The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students by Anthony Abraham Jack

Jan 05, 2020 Thomas rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, own-electronic, five-stars, read-on-nook

So happy to start off 2020 with this fantastic book. In The Privileged Poor, Anthony Abraham Jack shares the experiences of disadvantaged students attending an elite private university (referred to as “Renowned” throughout the book). He writes about the privileged poor, low-income students who had the privilege of attending private elite high schools prior to enrolling at Renowned, and the doubly disadvantaged, low-income students who did not attend prestigious preparatory schools before coming So happy to start off 2020 with this fantastic book. In The Privileged Poor, Anthony Abraham Jack shares the experiences of disadvantaged students attending an elite private university (referred to as “Renowned” throughout the book). He writes about the privileged poor, low-income students who had the privilege of attending private elite high schools prior to enrolling at Renowned, and the doubly disadvantaged, low-income students who did not attend prestigious preparatory schools before coming to Renowned. While the privileged poor have some advantages compared to the doubly disadvantaged in terms of understanding cultural norms like connecting to faculty, both of these types of students suffer from classist policies – like closing cafeterias over spring break – in relation to upper income students. Jack provides both individual and systemic-level solutions and strategies for advocacy which made reading this book all the more worthwhile, to learn about these students’ struggles and to have an avenue to prevent and address them.

I most loved this book for the ways that Jack gave voice to the experiences of these disadvantaged students. I felt so sad and frustrated when he provided a quote from a Latino student who shared his experience cleaning a wealthy white student’s bathroom and how that reminded the student of watching his mom get berated by the child of a wealthy white employee. I have more expertise in psychological research than sociological research, though from my perspective, this book acts as an amazing example of the power of well-written qualitative research – it captures the participants’ unique lived experiences, these experiences are analyzed and described eloquently and intelligently, and the overarching narrative elicits empathy and (hopefully) action from readers. Bravo to Jack for naming class and addressing it head on, given that in our country socioeconomic status is something we are often so reticent to openly talk about.

I also want to address a critique/idea I’ve read in reaction to this book. Some people say, well, if poor students are so turned off by flagrant displays of wealth at elite institutions, why don’t they just go somewhere else, like a state school or community college? I want to gently encourage all of us to practice some empathy, as well as to acknowledge there’s not a finite economy of compassion we can provide for the people around us. For example, I was accepted to an Ivy League university and instead chose to attend a medium-sized liberal arts college, because I knew I wanted an environment that felt more nurturing and intimate. At the same time, I don’t blame others who go to Ivy League universities for the adversities they face there. Ideally, they wouldn’t encounter microaggressions and discrimination and feelings of being unwelcome. Ideally they’d have a positive and warm experience, an experience that invites challenge and growth yes, and one that is filled with support too. You can call me an idealist or unrealistic for wanting that for all students but I don’t really care because I think everyone should be nurtured and treated well. I feel this way especially for poor students of color who are often taught from a young age that the path to success in this country includes a degree from a fancy institution. While that idea both has merit because of systemic issues and also is not always true, I feel it important to acknowledge how these students’ experiences can so sharply contrast with their expectations. We should strive to mitigate some of that disparity, especially as a country that is so obsessed with meritocracy and the myth of the American dream.

Anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox and just say I’m grateful for Jack for writing this book, especially as someone who’s highly considering a career in academia. I had the privilege of attending a pretty great public high school and then a relatively well-known liberal arts college for undergrad, and in both settings I had the privilege of connecting with warm, intelligent, supportive mentors. Reading this book motivates me to be that mentor for students from disadvantaged backgrounds as well as to engage in systems-level advocacy that will reduce barriers to inclusion and equity. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in higher education and/or social justice. ...more

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May 20, 2019 Carolyn Kost rated it liked it

Shelves: education

As a long time college counselor and professor, I have many issues with this book. First, it's fine as a small-scale limited scope ethnographic study of Harvard and how it fails to consider the ways it hoards privilege and render equal services in every way to poor and rich alike. However, this book in no way should be ascribed greater significance as some larger commentary on social class and elite institutions--the sample size is minuscule (n=100) and overwhelmingly female (I counted 15 males As a long time college counselor and professor, I have many issues with this book. First, it's fine as a small-scale limited scope ethnographic study of Harvard and how it fails to consider the ways it hoards privilege and render equal services in every way to poor and rich alike. However, this book in no way should be ascribed greater significance as some larger commentary on social class and elite institutions--the sample size is minuscule (n=100) and overwhelmingly female (I counted 15 males quoted).

Second, the author concludes the "Privileged Poor (PP)" who received scholarships to select boarding or day schools prior to college have greater success than the Doubly Disadvantaged (DD) who attended struggling high schools in their marginal big-city neighborhoods or rural towns because prep schools help the PP to amass social capital and a sense of ease with adults, advocate for themselves, and regard college as relational, rather than merely the acquisition of a credential. Jack downplays the impact of the quality of academic preparation they have had, which is absurd and vexing. Blacks and Latinos are recruited who have 200 points lower SAT than White and 300 lower than Asians; it strains credulity to the breaking point to believe their struggle is due entirely to social capital.

Third, Jack emphasizes the transformative power of elite private secondary schools. Having taught in a few, including the third most expensive boarding school in the USA, I can attest to the significance of students' personal characteristics to their success. To be sure, the immersive nature of boarding schools inculcates certain behaviors and structure, but these can be sloughed off rather quickly or resisted entirely. Students can regard the school as "a daily suffering," as one of my graduating seniors expressed her feelings for our school, and be alienated by the socio-economic status of their peers and instructors or they can choose to transcend, aspire to or embrace it.

