Terenzini, Patrick T., Alberto F. Cabrera, and Elena M. Bernal. 2001. <em>Swimming Against the Tide.</em> College Board. Accessed on July 26 2007, from http://www.collegeboard.com/research/pdf/rdreport200_3918.pdf.<br />
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This literature review summarizes the current knowledge of low-income students and their encounters with the higher education system, as well as providing new analyses of national databases to fill in existing gaps in the literature. The analyses consist of six sections including the college search, choice, and selection process; a profile of the collegiate experiences of students of low socioeconomic status (SES); persistence and degree completion; learning outcomes; enthusiasm for college and intention to enroll in a postbaccalaureate program; outcomes in job earnings, occupational status, and job satisfaction. The authors conclude with several policy recommendations, such as limiting the effect of socioeconomic status-related inequities in college enrollment and degree completion; reaching parents of low-SES students when children are in the 5th and 6th grades with information about financial aid and college; integrating state agencies, colleges, teachers, parents, and students to sustain degree completion in the long term (grades K through 16); and supplementing state and federal financial aid policies with additional resources to break down barriers to college attendance and completion.