COA cited as region's top ranked college for economic diversity among students

BAR HARBOR, Sept. 8, 2023 - College of the Atlantic has the highest ranking among major colleges in Northern New England for having the greatest economic diversity among its students, according to an analysis by the New York Times.

COA ranked 32 out of 286 of the “most-selective colleges in the country, defined by Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges and other metrics,” the Times stated.

Maine’s other private colleges on the list did poorly. Bates College was tied for last place with Tulane, Oberlin and Fairfield University. Colby was 230, and Bowdoin 207. University of Maine made the Top 100 at No. 63. Other Northern New England schools were University of New Hampshire at 117, Dartmouth at 186 and University of Vermont at 220.

In all of New England, only Hampshire College outranked COA at No. 16.

For the analysis, the Times used share of Pell Grants, “which typically go to students from the bottom half of the income distribution.” At COA, 33 percent of its 400 students in 2020-21 received Pell Grants, the Times reported. COA also reported $237,000 in endowment per student, according to the Times.

Outgoing COA President Darron Collins said today:

“At College of the Atlantic we are committed to providing an excellent education in human ecology to highly driven, creative, inquisitive students regardless of their ability to pay.

“Our students are a vital component of our strength, and their range of experiences and backgrounds are key elements of a positive, dynamic learning and living environment," said Collins, a COA alum from 1992.

The Times reported, “Studying these numbers is particularly important in the wake of two important developments this year in higher education: the Supreme Court’s decision to do away with race-based affirmative action and the decision by some schools to abandon or reduce legacy admissions.”

“Each put a new renewed focus on institutional efforts to consider wealth in making admissions decisions.”

To that, the Times spotted some troubling indicators.

“The data stretch back more than a decade, and the trends during that period are worrisome. We focused on Pell Grants, which college students in the bottom half of the income distribution generally receive. It is not a comprehensive measure of economic diversity, but it is the broadest one available, comparable across colleges.

“At most colleges in our analysis, the number of Pell recipients has fallen over the past decade. The decline in the share of students who are Pell Grant recipients has been especially notable at public universities. Many states deeply cut funding for higher education after the recession of 2007-9 and never fully restored it.

Even at COA, Pell Grants declined 10 percent over the last decade, reported the Times, which cited Duke University as an example of a wealthy school with a dismal record of economic diversity.

“Colleges that enroll few Pell Grant recipients, like Duke, often enroll relatively few middle-class students above the Pell cutoff.

The challenge for COA to sustain its commitment for such diversity after Collins departs will be ever present. But the local community is a strong underpinning of financial support for COA.

"We cannot thank the MDI community enough for their support and generous investments in COA - that's in part what makes our commitment to student financial aid possible,” Collins stated.

The college’s gifting page may be accessed by clicking here.