As is well known, private colleges use financial aid in two ways: They use it to defray costs for families unable to pay and they use it as a discounting strategy to attract students who would not otherwise attend. Clearly, the first has a virtuous motive. Just about everybody associated with any U.S. private college takes as part of their institution’s mission to extend educational benefits to students of diverse economic backgrounds. There is a self-serving aspect to this, but even it is virtuous: private colleges, especially elite private colleges, understand that their claim to broader cultural significance is diluted if they provide educational benefits only to a narrow economic band  of students. They need students of diverse economic backgrounds in order to make their institutions work. They use financial aid to help enroll them.

What I want to focus on is the unintended but damaging consequence of the rhetoric that institutions use to promote need-based financial aid. Colleges reach out to students of modest means fairly aggressively, telling them that they should not rule out an expensive private education, that with financial assistance they might find that a private higher education is doable. Sometimes institutions even tell students that upon comparison they may find that the financial aid given by private institutions is so generous that they are a less expensive option than public institutions.

Without question, these claims are true in some cases. In some cases students are given such generous aid by private institutions that they can attend for less cost than local public institutions. But in how many cases? Five percent or ten percent of the students of modest backgrounds pursing higher education? What about the many students who do not end up in the private college and university system?

I spent the last week in the company of students of modest background who were all living at home while attending a local public institution. Their determination was impressive. Many travelled long distances via public transportation to attend classes then returned home often to work a part time job or attend to other family members.

In a majority of cases, these students had heard the promotional rhetoric from private institutions and had responded. They had applied to many private institutions and in every case they had been accepted at several. I met some students who had been accepted to extremely highly ranked schools, the kinds of schools that upper middle class kids kill to get into.

These students were all disappointed to ultimately learn that the financial aid they were offered was not sufficient to enable them to attend the private institution of their choice or indeed any private institution. They had waited, waited through the spring and into the summer after high school graduation to get a clear picture of their financial aid offers. Several had tried to negotiate with colleges at which they had been accepted. At the end of the day, they were forced to accept that they would not be able to attend a private residential college and had enrolled at their local commuter option instead.

The dreams of these young people were bruised during the college admissions process. As high school seniors, they learned the sad truth that the benefits of our society are not apportioned fairly. Being economically strapped creates significant barriers to achieving mainstream success, even if you think you are playing by all the rules. For these students, the rhetoric of the private colleges was hollow. Resources turned out to be insufficient to makes their dream of attending a private residential college a reality.

Granted, I do not know the details of these students’ individual stories. I’m sure that if I spoke with the private colleges that offered these students aid, I would hear another side – I would hear about parents with some net worth who were unwilling to support their children. They would tell me the students’ records were not so good that they merited generous financial aid. But that doesn’t really mitigate the point that in total the private colleges don’t have nearly the wealth necessary to serve a significant fraction of students of modest means who are ambitious and seek a quality higher education.

And so, I would suggest that private colleges and universities in their quest to recruit students of diverse economic backgrounds to their campuses moderate their promotional rhetoric. Granted, in some cases students who receive generous financial aid awards will find that attending a private institution is more doable than attending a local public. But in the majority of cases that is not the case. I suggest that private colleges and universities put some sort of balanced helpful statement on their websites and in their brochures:

If you believe that our institution is a good fit for you, then we encourage you to apply. You should not let concern about financing your education hold you back. Our institution provides generous financial aid to families of students who are unable to meet the full cost of a private higher education. In 2009, we provided more than $_ million dollars in need-based financial aid.

However, if you depend on financial aid to attend college, you should also know how important it is for you to explore all your options, including state colleges and universities in your local area alongside more expensive private institutions.  Talk to your parents in advance and get a sense from them of the kind of support they think they can provide. This is the best way to put yourself in position to weigh all your options and ultimately choose the higher education path that makes the most sense for you.

I hope that a few admissions officers at private colleges who work with students from disadvantaged backgrounds read this post. Yes, it is important to promote your institution. But it is also important to give these students a reality check, even if it means promoting your own institution less intensively. You will be doing these students a service.