Moreover, what drives the decision to attend an elite private university and why do such places captivate us so? The flagrant display of wealth is to be expected; that's why they're aspirational in the first place. If a student with fewer resources feels enraged, estranged or put off by others' wealth, they don't just "feel like they don't belong," they should not be there. Period. There are quite literally thousands of other options. Jack's protest is almost nonsensical. Why should an elite institution choose to bend itself to accommodate their customers who are not their bread and butter? Should Rolls Royce design its cars for chauffeurs instead of owners? What are the real motives of such institutions in accepting non-wealthy students? It's not altruism or social justice. In large measure, such students are there as carefully curated "diversity" for the paying students.

Admittedly, some of Harvard's practices are unconscionable like having work-study students clean other students' bathrooms or wait in segregated scholarship lines for free event tickets. Closing dining halls during breaks is a physical hardship and it would seem to be imperative for the school to prepare other plans for students.

I chose not to attend Yale for several reasons: I knew my social place--although bright, I didn't belong there socially as the granddaughter of illiterate Slavic immigrant coalminers with a gigantic socio-economic chip on my shoulder; in those days it cost a LOT and I didn't want to bankrupt my parents and I knew the ROI would be low since I wanted to major in Spanish and Religion; and most of all, as a spiritual person, I didn't like the fruit I saw it bear and didn't want to be shaped that way. As rural student William (p. 47) points out, these institutions change students to value money and high status. As a college counselor, I enjoy working with students who have lofty and idealistic goals to make the world a better place as they go off to elite colleges and am decimated to witness that four years later, most of them are working in financial services or with McKinsey, Bain and their soulless analogs that contribute nothing of true value to the common good.

A favorite quote is: "A school’s best gift to her children is not education, but character—her character. Education makes a scholar; character makes a [person]. And her character is best read in the lives of her sons and daughters."—William McDaniel, 1912. The fruit of the Ivy League (and Wash U, Colby, Stanford and the like, I mean you, too) isn't often sweet or nourishing, but it is hard to grasp, which is why we want it. We need to reflect on that.

It's particularly instructive to consider that DD students do not seek help from teachers or staff despite the Student Services staff's continual invitations to do so because to do so runs counter to the values and behaviors of their family of origin. Jack recommends that colleges and high schools promote more faculty student interaction and be "explicit about the types of relationships that are expected between students and faculty" (see p. 126ff in particular). We might also emphasize this on a 1-1 basis with graduating high school seniors as they leave to help them succeed in college and beyond.

This book should be paired with Hamilton and Armstrong's Paying for the Party, which underscored the way that local community colleges or branches of flagships can lead to much greater social mobility and success (and degree completion!) than prestigious campuses. Leave the elites to their exclusionary institutions; they are bespoke made-to-measure for them. Prêt à porter off the rack can be far more comfortable, durable and functional for the rest of us. ...more

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Mar 04, 2019 Kathleen rated it really liked it

Shelves: college

This is important, and all college administrators need to read this book. There are many other facets to the situation that the author didn't delve into... and he's honest about that... but hopefully either he or others will explore this topic further. What's happening to these kids is unconscionable and it needs to be remedied.

The sheer lack of awareness is astonishing, which just goes to show we often don't know what we don't know. Which is also a display of just how wide the gap is between t ...more

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Jun 22, 2019 Jacqueline Flores rated it it was amazing

This should be a required reading for every university official.

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Apr 04, 2020 Sam Lien rated it really liked it

Shelves: college, non-fiction

The answer is not to pluck the lucky few out of their distressed communities and place them in an environment of abundant resources; the answer is to bring those incredible resources into distressed communities.

This book studies two groups of students at a pseudonymized Renowned University: the Privileged Poor are students who hail from a working-class or poor background but go on to attend private, wealthy high schools before entering Renowned; the Doubly Disadvantaged are students who hail fro ...more

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Mar 24, 2019 John Tyson rated it really liked it

While the main points of this book certainly deserve attention, I thought Jack’s writing and research were only “okay”.

The most compelling parts of the book were the conversations with various students, especially those that were *not* editorialized by the author.

I give it a three stars for form and five stars for function.

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Sep 18, 2019 Jennifer rated it liked it

Yes, there are serious cultural problems on elite colleges' and universities' campuses, wherein students of color from less-privileged socio-economic backgrounds deal with endless micro-aggressions and insensitivity; culture shock; disparities in spending power that create stress, isolation, and humiliation; difficulties navigating unfamiliar things like office hours and relationships with authority figures; and their own reluctance to ask for help for a broad range of reasons. They may also be Yes, there are serious cultural problems on elite colleges' and universities' campuses, wherein students of color from less-privileged socio-economic backgrounds deal with endless micro-aggressions and insensitivity; culture shock; disparities in spending power that create stress, isolation, and humiliation; difficulties navigating unfamiliar things like office hours and relationships with authority figures; and their own reluctance to ask for help for a broad range of reasons. They may also be at schools where the policies reinforce these problems rather than addressing them, and Jack offers some pretty egregious examples of this. But, in the end, Jack has one point that's simply reiterated kind of endlessly, and that is: all of the above is true, but LESS true for students of color from less-privileged socio-economic backgrounds who have been to boarding schools or prestigious private high schools. And, honestly, that's just kind of obvious. It bears saying, perhaps once, as a reminder that too often it is assumed that all students of color from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds are experiencing the exact same thing when they show up on the campuses of elite colleges and universities, but the repetition of the story for the fewer than 100 pages of this very brief book gets wearying. Jack does offer engaging interviews with very engaging students; he does offer a handful of suggestions (e.g. explain to all of your students what office hours are, so that they understand that they're not only welcome, but expected), but the book is not a manual for ensuring that these two sub-groups of the student population are supported - each in appropriate ways - as they put in their time as undergraduates, it's just a series of illustrations of how this should happen, but with a differential between the kids who got to go to privileged private high schools and those who did not.

