Zócalo Public Square

Students of means have always had an advantage getting into college — they attend the best high schools and study under the best teachers — but have the scales become too imbalanced in favor of the wealthy? As the economic downturn crimps the student loan market and makes college even harder to afford, a panel of higher education experts -- including Los Angeles Community College District Board President Kelly Candaele, Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik, UCLA professor Patricia M. McDonough, author of Choosing Colleges: How Social Class and Schools Structure Opportunity, and Bruce Poch, Dean of Admissions at Pomona College -- visited Zócalo to discuss whether higher education has become inaccessible to all but the rich.