On MMBay’s Mission: College Undermatching, Class Diversity in Elite Spaces, and Cross-Class Bridging

Published through Nonprofit Quarterly

Minds Matter Bay Area (MMBay) is an education nonprofit that connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation, and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future, and change the world. Here is an excerpt from our white paper on the opportunity gap and affirmative action:

"Elite college institutions are exclusive by definition, but their intentional exclusivity is permissible as long as it remains meritocratic. In rhetoric, these institutions were built to discover and cultivate generations of exceptional talent - to ensure that those who step into decision-making roles in our society, are most qualified to speak for the needs of a society they represent. In rhetoric, the purpose of these elite institutions is to source for talent wherever talent may be found - which should in no way be determined by one’s class or race.

But in practice, elite colleges show a preference for students from wealthy families - a preference not justified by merit nor excellence when these wealthy admits are compared with their lower-income peers. And because top employers like to recruit from elite colleges, this wealth-based bias impacts the talent demographic of all elite careers - ones that shape commerce, policy, innovation, and care for generations of people. In the absence of a force that counteracts this bias, elite college institutions perpetuate inequities of class by deciding who gets to walk their halls and - eventually - who gets to have power in our society. It reinforces a generational concentration of power and influence among those who already have power and influence."

To read more, please download our white paper below.