgia State University | Georgia | 52% | $15,853 | 53% | $40,800 |
| Howard University | District of Columbia | 48% | $23,191 | 60% | $46,000 |
| Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts | Massachusetts | 46% | $14,884 | 54% | $34,800 |
| Mills College | California | 50% | $25,161 | 67% | $39,000 |
| Monmouth College | Illinois | 42% | $16,661 | 57% | $39,500 |
| Rutgers University-Newark | New Jersey | 52% | $12,497 | 67% | $54,500 |
| Salem College | North Carolina | 58% | $14,669 | 65% | $31,900 |
| Spelman College | Georgia | 48% | $34,308 | 71% | $46,000 |
| Spring Arbor University | Michigan | 45% | $17,194 | 55% | $38,100 |
| The Sage Colleges | New York | 49% | $16,521 | 58% | $38,900 |
| University of California-Irvine | California | 45% | $12,771 | 86% | $54,500 |
| University of California-San Diego | California | 40% | $14,136 | 86% | $59,000 |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | Illinois | 51% | $13,811 | 58% | $51,100 |
| University of La Verne | California | 45% | $22,696 | 59% | $50,200 |
| University of Michigan-Dearborn | Michigan | 43% | $12,227 | 51% | $45,600 |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | North Carolina | 44% | $12,186 | 56% | $36,000 |
| University of Pittsburgh-Bradford | Pennsylvania | 44% | $16,811 | 52% | $48,800 |
| Western Illinois University | Illinois | 44% | $17,988 | 55% | $41,100 |
| William Carey University | Mississippi | 65% | $16,740 | 60% | $34,700 |
Typical earnings reflect the median earnings of federal financial aid recipients 10 years after they first enrolled at the institution. Net price reflects the sticker price, less any grant or scholarship aid. Graduation rate reflects the share of first-time, full-time students at the school who completed within six years. For schools where Education Trust was able to collect data, we also used the graduation rates of first-time, full-time Pell Grant recipients at the school to identify the institutions. While the share of undergraduate students who received Pell Grants in a given year is a measure of the access an institution provides to low-income students, it may not capture all low-income students. Students who are undocumented immigrants or foreign nationals are not eligible to receive Pell Grants, and some low-income students may not have completed the FAFSA to receive federal aid, but those students may have similar financial circumstances to Pell recipients, or may be just on the other side of Pell eligibility, creating a cliff effect. Additionally, in some states (such as California), state financial aid may be sufficient to cover costs at community colleges, in particular; so those students may not seek or receive a Pell Grant. More information is available in Appendix A of the Department of Education report.