The College Board, the same company that brings students the SAT and AP exams, has launched a pilot program that will offer universities lists of the names and contact information of low-income, high-achieving high-school students.
Penn's admissions office will be one of the first universities to participate in the program.
According to interim Dean of Admissions Eric Kaplan, the University will use the lists to help recruit low-income students.
The students identified on the lists, as well as other low-income students, will receive a new brochure and DVD, as well as visits from admissions officers, Kaplan said.
"The pilot program provides access to students that otherwise may not consider Penn," he wrote in an e-mail. "Our goal is to increase the number of low-income students on Penn's campus, as they are disproportionately represented here and at our peer institutions."
For the first time since the 1980s, the College Board is allowing colleges and universities to request the names of students based on family income and zip code through its Student Search Service.
It had previously stopped permitting colleges from requesting the names of students based on these factors because, at the time, colleges tried only to purchase the names of students they believed were able to pay full tuition.
However, universities were already allowed to search for criteria such as grades, SAT scores and ethnicity.
In order to participate in the pilot program, Kaplan said, the University had to provide evidence of its commitment to recruiting and retaining low-income students.
He said Penn had no problem proving this.
"Penn's efforts are focused on improving access for low-income students with aggressive outreach and a financial aid philosophy that emphasizes affordability," Kaplan said.
Other elite colleges are also participants and supporters of the pilot program.
Stanford University is participating in the program, according to Director of Admissions Shawn Abbott.
Abbott did not offer further comment.
Swarthmore College chose not to participate in the program because the admissions office feels they already do a good job of attracting low-income students, Director of Admissions Suzi Nam said. However, she said she is in favor of the program.
"For those colleges who are interested in attracting low-income students, this is a good idea," she said.
Most college counselors also support the College Board's pilot program - but not without concerns.
College Confidential senior advisor Sally Rubenstone said she is in favor of the program but worries that students will become overloaded with information from colleges and, as a result, may not be responsive.
Washington-based admissions consultant Steven Goodman also said he likes the program. However, he said he worries that the colleges participating will not be able to adequately finance the tuition of the low-income students being recruited.
"All things equal, I think it's good," he said, "but the devil's in the details."