I teach at a school that has, like most institutions of higher ed, been trying to navigate exactly these kinds of challenges and to help the full range of students in the campus community. The number one lesson I'd take from the past decade of efforts is that the school must encourage and actively support affinity groups like 1Gen clubs, black student associations, Latinx student groups, Asian clubs, LGBTQ groups, disabled students' organizations, etc. Our students cannot speak highly enough of the relief of being among others who understand the situation they're in and with whom they can relax and speak the same language, figuratively and often literally. Additionally, schools that prioritize diversifying their student bodies by bringing in POC and students from less privileged socio-economic backgrounds must also make sure that: books, computers, and course materials are made affordable; class events' costs are covered; orientation excursions and other college-sponsored trips are paid for by the school; slush funds are made available for students' emergencies; lending libraries of business attire exist; on-campus activities do not have dress codes that involve expensive outlays or subtle understanding of clothing expectations; tutoring, academic counseling, writing workshops or other assistance, and emotional counseling are provided free of charge; regular clubs (not affinity groups) are not exclusive in their intent or practice; etc.

I wish Jack had asked additional questions in his interviews and built his book out a bit from the very basic premises around which he organized it. I would have liked to read the various students' views on efforts Renowned WAS undertaking (where did they succeed? where did they fail?) as well as on what they themselves would propose as solutions, and how they'd prioritize them. Two years and dozens of interviews yielded a very thin book, in the end, and, in my view, didn't meet the full potential of the exercise. ...more

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Sep 22, 2019 Babbs rated it really liked it

Shelves: philosophy, non-fiction, race-gender

"Access is not inclusion."

Renowned, the name the author uses as a placeholder for Harvard, and as a replacement for both this Ivy League university, and the situations other privilege poor (PP) and/or the double disadvantaged (DD) face in other elite schools around the country.

Two terms used throughout the book are the PP and DD. PP are those who come from a disadvantaged background but attended highly competitive prep schools, or boarding schools in middle and/or high school, makin

"Access is not inclusion."

Renowned, the name the author uses as a placeholder for Harvard, and as a replacement for both this Ivy League university, and the situations other privilege poor (PP) and/or the double disadvantaged (DD) face in other elite schools around the country.

Two terms used throughout the book are the PP and DD. PP are those who come from a disadvantaged background but attended highly competitive prep schools, or boarding schools in middle and/or high school, making their transition to exposure to the ultra rich easier. DDs are those who came from the same disadvantaged background but were accepted from traditional schools due to outstanding performance, test scores, etc. Their transition to schools like Renowned tends to be harder and makes them feel more like an outsider than their PP classmates.

The author does a great job contrasting both the PP and DD with their wealthy classmates, for whom college at an elite level was often expected. He also demonstrates small ways that the difference in socioeconomic status plays a role in both performance and social integration into the new community.

I did not start out my academic career at a "renowned" university but it was still a shocking experience, made doubly harder by the need to work. Slowly I did work my way to the New England area and to a Renowned university and a lot of the points demonstrated in this book reiterated my own experiences when first exposed to the top income bracket. I was no longer a student by this time, and my husband was a post-doc, so we were detached from it having a direct impact as it would for an undergraduate, but it was still hard to believe sometimes the things those from privileged backgrounds consider "normal".

I really enjoyed this book, but I'm not sure it would be for everyone. It can be both depressing as well as repetitive, particularly if you have experienced many of these same experiences in your own life. It would be a great required read for those who are about to enter college or leave to attend a boarding school, as a way to shape perceptive, no matter background. I actually think a book like this would have helped 18 year old me quite a lot. ...more

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May 25, 2020 Julie rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was my first introduction to the disparities between privileged and poor students who attend elite institutions. The text is accessible, appropriately organized, and matter-of-fact. There are parts that I liked about the book, and then there are others that I think need more work and consideration:

I like that Jack recognized that the line between privileged and poor often intersect. He divides students into Privileged Poor (poor kids who attend prep schools prior to college) vs. Doubly This book was my first introduction to the disparities between privileged and poor students who attend elite institutions. The text is accessible, appropriately organized, and matter-of-fact. There are parts that I liked about the book, and then there are others that I think need more work and consideration:

I like that Jack recognized that the line between privileged and poor often intersect. He divides students into Privileged Poor (poor kids who attend prep schools prior to college) vs. Doubly Disadvantaged (poor kids who have no prior experience to the wealth and privilege that they experience in college). Reading this book helped me realize the flaws in my own black-and-white regarding which kids attend elite institutions and those who don't. The book is substantiated by the students' own experiences attending an elite college in the northeast (despite there being a pseudonym to protect the students' identity, it's very obvious that it's Harvard College) which is incredibly interesting but maddening. The stories of poor students working as janitors and cleaning other (wealthy and privileged) students' dorms was both heartbreaking and infuriating to read. I don't know who came up with this idea and thought that it was appropriate for students to clean other people's dorms and thought of it as an experience that is enriching when it is actually frustrating and humiliating (And gross! Why don't they clean their own dorms?) – it seems as if elite institutions fundamentally do not understand how challenging it is for poor students, especially the Doubly Disadvantaged, to integrate within a predominantly white and wealthy community. It seems alienating, depressing, and excruciatingly frustrating, which is felt throughout the book.

