Editing Universal access to education (section)

=== Causes of disparities ===
The disparity in access to higher education is primarily due to a difference in college readiness these students experience. College readiness refers to how prepared for higher education students are. Although there are several ways to define it, college readiness involves measuring four aspects of student performance: basic skills, knowledge of certain content areas, grade point averages (GPA), and college knowledge, also referred to as social capital.<ref name=":3">Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., & Coca, V. (2009) College Readiness for All: The Challenge for Urban High Schools. ''The Future of Children, 19''(1), pp. 185-204) https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=ehh&AN=43308224&scope=site&custid=s8448101</ref> Basic skills include being able to read, write and think analytically about situations; content areas that students should have knowledge of include English and mathematics. Both aspects are crucial to college readiness because of their real-world application, and if a student is not proficient in these two areas, they are less likely to even pursue university. However, for many minority students they do not meet the basic requirements for colleges and universities.

In terms of GPA and college knowledge, racial disparities exist. Regarding GPA, the gap in school performance between minority and white students is significant.<ref name=":3">Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., & Coca, V. (2009) College Readiness for All: The Challenge for Urban High Schools. ''The Future of Children, 19''(1), pp. 185-204) https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=ehh&AN=43308224&scope=site&custid=s8448101</ref> This gap can influence minority students’ aspirations towards attending college, which affects minority enrollment rates. In terms of college knowledge, many minority students do not have access to social capital because of the lack of resources catered to them to ensure their success. There also is a lack of knowledge among minority students about what resources are available, especially because many of them are first-generation students.<ref name=":4">Jackson, N. (1988) Minority access to higher education. ''The Journal of College Admissions''. 53-62. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ992740.pdf   </ref>