This book examines how previously excluded high-achieving low-income students are faring
socially and academically at an Ivy League college in New England. In the past research
conducted on low-income students in elite schools focused mainly on the admissions process. As
a result there is a dearth of research on what happens to low-income students once they are
admitted and attend classes. This book chronicles an ethnographic study of twenty low-income
men and women in their senior year at Dartmouth College and follows up with them four and
twelve years post-graduation. By helping to bring visibility and self-awareness to low-income
students and expose class issues and struggles the author hopes to encourage elite
institutions to change their policies and practices to address the needs of these students.
