Nearly 1,700 wide-eyed freshmen gather every September for New Student Orientation (NSO), donning their identical blue nametags, chanting in unison to dorm cheers and purchasing their very first Stanford T-shirts — blending into a sea of red. But this year’s incoming class will likely hold a record number of admits whose markings of social class are hidden amidst the matching “Class of 2011” T-shirts.

An increasing number of high-caliber schools are pushing for socioeconomic diversity in admissions — not just by boosting financial aid incentives, but also by taking students’ backgrounds into account when making admissions decisions. The New York Times recently profiled Amherst College in Massachusetts as one of several making an effort in this area, and Stanford administrators acknowledge a similar desire to have students from all bands of the wealth spectrum.

Admissions

Dean of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid Richard Shaw said that Stanford has pursued an “ongoing commitment” to diversity and access over the years — though he did observe a recent increase in the number of low-income and first-generation college students.

“I think the numbers have been increasing,” he said. “We’re pretty much in line with what Amherst is trying to accomplish and that is to provide access for qualified students.”

2007 marks the first time that Stanford admissions officers have manually recorded the number of first-generation college students admitted — a term Director of Admission Shawn Abbott defined as children with two parents who have not earned four-year degrees.

Approximately 350 students admitted this year were first-generation college students. Shaw said the number of first-generation students amounts to roughly 14 percent of the admitted class and 13.5 percent of the incoming freshmen class.

Abbott, who said he could not confirm a rise in the number of admitted first-generation students without solid data, cited the nationwide trend as “a complement to our traditional affirmative action policies.”

“It’s actually surprising,” he said, “that it has taken so long for American colleges and universities to see the value of socioeconomic diversity.”

Though “first-generation college student” and “low-income student” are not mutually inclusive categories, Abbot said that first-generation status was one way that the Office of Undergraduate Admission measures socioeconomic diversity.

“A student’s income is absolutely not a factor in the admission process,” Abbot said. “Admissions officers do not have access [to financial data]. We do have access to a candidate’s life experiences, so if we can ascertain that a candidate is coming from a socioeconomically disadvantaged background, that could factor in positively in our admissions decision.”

Abbot said that approximately nine percent of Stanford undergraduates come from households with incomes below $30,000 and about 12 percent come from families that make between $30,000 and $60,000.

Shaw called the showing of low-income students in the class of 2011 a “strong percentage,” though he said he could not provide concrete data. He commended Stanford’s recent financial aid policies, which in 2007 will extend aid reduction to families earning under $120,000.

“With these new financial aid policies,” Shaw said the student body “will be more representative across all four quartiles of the economic distribution.”

Abbot and Shaw also said that the University is trying to push for a more diverse class through on-the-road recruitment.

“We’re doing outreach in all 50 states,” Shaw said. “We’ve increased our outreach four- to five-fold in the last year. We’re trying in local communities in our outreach efforts to not only go to those high schools that have a history of college-bound students, but those that don’t.”

After Admission

Neither Abbot nor Shaw could extensively comment on the experience of the increasing numbers of admitted low-income and first-generation students. But Shaw acknowledged potential concerns of such students upon entering Stanford.

“There has to be a period of adaptation,” he said. “This is a new experience for many kids. Getting used to the environment is going to take some time. I think ultimately everybody does.”

Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Freshmen and Transfer Students Julie Lythcott-Haims ‘89 said she applauded the University’s efforts to increase the number of low-income and first-generation students. She also championed efforts to reach out to such students once they are on campus.

“With an increased number [of such students], a critical mass develops,” she said. “You have a place to turn to if you have other kids in your midst who, like you, are first-generation. There’s a lot of common experience that can be shared and the participants are enhanced by collective experience.”

She said that efforts to identify transition concerns for such students have been housed primarily in the community centers, with which many low-income and first-generation students identify.

“In the Freshman Dean’s Office, we’ve only recently begun to focus on the community of kids we see [as] being first-generation,” she said. “I’d say we have a lot of work to do to complement what is already being done elsewhere. We’d like to join that effort to reach out to first-generation and low-income students.”

Director of Freshman Programs Koren Bakkegard also applauded the efforts of the Multicultural Education Training Organization (METrO), the group that facilitates “Crossing the Line” — a residential program in which students can self-identify with diverse groups.

“Over the last five years, there’s been an increased awareness among faculty, administrators and staff of the presence of first-generation students on campus,” Lythcott-Haims said. “We’ve always known our campus is diverse socioeconomically. The concept of being first-generation, the terminology, is a newer construct.”

“I am eager for first-generation and low-income kids to let my office know about how we can construct programming efforts, outreach efforts, resource efforts,” she added, “so as to help them make a successful transition into Stanford.

Student Reaction

First-generation and low-income students with whom The Daily spoke expressed mixed reactions to Stanford’s admissions push. Some students applauded the administration’s efforts, but said that further changes were needed to help Stanford embrace its diverse student body.

Milton Solorzano ‘07 said the University must take further steps to promote class awareness.

“Sometimes, the University across the board has a tendency to say, ‘If we can announce this number, we can announce this policy, then we’ve done our job,’” he said. “It tends to be something that the University falls back on.”

“The thing that I would really like to see is a commitment made by the Admissions Office to make sure that there’s some structure to it, some substance,” he added. “If you admit more [first-generation and low-income students], but never make them feel welcome, how does that benefit?”

Roxanne Parker ‘10 commended the University’s diversity outreach and said she hoped that Stanford would do more to reach out to low-income communities in recruitment, citing her own experience in Philadelphia.

“It’s a matter of getting the word out,” she said. “If you come from the high schools most low-income students go to, Stanford isn’t really talked about. For people from more wealthy high schools, Stanford has put on presentations. Stanford put on a presentation in my area, but I only found that out because I went on the Web site.”

Stephanie Hwang ‘09 — who recently completed a documentary on the low-income, first-generation experience at Stanford with Nicole Kim ‘09 for their Program in Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) 2 class — proposed that applications be more tailored to low-income students, as she said many do not think they can get into Stanford.

“I feel like the applications for Stanford are pretty general and are like, ‘What are your activities?’” she said. “If you were home babysitting your brother while your parents are working, then you don’t have an activity.”

Kim agreed with Solorzano that more needs to be done on campus for first-generation and low-income students. She wished that faculty mentors who shared socially mobile experiences were provided for students.

“I think more needs to be done on campus versus trying to encourage more kids to come,” she said. “I’ve heard of a lot of kids who have dropped out or are really struggling or getting depressed. It’s more prevalent in kids who come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds because they don’t know what first-class life is like. Having adults who are older and can guide you through is very helpful.”

But the biggest concern low-income and first-generation students expressed was the lack of awareness about class issues on campus, a problem that remains despite the administration’s efforts to push for diversity. Kim recalled her own experiences as a new freshman.

“I felt like the token kid who was wondering why I got in and ended up thinking it was probably because of my background,” she said. “I found it difficult to interact with a lot of kids here. [Class] is not talked about as much as it could be.”

“Those of us who are low-income, first generation students don’t necessarily walk around with a sign on our neck,” Parker added. “It’s not as easily noticeable as other types of diversity.”