I had no idea that privileged students at elite colleges interpreted professors' office hours are something that is entirely opposite from my own definition. I loved this part of the book because it was enlightening to me as a "Doubly Disadvantaged" student. I mean, it does make sense that privileged students see office hours as a way to begin networking and gain connections early on, but it's interesting to me that they view professors as their peers rather than authority figures. In contrast to their lower-income peers, the "Doubly Disadvantaged" saw professors as first and foremost authority figures, not connections waiting to be made. One student saw the wealthier students as "sucking up" and being "entitled" to their professors' time, which is something I believed in prior to being in college. I don't blame this student for seeing it this way, because disadvantaged students are brought up to believe in meritocracy. This part of the book was very shocking to me because it made me realize how different the college experience is for poor and wealthy students, albeit at an elite institution like Harvard.

I liked the book, but I still feel as if it could've accomplished more. Despite Jack's statement at the beginning of the book where he hopes that other researchers will pick up where he left off and study other variables in the college experience, I would've liked if Jack could explore the allure of an elite college education and what it means to poor students before and after college. I enjoyed the students' stories too much for it too end abruptly.

This book is a great introduction though, and I appreciate that Jack chose to highlight the experiences of poor students in an elite institution. I can only hope that colleges like Harvard work harder to ensure that their poor students feel welcomed, appreciated, and seen on campus. ...more

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Sep 02, 2019 Timothy Hall rated it really liked it

This book largely focuses on the "privileged poor" and the "doubly disadvantaged." The "privileged poor" are low income students who came to elite colleges via elite private high schools. The "doubly disadvantaged" are low income students who came to elite colleges from public high schools. The author spent significant time at an elite college interviewing these and other students. He observes that low income students from elite private high schools differ from doubly disadvantaged students espe ...more

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Jun 03, 2019 Laura rated it it was amazing

I loved this book. It captured so much of what I experienced living and advising on an elite college campus (and I could NOT help but wonder if it took place at Harvard!).

So important that this has been distilled into clear themes and actionable changes for people who are doing the work to be better about expanding not just access but also belonging in these spaces.

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Feb 28, 2020 Zuri rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2020, non-fiction

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in higher education admin and especially the experiences of low income students at elite universities. As a former one, I definitely wanted to share my experience and and glad students were able to w Anthony Jack. In this book he has conversations w two groups, the Doubly Disadvantaged (low income students from public schools) & the Privileged Poor (low income students from private schools) about their experiences at the same university ...more

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Mar 29, 2019 Meghan rated it liked it

Worthy and important research, however I felt it read a bit too much like a master’s thesis and not a book.

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Feb 07, 2020 Maddie rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, non-fiction

Anthony Jack synthesized the stories of many students at a pseudonymous "Renowned" university to show what attending college as a disadvantaged student is like. He used the tools of academic sociology (he is a professor at Harvard who received his PhD in Sociology, also from Harvard) to fit his narrative and observations into a format that college administrators and wealthy elites can connect with.

I really enjoyed the end of the book, which described his research methodology in detail. Jack foc Anthony Jack synthesized the stories of many students at a pseudonymous "Renowned" university to show what attending college as a disadvantaged student is like. He used the tools of academic sociology (he is a professor at Harvard who received his PhD in Sociology, also from Harvard) to fit his narrative and observations into a format that college administrators and wealthy elites can connect with.

I really enjoyed the end of the book, which described his research methodology in detail. Jack focused on interviewing upper income black students (he noted that many upper income Latinx students were international, and he wanted to focus on the American experience), then lower-income black, Latinx and white students. There was only one Asian voice throughout, and I feel like it was strange to leave such a large demographic out. He explained the ways this would have complicated his research, and he certainly did a lot of interviews in the time he had, but I hope he looks to expand his work to include Asian students as well.

As someone who was somewhat disadvantaged while attending college (i.e., I paid less to attend Amherst than a state school would have cost, and they wrote me a check to attend my senior year), I did not find any of the insights in the book particularly startling. I do feel like many people who paid full tuition without struggle and never talked to disadvantaged students would learn a lot from this book.

Some of the bullet points from Jack's findings were:
1 - There is a huge culture shock to students who attend elite schools. Students who have the opportunity to attend private high schools despite being from disadvantaged backgrounds (the titular "Privileged Poor") often have better developed the cultural skills that help them succeed by the time they attend elite colleges. School administration should think differently about the privileged poor and the "doubly disadvantaged" when trying to ensure the success of students.
2 - If the best-paying job on campus is cleaning the bathrooms of classmates, disadvantaged students will be the only people who take that job. They will then be treated as "the help" by their classmates rather than as colleagues and fellow scholars. Schools should really stop doing this and find other opportunities for financial aid jobs that help students build their resumes (e.g., working for professors or in office settings).
3 - If you try to encourage disadvantaged students to take advantage of college events by providing them with free tickets, come up with a better system than giving them a separate line to pick up tickets, then having them enter by a separate (worse) entrance than all the wealthier students. Particularly given the demographics of students benefitting from that program, you end up instituting a nearly Jim Crow-looking system for your campus events.
4 - Breaks in the school year can be particularly hard for disadvantaged students, who often cannot afford to go home, but also struggle with food insecurity when the dining halls close down. Consider keeping some dining halls open.
5 - Rather than having parents who proof-read their essays or send them allowances, many (but of course not all) students interviewed found their family to be an additional source of stress rather than support. Several students said that they were disowned for attending the renowned university, and others were plagued by requests from money when they were just barely getting by.
6 - Upper income black students often have to work (through clothing choices, etc.) to prove that they are not disadvantaged, which their white classmates often assume they are. Disadvantaged white students are often assumed to be wealthy, and often work hard to hide their status.

