Too many Claras

She was valedictorian of her class, a nearly straight-A student, a gifted poet. Researchers at the University of Chicago called her Clara. A student at a predominantly Puerto Rican high school, Clara could have gone to any number of colleges. But when it came to reaching a decision that would alter the course of her life, Clara didn't spend hours talking to high-school counselors or poring over college rankings. She and her mother were running errands one day, drove past a Catholic college in the suburbs with a nice campus, and decided that was the place.

Jenny Nagaoka of the University of Chicago was part of a team that followed the girl and 99 others like her in a study of how low-income, high-achieving kids make their college choices. "You can't just hope someone drives by the perfect college for them," Nagaoka said at a Saturday morning EWA session. "That's not the policy solution we're looking for."

Bottom line: there are too many Claras. Almost 40 percent of students of similar backgrounds and qualifications are "undermatched," which basically means that they settled. It matters because students who attend more selective schools have a much better chance at graduating. If a student like Clara enrolls at a college like Northeastern Illinois, she'd have a 40 percent chance of earning a degree within six years. If the school were Northwestern, it'd be 90 percent.

Nagaoka said the students in the study were motivated, worked hard and generally had supportive parents - though the parents knew little about the college selection process. Surprisingly, given the students were among the best at their schools, they were not getting much support from their counselors or teachers, Nagaoka said. Clara described the counselors at her school as "grouchy."

You might think it'd be easier to earn a degree at a less selective school, but that's not the case, said panelist Matt Chingos of Harvard University, co-author of the 2009 book "Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America's Public Universities." Part of it is the campus culture, he said - at more selective schools, everyone does well and success breeds success. Dropouts are more common, and so also more acceptable, at schools that aren't as picky.

The quality and quantity of college counselors are factors in students landing in the right place, but there is "no silver bullet" for the undermatching problem, Chingos said. A reporter in the audience suggested that cost could be holding students back, too, especially in these hard times. She described interviewing a student who chose a lesser Cal State campus over her dream University of California school because of a $2,000 cost difference.

The panel moderator, Katherine Unmuth of the Dallas Morning News, talked about her experience writing about these students, their struggles and their dreams. The subject of one piece, Luis, agonized over leaving his family in Texas for Harvard. At home he'd been depended on to keep the family's immigration papers in order. He mowed lawns and worked alongside his parents and 13-year-old brother cleaning office buildings. After Katherine's story ran, Luis's Facebook page was indundated with messages from other students who wanted to be like him - and learn how he did it.