California should tax million-dollar, part-time homes to help first-gen students get to college

Getting into college is harder than ever. Every year, Americans spend about $500 million on “educational consultants” who help students navigate applying to college. Most first-generation, low-income students don’t have access to those resources. 

California should fund an effective college pipeline program for these first-generation students to ensure they all get a shot at college.

In the U.S., college consulting is booming. Tutoring for the SAT or ACT can cost up to $1,000. One-on-one coaching can range from $50 to $100 an hour. 

For students seeking the Ivy League, Lakhani Coaching in New York says its average customer spends $58,000 — and 20% of its clients invest more than $100,000 — on college coaching services.

First-generation, low-income students like myself struggle just to pay the costs of submitting college applications — if fee waivers aren’t available. 

In my case, had it not been for USC’s Bovard Scholars program, I wouldn’t be attending Stanford University. Bovard is a selective program where high-achieving students receive free support in test preparation and in applications to top universities. 

Again, most first-generation, low-income students don’t have access to that support. 

There are a lot of us in California, where Black and Latino families make up 44% of all households but 55% of the poorest families and 12% of the richest. By contrast, White and Asian families make up 52% of all households, 40% of the poorest and 83% of the richest. 

When looking at who goes to college soon after high school, 85% of Asian students are enrolled, as are 68% of white students. But only 55% each of Black and Latino students enroll within a year of graduating and enrollment is lowest among all low-income students, at 54%.

The numbers show Cal State schools have higher acceptance rates and are highly attended by Black and Latino students. On the other hand, UC schools tend to have lower acceptance rates and more often enroll Asian American and white students. Similarly, Stanford University is the 21st most attended school among Black students and 39th among Latino students. 

Cal State schools promote economic mobility, while the UCs and other elite universities open doors to powerful places in society, said Anthony Lising Antonio, a Stanford professor who specializes in higher education equity. He was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle. 

California already offers some college-going support services to groups of disadvantaged students, such as the Educational Opportunity Program  and the Early Academic Outreach Program, but these programs are not accessible to every student.  

The state should establish a broad program that provides students with college support. Call it the Earl Warren program, honoring the Californian and Supreme Court Chief Justice who wrote the historic desegregation opinion in the Brown v. Board of Education case. 

The new program could be open to all students and give them access to workshops, college-readiness counselors, test prep and support with writing and submitting college applications.

The program wouldn’t fall under “DEI initiative” scrutiny by the Trump administration because it wouldn’t target a particular ethnic or racial group, though it could focus on an income range, first-generation status or some other disadvantage.

Rather than federal dollars, the new effort would be funded with revenues from a state tax that could be levied on owners of secondary or part-time homes valued at $1 million or more. 

It would be similar to Rhode Island’s “Taylor Swift tax,” which affects people who live most of each year elsewhere. This proposal would exempt full-time residents, while providing resources to help students thrive. 

In a state where many people enjoy the benefits of California, non-resident homeowners should contribute to programs that make its communities strong.