Hearing the voices of the students that Jack interviewed was very touching, and this book reinforced the idea that students from disadvantaged backgrounds overcame so much to attend elite schools, and then continue to struggle once they attend (with combinations of culture shock, lack of institutional support, and problems from home creeping back into their world). Given that disadvantaged students who attended elite high schools often have a smoother transition to elite universities, there clearly are ways to improve the transition for all disadvantaged students. If we as a society are in agreement that the students who are able to overcome so many obstacles to attend renowned universities deserve to be there, school administrators should work harder to make the transition successful. The Privileged Poor is a good starting point for doing so. ...more

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Jan 26, 2020 Z. Yasemin rated it it was amazing

colleges especially elite schools.... they try to diversify their campuses for many reasons but first of all; it is a must now for them to increase diversity and put a diverse studebt body picture to their website so they can bring even more money to the university....

However, whether these students from different background and particularly minority groups (low socio economic status, first generarion college students etc) feel belong in college or not is a question we should ask (?)
“Access ain’ ...more

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Mar 29, 2020 Siobhan rated it really liked it

Shelves: black-authors, made-you-think, nonfiction

This is a book I highly recommend to everyone who has any connection at all with colleges and universities in the US. If you are a student, were a student, or want to be a student at a (n elite) college you should read this. If you work at a college or work with students who will be attending colleges in the US this work is majorly important.

Jack has unpacked many of the burdens of attending the US' elite institutions as a low income individual through an underused lens. By comparing and contras ...more

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Mar 23, 2019 Jordana Churchill rated it really liked it

This was kind of an kind of an emotional read for me. Not only did I have a lot of rich classmates where I went to school, but the fact that it is an urban school even though I am from a rural town was a big culture shock. In urban areas, visual status symbols seem to be more important than in rural areas (Guns, Germs, and Steal has a good part on that). So maybe if I had gone to a smaller more rural school, my experience would have been different.

For example...

I guess I was one of the students ...more

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Mar 30, 2020 Sara rated it liked it

As a low-income, first-generation, rural college student, I will spend my entire life re-examining my path and life choices. The fact that I finished college at all is nothing short of amazing.

This book had nothing to do with my own experiences, but it was interesting. The research looked at differences between low income students who attend a fancy private school for 9-12 grade and contrasts their experiences with low income students who go from a public high school into an elite college. You ...more

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Oct 20, 2019 Marks54 rated it really liked it

This is a report by an African-American sociologist on a study of the experiences of minority students who have newly arrived at a highly prestigious elite eastern college (A pseudonym is used so I cannot say if it is Harvard and I will not even suggest it.). The intuition behind this study is to consider the difficulties that minority student have once they matriculate and the effects on these students of different degrees of preparation that these students have depending on both their family b This is a report by an African-American sociologist on a study of the experiences of minority students who have newly arrived at a highly prestigious elite eastern college (A pseudonym is used so I cannot say if it is Harvard and I will not even suggest it.). The intuition behind this study is to consider the difficulties that minority student have once they matriculate and the effects on these students of different degrees of preparation that these students have depending on both their family backgrounds and also their attendance at private college preparatory high schools rather than non-college preparatory urban high schools in economically deprived areas. The working hypothesis behind the study is that minority students who went to college preparatory high schools, especially residential ones, would benefit greatly from being better initiated to the upper class elite norms and social structures they would encounter at elite colleges whereas students not from urban public high schools would be less prepared for their experiences at elite schools and would suffer as a result.

This is a very reasonable idea to use as a basis for the study and Professor Jack’s results ring true. He distinguishes between the minority students who received preparation for going to an elite college as “The Privileged Poor” while those economically disadvantaged students who did not received advance preparation for entering elite college society are the “doubly disadvantaged”. Both of these groups are discussed in terms of middle income or lower levels of economic attainment, as distinguished from minority students from upper income family backgrounds.

Professor Jack’s results clearly show how much diversity there is, even with a population of minority students matriculating to an elite institution. It is easy to say that all of these students are individuals and should be treated accordingly, of course, but large institutions can start doing so by taking into account the different sets of needs that are documented in this study. I am a bit confused, however, about the audience for the study. If it is sociologists, then journal articles will be better vehicles. One could also see administrators and faculty as targets, but that will not sell a lot of books. That is OK, and the book should be required reading for administrators in elite and large public universities.

After an initial read, I was left wondering if the conclusions of the study have been fully worked through. Sure, changes are necessary to make sure that all minority students who have been admitted can prosper as students. If these differences are not recognized, however, how does that affect the functioning of the school? Is the potential of diversity to enrich the community restricted if minority students are not effectively introduced and supported? Perhaps, but then what is the level of support that is needed? Do the “privileged poor” need different support from the “doubly disadvantaged”? At some level, it is unlikely that the issues minority students face in elite institutions will even go away. (There is lots of recent research behind this.). What is an appropriate target level or support and what will the campus look like with that support? I am also curious about how these results might play out in large institutions, where much greater numbers of minority students graduate from.

