A recent study shows that UW System students are far more likely to come from the bottom 60 percent of the income distribution scale than the top 1 percent, in contrast to a number of other American universities.
27.3 percent of UW System students are from families in the bottom 60 percent of earners, while only 1.6 percent are from the top 1 percent. 38 universities nationwide have more students from the top one percent than the bottom 60 percent.
The study, conducted by the Equality of Opportunity Project, concludes the UW System has the 425th highest ratio nationally of ultra-rich students to students from the bottom 60 percent. Washington University in St. Louis has the dubious distinction of placing first in this department, with a staggering 21.7 percent of its students coming from the top one percent, compared to just 6.1 percent from the bottom 60 percent.
Northwestern, highest in the Big Ten, ranks 50th, with nearly as many students from the top percentile of the income distribution as from the bottom three-fifths. Rutgers University, lowest in the Big Ten, ranks 547th, and almost one-third of its students are from the bottom 60 percent.
Data for UW-Madison specifically is not available.
Five Ivy League universities have more students from the top 1 percent than the bottom 60 percent. However, not all the schools for which this is the case are considered elite. Wake Forest University, Trinity College and Bucknell University, for example, all have over 20 percent of students from the top one percent, more than their shares of students from the bottom of the income distribution.
The study defines households in the top one percent as making more than $630,000 per year. The bottom 60 percent includes all households making $65,000 or less. The data is based on tax filings and tuition records.
