California private colleges continue to oppose a revised bill that seeks information on legacy admissions. They contend that a threatened Cal Grant loss will hurt low-income students.
Lawmakers say they want to level the admissions playing field. Sweeping proposals would add oversight to athletics admissions, ban legacy admissions and regulate private counselors.
Some students wonder whether their college spots are taken by affluent cheaters. Most still believe hard work in high school will land them at a good college.
The Level Up program matches low-income California freshmen with slightly older mentors at 29 colleges. The advice and friendship help keep students in school, organizers say.
The USC report weighed black students' enrollment and graduation rates, among other factors. California ranked third highest in the nation, although author said results are actually mediocre and should be not celebrated.
USC professor Shaun Harper will lead a national survey that seeks to explore what college students think about their experiences about race, gender and other factors.
The Trump administration has proposed cutting work-study funding in half. Reformers want the payment formula to be changed so that expensive, private colleges don't receive so many advantages in the program.
The study contends that Pell grant students would have a better chance at graduating if they started at four-year, elite colleges. It says that affluent campuses can easily afford to enroll more.