On a broader level, do students who get habituated to elite school norms and behaviors in high school receive an advantage relative to those who endure the social costs as freshmen? Is it an easier adjustment for a high school age teen? If so, that might suggest some possibilities for greater interventions in public high schools in populations that might end up college bound.

It is a useful idea, interesting, and generally well done study. Qualitative interview-based studies are hard to interpret sometimes, but they are helpful in setting the terms on which larger scale more detailed research projects can be designed.

I hope that is the case here. ...more

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Jul 06, 2019 Ryan Denson rated it really liked it

Shelves: education

The Privileged Poor deals with the author’s sociological study of lower-income students at an Ivy League university, which he uses the pseudonym, Renowned for, but it is most likely Harvard.

The students from lower-income backgrounds are divided into two categories, using terms coined by Jack. The Privileged Poor are those who come from a lower-income background, but managed to gain admission to an elite prep school before coming to Renowned. As such, they are already accustomed to being among p The Privileged Poor deals with the author’s sociological study of lower-income students at an Ivy League university, which he uses the pseudonym, Renowned for, but it is most likely Harvard.

The students from lower-income backgrounds are divided into two categories, using terms coined by Jack. The Privileged Poor are those who come from a lower-income background, but managed to gain admission to an elite prep school before coming to Renowned. As such, they are already accustomed to being among people of upper-income, mostly white backgrounds. On the other hand, the Doubly Disadvantaged, are those coming from a lower-income background, but still attended a public high school, which, in many cases, offered them few resources or opportunities to enrich their education during that period. These students have their first encounters with elite culture and institutions at Renowned. It should be remembered that these broad categories do exclude factors of race, gender, and personal traits. Therefore, they should not be taken too seriously or regarded as representing every lower-income student’s experiences.

While chapters one and two deal with the social interactions of these groups with their upper-income peers and professors respectively, chapter three more usefully looks at how some university policies harm lower-income students. These first two chapters deal with a clash of cultural expectations, and, therefore, touch on issues that are more generally related to socialization between different class backgrounds. The third chapter, though, is the most insightful, for being case studies for three programs at Renowned and how these negatively impacted lower-income students. Two of these programs were even intended to help them, but only ended up reinforcing class barriers. It is a particularly good read for avoiding such pitfalls and how we might better be able to foster inclusion at such universities.

One critique of this book though is the seeming narrative that one must adopt the cultural norms of the elite in order to successful. Jack may not have intended for this to be the dominant narrative, but this is what comes across in the text. This is particularly strong when he discusses how the Privileged Poor’s early adaptation to these norms and assimilation to upper class culture has allowed them to flourish at Renowned. It should be emphasized that this only really the case at such Ivy League universities, which also tend to funnel their graduates into corporate jobs. As one of his interviewees points out (p.47), these elite universities often excessively value money and high status, a type of thinking that many of the Privileged Poor end up adopting, which is, in my opinion, certainly not positive change.

The main take away from this book is that access is not inclusion. Despite the flaws of the study and its overgeneralizations, it is well worth reading in order to understand some of the many challenges that students from lower-income backgrounds face when attending such elite university. These challenges often impact their time at these institutions and beyond, and therefore merely getting a “golden ticket” to an Ivy League university is not an automatic gateway to success. More must be done in all universities, but in particular these sorts of Ivy League universities, if we are to allow education to be accessible and desirable for all. Jack’s study makes it clear that merely throwing money and more scholarships at such problems is not an effective remedy.

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Sep 13, 2020 Cami Duron added it

It makes sense to me that regardless of how much a university tries, a student needs to feel that they are welcome in order to fully embrace all that the campus has to offer in resources. I feel like people often expect those who come from different circumstances to just feel grateful for the opportunity they have been given, rather than allowing them room to experience underrated things like the major culture shock. Where you come from and how you grow up have major impacts on you for your enti It makes sense to me that regardless of how much a university tries, a student needs to feel that they are welcome in order to fully embrace all that the campus has to offer in resources. I feel like people often expect those who come from different circumstances to just feel grateful for the opportunity they have been given, rather than allowing them room to experience underrated things like the major culture shock. Where you come from and how you grow up have major impacts on you for your entire life, regardless of how much you aim to change your circumstances.

The fact that 40% of those in the top .1 percent attended elite universities and 40% of people from poor families didn't go to college at all is a crazy statistic that would be interesting to delve deeper into. It is a sad reality to think that often efforts to diversify are counter-productive within colleges. It doesn't help when the efforts to diversify are surface-level and not deeply rooted in an attitude of change. Reading this made me think twice about places I call "ghetto". Everyone just wants to feel safe and when that is still a necessity, it's difficult to achieve much else.

Something I have talked with others about lately is how people with disadvantages are much less likely to get into college because of all of the hurdles they have to jump through. I would love to have a better understanding of it because they often come back with responses such as minorities receiving scholarships that others don't. What is a good way to combat those arguments?

It is a harsh reality to think that sometimes no matter how much you try to bond, there can be barriers that prevent bonds at a much deeper level. I was reminded of this as I read the part about his classmates not understanding what it was like for cafeterias to close for two weeks. A lot of the commentary in this book is proof of why certain races or other people with disadvantages can die younger because of a domino effect where they don't have resources and aren't taken care of. I hadn't really thought about how a lot of times when there are resources put in place to help the disadvantaged, it still isn't the same and it can even backfire. Like when they were talking about how Scholarship Plus is helpful because they can get into events, it's more embarrassing because they call out your name and announce it, so you still don't have the same privilege as someone else.

