U. of California System Enrolls Record Number of Needy Students

An estimated 39 percent of undergraduates enrolled at the University of California system this fall are from low-income families, an increase of eight percentage points from two years ago and the largest percentage in the university’s history. The estimate is based on the number of Pell Grant recipients, 70,000, enrolled in the university system. A 2008 analysis by The Chronicle found that the share of low-income students on the flagship campuses of the 39 best-endowed public universities was 18 percent.