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Unequal Opportunity

Unequal access is a national challenge

Postsecondary education is a key element for individuals' progress and for our nation's future success, but many Americans are effectively being denied access to that education.

This report, Unequal Opportunity: Disparities in College Access Among the 50 States, shows that college opportunity is unequal among states and for groups of students within states. It also shows that low-income students have far fewer viable options for higher education than do median-income students.

Using the links below, you can explore this important information in several different ways:

• A brief overview offers the national perspective.
• The narrative portion of the full monograph (979K) is available for download. This 73-page report includes an executive summary and detailed appendices that fully explain the research methodology.
• The state summaries allow you to compare college-accessibility rates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• The glossary defines key terms used in the report.
• Learn more about the authors of the report.

To view either the full monograph or the state summary pages, you'll need Acrobat Reader, available free from Adobe.

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• About the authors
• National perspective
• Glossary
• For the media
• Unequal Opportunity
• Backgrounder
• Q & A
• News Release
• State summaries

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