What would be a good way to implement programs to make sure they are effective, while also not having to sacrifice anyone's dignity?

Implementing more resources at campuses should start way earlier than when students begin college. The problems and solutions are not solely up to colleges, but also on the part of education and environment from a very young age. What would be a solution for the root of the problems that come from being at a disadvantage?

I find it interesting that some who may have started life with less privilege have learned what the mainstream survival methods are, such as gaining cultural capital through connections with teachers. That is the way they have found that they can do more than just survive, but actually thrive. They just may have to work twice as hard. It's also interesting to think about how you can change the way you're willing to act (like allowing yourself to set up a meeting with your teacher) based on how you have been conditioned in your environment. The dichotomy between feeling forced to be grateful for what you have and feeling like you just don't have everything you should is a really difficult one. I am bummed that the world, especially the world of academia, is set up in a way that you have to figure out and beat the system to succeed.

I appreciated that he gave real solutions to the problems he was talking about. I love his idea to raise the bar on public education rather than adding funding to place more students in private schools. It’s getting to the root of the problem, rather than conforming to the system. I liked when he talked about the two girls who were fighting over the fact that one of them felt comfortable in the new school and one of them didn’t. They thought it was an individual problem when it turned out to be a problem of social inequity. Jack gave them the vocabulary they needed to understand each other better, and look at some of these issues as out of their control. I also appreciated having the perspective that loss is different for the poor. The girl who talked about how they don’t care if your mother is dying, you still have to get your work in, didn’t understand how to work the system in her favor. It helped me see how parts of the world that I thought were universal, maybe aren’t the same for everyone.

I thought the idea of meeting teachers for lunch outside of school was an interesting idea. Is that something that is normal in schools and actually helpful for students? It seems like problems could arise with professors getting comfortable with situations like that. ...more

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Jun 28, 2020 Nancy Campos rated it really liked it

Anthony Abraham Jack looks into the world of elite colleges and the students who attend these institutions. He tells a story of what it is like for several groups of students and provides clear guidance of what administrators can do differently to ensure that the most marginalized students also have positive experiences and are able to take full advantage of the resources and opportunities that come with an elite education. The sad truth of what the students experience is laid out clearly with m Anthony Abraham Jack looks into the world of elite colleges and the students who attend these institutions. He tells a story of what it is like for several groups of students and provides clear guidance of what administrators can do differently to ensure that the most marginalized students also have positive experiences and are able to take full advantage of the resources and opportunities that come with an elite education. The sad truth of what the students experience is laid out clearly with meaningful critiques for any reader to understand.

As a higher education professional, I have heard countless stories from students that echo Jack’s work, and I work at a state institution. The main difference is the level of wealth found at elite institutions that makes this contrast so vivid. Jack brings to light many important issues found in higher education, including well-intentioned policies that end up being implemented in ways that continue to harm students. He brings us into the world of the students who experience the fallacy of good intentions and how that continues to marginalize students further. In particular, his point regarding food insecurity on campuses is one that I hope more administrators pay close attention to and find ways to eradicate. Students should not be going hungry on campuses! There are some points that add to my own work as an educator working to change policies at the institutional level. For instance, I have wondered about work study and other campus positions and what they do for students as well, and this book highlighted it all well. It has given me ideas of how to advocate for changes at my institution to provide students with meaningful experiences through on-campus jobs.

My concern with Jack’s work, though, lies in the use of his descriptors for the two groups he mainly talks about: Privileged Poor and Doubly Disadvantaged. Having been one of these students myself and working with similar students, including some who attended elite private schools, I would prefer he use other terms to describe these two groups of students, especially once realizing that the administrators started using these terms too. To call someone disadvantaged or privileged simplifies their experience to one that focuses on deficits, not of the education system or institutions the students went to, but of the students themselves. Jack does a great job of pointing out what is wrong with the institutions and policies associated; however, knowing that administrators do not have this same lens and then use these terms to describe students does not sit well with me. ...more

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Oct 19, 2019 Jason Furman rated it really liked it

Shelves: social_science, nonfiction, sociology

A sociological study of how disadvantaged students fare at the pseudonymous “Renowned University” (my guess is Harvard, but I have no inside information) based on years of extensive interviews and observation. Anthony Jack distinguishes between three groups: “upper income,” “privileged poor” (poor parents but went on scholarship to prep school), and “doubly disadvantaged” (poor parents and went to a poor school). In his telling, cultural divides put the upper income and privileged poor on the sa A sociological study of how disadvantaged students fare at the pseudonymous “Renowned University” (my guess is Harvard, but I have no inside information) based on years of extensive interviews and observation. Anthony Jack distinguishes between three groups: “upper income,” “privileged poor” (poor parents but went on scholarship to prep school), and “doubly disadvantaged” (poor parents and went to a poor school). In his telling, cultural divides put the upper income and privileged poor on the same side of the ledger, both for example know how to navigate contacts with faculty and office hours and the other cultural codes at elite universities. But a number of economic issues put the divide in a different place, between “upper income” who can afford nice clothing, vacations during spring break, and tickets to campus events while—in Jack’s telling—both the “privileged poor” and the “doubly disadvantaged” have to make do with worse clothing, jobs they view as demeaning on dorm crew, separate lines for cultural events, and the threat of hunger when dining halls close for spring break.

I found a lot of these observations powerful and important and appreciated how the book did so much to let the students speak for themselves with extensive quotes. Jack is also not just an observer or a critic but gets involved to try to address the problems he documents, in some cases successfully (e.g., getting the university to provide meals during spring break). Moreover if more people read the book it would increase sensitivity and understanding in a manner that would help continue to address problems.

At times the portrayal of university life seemed starker than would seem warranted. At times the book makes it sound like all upper income and privileged poor have no problem navigating the complexity of university life and, in fact, thrive on it. In my experience there is substantial heterogeneity, based on backgrounds and also idiosyncratic personal differences. I also would be interested to learn more about how boarding and other prep schools worked for the privileged poor but the university does not seem to work for the doubly disadvantaged. Finally, while is is beyond the scope of this book, it also left me wondering how outcomes in college (like grades) and post college (like incomes) vary across the three groups.

Regardless, worth reading for any of us at universities and for others beyond as well. ...more

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Jan 21, 2020 Janelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, read-for-work

I read this with my departmental colleagues, mostly during the fall 2019 semester (#ScholCommBookClub) The title made a splash at small, liberal arts colleges last year, so we decided to read it. The author's main point is that experiences among students of color at elite institutions are varied, and we shouldn't lump them together. He creates three categories: Privileged Poor, Doubly Disadvantaged, and Upper Income. The PP are low-income students who went to an elite secondary school and have a I read this with my departmental colleagues, mostly during the fall 2019 semester (#ScholCommBookClub) The title made a splash at small, liberal arts colleges last year, so we decided to read it. The author's main point is that experiences among students of color at elite institutions are varied, and we shouldn't lump them together. He creates three categories: Privileged Poor, Doubly Disadvantaged, and Upper Income. The PP are low-income students who went to an elite secondary school and have already been acculturated to PWI (predominantly white institutions) before coming to college. They adjust and adapt to college life much more easily than the DD (low income students coming from public high schools who are unfamiliar with the culture of an elite, private institution).

The distinctions are useful, though the book seemed overly long and repetitive. In many ways, the PP have more in common with UI students than with DD students, though family income levels might lead you to different conclusions. Jack reminds us that not all students will "work the system" the same way (or even know that professors and administrators expect them to). One's class background strongly influences whether you believe your coursework will speak for itself, or whether you should take the initiative to build a personal relationship with a professor. There is a "hidden curriculum" at these institutions that not all students know about (for example, help will be given, but you're expected to ask for help when you need it).

Some of the situations Jack describes are unbelievably obtuse. Why an elite institution would hire lower-income students to clean dorms and call it "pre-orientation" is beyond me. In the third section titled "I, too, am hungry," my marginal post-its say things like "amazingly awful" and simply atrocious." Seriously, it's easy to mock higher education with programs like these.

One criticism my group had was that the author works from a presumption that all students do and should want to be like the wealthy elite. He doesn't question the wealthy students at all. One of his interviewees does a little bit "William," p 47), but this is largely ignored in the text.

Overall, an important book for our times, though it seems like it could have been a long essay rather than a book. ...more

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Nov 05, 2019 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: poverty, college

I came across this book while reading an article by Anthony Jack in the NY Times on the same topic. He makes the strong case that providing academic, college scholarship to economically challenged students is not enough to make them successful. The college environment is so foreign and abstract to many students, that their backgrounds and experience can hinder their academic success. Jack explores 2 sets of students....one he calls the Privileged Poor (PP), students who have benefited from priva ...more

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Apr 13, 2020 Erin rated it it was amazing

So. Good. Read this for my own professional development but I also identified with it personally. Jack described the difference between students who are the privileged poor (poor kids who went to private and elite high schools [typically on scholarship] that prepared them for college) and the doubly disadvantaged (poor students who went to poor secondary schools who also ended up at elite colleges/universities). I saw so much of my own experience reflected in the doubly disadvantaged. While I di ...more

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Feb 13, 2021 Flora rated it liked it

An important point this book makes: admitting/hiring/bringing in people from groups who have been historically underrepresented does not necessarily mean your institution is going to be inclusive or good for those people once they get there. Ie diversity, inclusion, and equity requires more than just opening the gates.
Jack's central concept, Privileged Poor vs. Doubly Disadvantaged, seemed almost too neat--there seemed to be near-total homogeneity of experience within those groups. The emphasis ...more

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Aug 25, 2020 Viridiana Villalva Salas rated it it was amazing

Jack's writing is smart, thought-provoking, and personal. I highly recommend this book to anyone working in education, especially people who work in admissions at colleges and universities. This book highlights the unseen inequity and provides language for the experiences of young people facing racism, oppression, and further marginalization within higher education. I had the privilege of meeting with Jack on Connecticut College's campus, where he presented a guest lecture and open forum. If it ...more

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Aug 17, 2019 Josh rated it really liked it

Shelves: authors-of-color, higher-ed

And excellent and timely resource for any higher ed professionals at selective institutions. It addresses not only the current dilemma of supporting economically disadvantaged students beyond scholarships but also the diversity found within that same group. It reiterated the importance of relationship-building, the assumptions we make about knowledge students have coming to college, and policy changes we can make to better support these same students so they can participate fully in the college ...more

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May 17, 2020 Rachel Renbarger rated it really liked it

I have manyyyy thoughts, but I am going to write a large portion of them in a formal book review soon so don't need to go into much detail here.

Pros: easy to read, uses student voices, could always use more research on educational issues faced by marginalized/low income students

Cons: descriptions of females, victim blaming, and lack of reading up on educational research on these topics

Anyone want to pay me to write a book about poverty and educational access? I'll include education researchers ...more

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